By:LARRY MAIER
Ladies and gentleman, coming soon to a middle school near you Mr. James Brown.
No, not the Godfather of Soul James Brown. This James C. Brown comes to Baldwin from Brooklyn, where he is currently the principal at the Mahalia Jackson Middle School. Next year he will be the new principal at the Baldwin Middle School, replacing Raymond Duffy White who is retiring at the end of this semester after serving as the middle school's principal for 12 years.
Brown, 36, has been a middle school administrator for seven years, working as an assistant principal at the Maggie L. Walker Middle School and serving as co-principal at the Jackie Robinson Middle School, both in Crown Heights. Before that, he taught junior high math for five years.
And while James C. Brown may not have the thunderous voice of the Grammy winner, he will certainly have plenty to say about how to develop and improve the Baldwin Middle School.
Brown believes that middle school should be a setting where all kinds of learning take place. Middle school should be a place where children achieve and learn at their highest level, said Brown, a former engineer who resides in Elmont. But it should also be a place where children grow socially and emotionally.
Brown feels that a good middle school should provide a safe haven where students are comfortable discussing the issues that concerns them in their lives. A good middle school should also provide opportunities at leadership, a glimpse into the work place and have room for non-academic subjects like home economics and technology.
Background in engineering
Brown almost didn't become an educator; having graduated from Brooklyn Polytechnic University in 1987 with a degree is Industrial Engineering. He worked in the engineering field for a year and a half in the late 80's.
During college, Brown became involved with a mentoring program and encouraged inner city youths to get involved with math and sciences. It was then that Brown first got the bug to teach.
I fought the feeling for a while, said Brown of the urge to become a teacher. I was working long hours and making good money as an engineer but I decided I wanted to work long hours and change lives.
After five years of teaching math, Brown decided he wanted to make another change, this time to school administration.
I wanted to make a greater impact then I could in the classrooms, said Brown. As an administrator I felt I could affect more lives.
As a principal, Brown said his job is to be a leader, to set forth the middle school vision and put the team together that can make that vision a reality.
Brown said his strengths as an administrator will be put to good use in Baldwin. I am extremely determined and directed. I believe in collaboration and team building. That's something that I definitely look forward to bringing to the Baldwin Middle School, Brown said.
Brown will spend the next couple of months learning more about the culture of BMS, and meeting parents, faculty and staff.
He said he is impressed with the Baldwin community's support for the school district and with the middle school itself. Brown praised Principal White for the work he has done. He will leave a fine legacy of a student-centered school that I want to build upon, Brown said.
But Brown also said he recognizes that there is more work to be done, specifically with test scores. The Math scores are not where I'd like to see them. That's something that I definitely want to take a closer look at, Brown said.
