The Brown School

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This article is about the public school in Louisville, Kentucky. For other uses, see Brown School (disambiguation).

The J. Graham Brown School, or The Brown School as it's usually called, is a small public school located in downtown Louisville, Kentucky, USA. It has approximately 600 students in kindergarten through 12th grade classes and readily attracts students (and teachers) from all over Louisville. It is a part of the Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) system.

One of the distinguishing characteristics of this school is the "informal" and relaxed atmosphere. Students can call their teachers by their first names, sit on couches, and participate in open-forum discussions (where appropriate). In addition to this, the standard science lab and math classes occur (without the couches) but again with a progressive and inclusive feel. Some of the other unique features are extensive community interactions, cross-age groupings, and a highly diverse student population.

Brown is also one of the few high schools in the city to allow its students leave to get lunch outside of the school, a college credit program and a work-study program.

1 History
2 Mission
3 Notable Alumni
4 External links

[edit] History

The Brown School opened in 1972 with approximately 300 students in grades 3-12.

The founding director of the school was the late Martha Ellison, a former English teacher and native of Murray, Kentucky, who counted among her former students Pulitzer prizewinning author Marsha Norman. Ellison insisted that the Brown School would be "not just a school for 'winners.'" She personally selected the teaching staff, and was responsible for shaping the school's direction and focus on a diverse student population. A hands-on administrator as well as educational theorist, it was commonly said of Ellison that she knew each of the 600 students by name.

The school's first location was in the Brown Hotel, classes being held in the lobby, grill and grand ballroom the first half of the first year. After Christmas vacation students returned to classes in the Brown Building, above the Macauley Theater, a ten-story office building on the north side of Broadway between Third Street and the River City Mall (Fourth Avenue.) The lower nine floors of the building were renovated to accommodate the school, with administrative offices occupying sections of the fourth and sixth floors of the adjacent Brown Hotel, at that time also owned by the Jefferson County Public Schools system. In the summer of 1980, when the hotel and office buildings were sold for renovation, the school moved to occupy half of the Theodore Ahrens Vocational School building at 546 S. First Street.

Following the move to the Ahrens building, the Brown School added Grade 2 and Grade 1, in consecutive years, to its program.

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[edit] Mission

The mission of The Brown School is to recognize, respect and foster the unique potential of each student in an informal environment which reflects the diversity of our community...though the current administration seems not to care too much about it.