Dr. Michael S. Brown Jr
Germantown,Tn.
Summary
I am an enthusiastic leader who eagerly contributes to organizational success through hard work, motivation, consistent development, and thoughtful planning. I remain a perpetual learner driven by the desire to consistently improve personal and organizational practice.
Overview
22
22
years of professional experience
Work History
Chief Schools Officer
New Schools For Alabama
03.2021 - Current
- Manage New School Development by recruiting high-quality charter school operators and developing homegrown leaders to build great schools throughout Alabama
- Establish and direct the NSFA School Founders Program as a full-time 12- month fellowship for educational leaders launching new schools in Alabama.
- Provide Alabama Charter Schools Technical Assistance by providing applicants and operators with expert guidance on technical needs such as developing an application, finding a facility, managing the back-office, and more.
Adjunct Professor
Vanderbilt University
09.2021 - 12.2023
- Graduate-level course in the Human & Organizational Development Department
- Strengthened critical thinking skills in students through the incorporation of meaningful texts, group discussion, individual reflection, and rigorous assignments.
- Boosted class participation rates by fostering a positive and collaborative learning environment.
Founder
EdRevolution LLC
01.2020 - 01.2022
- Support K-12 Educational Institutions in Reimagining the Schooling Experience for students across the country
- Through professional development, school redesign, and charter-writing support, EdRevolution introduces school leadership and their teaching staff to research-based innovations that improve learning outcomes and the overall student experience.
Chief Schools Officer
Freedom Preparatory Charter Network
01.2016 - 03.2021
- Embody, advocate for, and execute on the mission, vision and strategic direction of the Freedom Prep Charter Network through the management of its 5 network K-12 schools
- Supervises and evaluates all principals in the network; serves as liaison between principals and the CEO; works with principals to resolve school-based concerns and problems; assists principals and teachers in striving for maximum student achievement
- Maintains an aligned K-12 instructional program that addresses state, local, and federal requirements to ensure academic achievement
- Ensures alignment of instructional resources with Freedom Prep’s priorities and strategic plan
- Supervises the work of school principals, ensuring adherence to established policies, procedures and standards; advises and assists subordinates, as necessary, resolving problems as situations arise
- Participates in budget decisions at the regional level; oversees expenditures for all network schools schools
- Create, manage, and facilitate professional development for network Principals, Deans of Students, and Deans of Academics
- Establish school-based performance metrics and institutional priorities for all network schools
- Ey Data Points of Successes include:
- Freedom Prep ranked in top 5 of TN schools in academic growth (Reward School)
- Freedom Prep ranked #1 and #2 among all Shelby County charter schools on 6 of 8 EOC assessments
- Freedom Prep scored in the Top 5 among all Shelby County district schools on 6 of 8 EOC assessments
- Freedom Prep exceeded the District average on all TN Ready state assessments.
- Freedom Prep exceeded the district & state average for lower-income and African- American & Latino students in all tested subjects.
- Freedom Prep scored the highest charter school Exam Success Rate while doubling the SCS district rate. Personal Successes in Role:
- Oversaw the opening of new K-5 elementary school
- Oversaw the opening of new 6-8 middle school
- Produced 2 successful charter applications for TN
- 100% of desired Principal retention network schools
- Managed AdvancED Accreditation process
Principal
Westside Achievement Middle School
01.2014 - 01.2016
- Led turn-around efforts at Westside Achievement Middle School in Tennessee producing the following data:
- Level 1 TVAAS to Level 5 (highest level)
- Level 5 TVAAS in all tested subjects
- 80% reduction in Westside Expulsions
- 35% decrease in instructional days lost to suspension
- Double digit gains in proficiency in 2 of 3 tested subjects
- 19% gains on Science TCAP
- Moved 61 students from the basic to proficient or advanced
- Exceeded goal of 10-point gains in Math
- Moved 106 students out of “below basic” in Science
Educational Entrepreneurs Fellow
TENNESSEE CHARTER SCHOOL CENTER
01.2013 - 01.2015
- Participating in a two-year leadership development program designed to equip experienced school leaders with the entrepreneurial and transformational management skills needed to design and launch a high-performing public charter school in Tennessee
- My fellowship experiences have included a combination of residencies, visits to exceptional schools, executive leadership coaching, targeted training workshops, and charter application support.
