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  • Clients: Overview
  • Case Study: Relay Graduate School of Education (Bain NYC)
  • Case Study: Raising a Reader MA (Monitor Cambridge)
  • Case Study: M3 Foundation (Parthenon SF)
  • Case Study: AUSL (L.E.K. Chicago)
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Client Mission

Relay Graduate School of Education (RGSE) is a new, independent graduate school with a ground-breaking master's degree program designed specifically to respond to today's demand for effective teachers. RGSE's master's program is the first ever to require its graduate students to demonstrate proficiency and achievement while teaching in their K-12 classrooms to earn a degree. RGSE’s mission is to teach teachers to develop in all students the academic skills and strength of character needed to succeed in college and life. RGSE is positioned to bring about transformational change in teacher preparation, becoming the place where a new generation of continuously-improving, results-focused individuals can fulfill their destiny in the world's greatest profession.

Client History

Founded as Teacher U, Relay Graduate School of Education (RGSE) emerged out of the shared work of three of the country’s highest performing charter school management organizations (Uncommon Schools, KIPP, and Achievement First) with the goal to share most effective teaching practices with fellow educators. Initially, RGSE partnered with Hunter College to launch Teacher U. In 2011, RGSE obtained a charter to operate as an independent, masters-degree-granting institution.

Case Objectives

To help the organization transform into an independent institution, RGSE needed to conduct financial analysis for its programs. Inspire provided input and insight on appropriate competitor benchmarks, constituent viewpoints, and ultimately, financial recommendations for the organization.

Inspire Project Milestones and Deliverables

The Inspire team worked closely with RGSE leadership, conducted external research, and analyzed findings to develop financial recommendations for the organization:

• Developed, launched and analyzed a survey to understand constituent viewpoints
• Conducted 25+ interviews with other institutions
• Analyzed the current budgeting environment
• Synthesized research to develop financial recommendations that were implemented by RGSE

Inspire Impact

As a result of Inspire’s work, Relay Graduate School of Education set a price for its newly independent program. Inspire’s volunteer team engaged in strategy conversations with Relay leadership to help frame the future of the new program.

Key Quotes

“… As a former consultant, I appreciated the Inspire case team's ability to work with us collaboratively, manage the project tightly, and draw on the experience of subject matter experts at their respective consulting firms ...” – Chief Information Officer, Strategic Planning Lead, RGSE

“… RGSE implemented the Inspire team's recommendations -- I can think of no stronger recommendation for a consulting team than that ...” – Chief Financial Officer, RGSE

“… The Inspire case team did an excellent job, and their work was as good as output that I have seen from fully-staffed and fully-paid consulting teams ...” – Chief Operating Officer, RGSE

“… Working with RGSE was a great learning experience – we were able to lead interviews and really work with our client to understand the challenges they faced and the potential next steps before helping them settle on a financial management strategy …” – Inspire Case Team Leader, Bain New York

“… My experience working with RGSE was really one of the most rewarding of my year in consulting. We drove to real answers for our client, created strong Inspire promoters who want to work with us again, and, all the way, learned from one another, our client, and the significant primary research we conducted. Moreover, our several months of dedication to the case supported an important cause – ensuring RGSE could provide new teachers with the tools to be successful in the classroom. Because of my tremendous first Inspire experience, I was eager to get more involved with helping source and plan the Inspire work out of my office …” – Inspire Case Team Member, Bain New York

“… My Inspire experience on RGSE has been one of the highlights of my Bain experience so far. Our work had a big impact – we helped set the organization’s revenue management strategy – and I was able to get amazing client contact throughout the case. Presenting to Norman Atkins (Founder of Uncommon Schools and Teacher U) was a highlight of the case, and it was incredibly gratifying to see him appreciate my work and want to do another case with Bain New York Inspire …” – Inspire Case Team Member, Bain New York

Learn more

Relay Graduate School of Education