Brown Elementary School - Brownsburg, IN

Brown Elementary School serves 680 students in grades kindergarten through five along with all of the Life Skills students in grades K-5 in Brownsburg. As the free and reduced lunch population has increased, Brown Elementary School staff has worked hard to meet the new educational demands. State standardized test scores have increased dramatically and discipline referrals have decreased considerably, which is the opposite of what federal research predicts.

Students with academic struggles receive intervention in the Learning Lab, a small group intervention that gives students extra support in reading and math at a ratio of 6 students: 1 adult. Students dismiss early on Wednesdays so that all certified personnel can meet in Professional Learning Communities (PLC) with their grade levels to analyze student data and make decisions on the instructional needs of students.

Curriculum and instruction is efficient and focused which has allowed for a student-centered and data-driven culture to take hold at Brown. PLC's have transformed the staff into one where ALL students are supported by ALL. Grade level teams work diligently with their colleagues to support and meet the academic and emotional needs of each student.

Brown's Parent Support Group (PSG) is very active, both as a fund-raising arm of the school and as the connection for parent volunteers with roughly 15-40 volunteers coming in to help every day.

Parents and students recognize their school as one that delivers the highest level of instruction, especially during when new challenges have actually yielded exceptional gains in student achievement.