Assistant Principal
KIPP ACADEMY LYNN
01.2011 - 01.2013
- Completed the Leadership Strand of the KIPP School Leadership Program (KSLP) at NYU in which I participated in 1) an intense 5 week training around data driven instruction, performance management, educational law, and organizational structure, 2) 4 weekend sessions which provided a laser focus on Research for Better Teaching methodologies, and 3)an ongoing accountability system of master teachers and mentors who guide me through the student- focused KIPP Competency Model of building relationships, managing people, and driving results
- Co-facilitator (along with the school leader) of our KIPP Academy Lynn new Teacher training program which is geared towards effectively developing and honing the skills of instructors to maximize student output and achievement
- To account for the diversity in new teaching staff who span the spectrum in experience and pedagogical knowledge, I co-facilitate a 50 hour training which delves into long term planning, SMART AIMS, checking for understanding, classroom management, and cultural relevance
- Restructured the KIPP Lynn middle school recruitment plan, lottery, and enrollment process which brought the highest number of applicants in the school’s history
- Approximately 480 new applicants were introduced to KIPP Lynn through a more concentrated recruiting effort which has kept our waitlist at over 350 families
- Since my ownership of the lottery and enrollment process, our adherence to state regulations and charter policies is at its peak
- Coached 5 teachers on staff providing 25 observations per year for first year teachers and a minimum of 15 for returning staff accompanied by weekly check-ins, planning sessions, and data meetings
- I provided instructional assistance that most often addressed strategies for adding rigor, developing more analysis-based assessments, and strengthening lesson plan alignment from standards to AIMS
- Founded and directed the KIPP Lynn Rites of Passage Manhood & Womanhood Training Program which served as a summer school for middle school students
- With the focus of tracking and improving students’ habits of success, the traditional values of the West African Nguzo Saaba were appropriately laid as the foundation of the program curriculum and yielded the following results (according to parent surveys at the close of the program:
- 86.9% of students showed noticeable to significant improvement in self-sufficiency at home when dealing with home and school responsibilities (waking up, arriving to school on time, homework completion, etc.)
- 91% of students showed a noticeable to significant improvement in their ability and willingness to overcome obstacles
- 100% of students overwhelmingly showed a noticeable to significant increase in both respect for adults and pride/duty to succeed on behalf of their marginalized cultural groups
- Created a KIPP Lynn curriculum for single gendered classes as well as wrote a complete set of KIPP Lynn culturally relevant standards that highlight the most crucial histories of the ethnic groups represented in the student population as well as practical survival skills that prove crucial for the navigation of our students though the inner city.
Director of Multicultural
KIPP ACADEMY LYNN, Community Affairs
01.2009 - 01.2010
- Created the KIPP Lynn Parent & Community Team which now serves as a model for the KIPP network after aggressively increasing, in 1 year, our parent involvement from approximately 35% of parents visiting the school 2-3 times per year to 74% participating in school meetings and events 5 or more times per year
- Revitalized and restructured the KIPP Lynn Adult Education Program which grew to 150 students filled with KIPP Lynn parents and community members attending 4 levels of ESL, GED, and Citizenship classes from Monday through Thursday
- Our program yielded the following results at the conclusion of my first year of restructuring:
- 62% of our students were better able to understand their children when speaking English
- 95% of non-native English speakers increased their trust and comfort with visiting and participating in the life of the school
- 54% were better able to communicate with their child’s teachers
- 75% felt an increase in confidence in taking the citizenships exam
- 76% felt more prepared to officially enter into the GED program
- Hired to serve as an educational trainer for undergraduate students enrolled in Boston College’s Student Teaching practicum which allowed me to oversee and mold the pedagogical practices of student teachers in the earliest stages of their career while at a 2-day per week urban education placement
- I concluded each semester with writing very detailed reports on their areas of strengths and areas of need for the purpose of having a stream of feedback to be used by their future academic coaches for continued development.
8th Grade Teacher
KIPP ACADEMY LYNN
01.2007 - 01.2009
- Created the 8th Grade History curriculum for KIPP Lynn based on the Massachusetts State Standards as the new school grew into an 8th grade for the first time
- Based on the ethnic population of the class, I resisted the traditional social studies format and instead developed a bottom-up approach in which all history AIMS and content was presented through the view of our student demographic.
History Teacher
Toano Middle School
01.2002 - 01.2007
- Using a more project and simulation based-curriculum, my class produced the highest History standardized test scores in the school raising its overall History SOL exam scores to an all time high of 86% profiency.
Education
Doctorate of Educational Leadership & Policy -
Vanderbilt University-Peabody College
Nashville, TN05.2021
Master’s Degree - Educational Leadership
Boston College
Chestnut Hill, MA05.2010
Bachelor’s of Arts - Psychology
Hampton University
Hampton, VA05.2001
Skills
- Public Speaking/Professional Development
- Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
- Organizational & School Leadership
- Strategy Development
- Service-Orientation
- Program Development
- Teaching & Learning
Accomplishments
- Facilitated over 50 conference presentations with 7 listed as "Top 10" ranked presentations (#2 at the 2018 National Charter School Conference).
- Supported the launch of 11 fresh-start public charter schools in Tennessee, Alabama, and Florida
- Co-supervised organization of over 200 employees across 5 locations.
- Produced and managed grant relationships worth 2.5 million dollars
- Led turn-around efforts in state-run Tennessee School
Additional Information
- Vanderbilt's Arville Wheeler Award- 2021 for Excellence in Scholarship
- The Commonwealth of Massachusetts-Principalship License
- The Commonwealth of Virginia-Teacher’s License-Middle School English
Peer Reviewed Publications
Brown, M. (2021). Healing Comes First: Creating Trauma-Sensitive Work Environments for Teams to Heal and Produce. In L. Byrd-Poller, J. Farmer, & V. Ford (Eds.), Role of Leadership in Facilitating Healing and Renewal in Times of Organizational Trauma and Change (pp. 121-139). IGI Global. http://doi:10.4018/978-1-7998-7016-6.ch007
Professional References
Dr. Lynda Byrd Poller
Clinical Faculty at University of Louisville Organizational Leadership & Learning and Adjunct Faculty at Christopher Newport University
757-291-5601
byrdpoller@gmail.com
Dr. Denelle Wallace
Dean, School of Education at Norfolk State University-Norfolk, Virginia,
757-561-3012
dlwallace@nsu.edu
Dr. Karen Swann
Faculty- Educational Leadership Preparation-Old Dominion University
Karen.Swann@wjccschools.org
540-223-6282
Sundiata Salaam
Senior Director of Leadership Development
(BES) Building Excellent Schools
901-438-7782
sundiatasalaam@gmail.com
Tyler Barnett
Chief Executive Officer
New Schools For Alabama
tyler@newschoolsforalabama.org
Timeline
Adjunct Professor
Vanderbilt University
09.2021 - 12.2023
Chief Schools Officer
New Schools For Alabama
03.2021 - Current
Founder
EdRevolution LLC
01.2020 - 01.2022
Chief Schools Officer
Freedom Preparatory Charter Network
01.2016 - 03.2021
Principal
Westside Achievement Middle School
01.2014 - 01.2016
Educational Entrepreneurs Fellow
TENNESSEE CHARTER SCHOOL CENTER
01.2013 - 01.2015
Assistant Principal
KIPP ACADEMY LYNN
01.2011 - 01.2013
Director of Multicultural
KIPP ACADEMY LYNN, Community Affairs
01.2009 - 01.2010
8th Grade Teacher
KIPP ACADEMY LYNN
01.2007 - 01.2009
History Teacher
Toano Middle School
01.2002 - 01.2007
Doctorate of Educational Leadership & Policy -
Vanderbilt University-Peabody College
Master’s Degree - Educational Leadership
Boston College
Bachelor’s of Arts - Psychology
Hampton University