MAYFIELD HEIGHTS, Ohio —25-year-old Jalen Brown appears to be on a fast track, as he's already shifted from being a teacher to assistant principal, and now soon-to-be school board member.
- Gen Z and Millennials recently elected to seats on various boards, will take office soon
- 25 year old Jalen Brown is a former student and teacher from the district, and now he’s an assistant principal at Lander Elementary School
- In January, he'll begin serving on the Maple Heights Board of Education in Cuyahoga county
Although things are moving quickly, Brown says he just wants to make sure that students succeed, regardless of how much he succeeds.
Lander Elementary School Assistant Principal Jalen Brown starts his morning rounds of checking in on students and teachers.
The recent master of education graduate and first-year principal says doing what he calls "climate checks" helps him to know how the rest of the day might go and how he should handle it.
While this is a part of the former teacher's daily routine, he says it's a team effort.
"It's my expectation that everybody's hands-on-deck, and trying to build up the education with our students, not just the teachers. You know, so we're all in education," said Brown.
Heading into the cafeteria where dozens of students are working, Brown sits down to help one young girl who’s stumped on a math problem.
Continuing to work through the problems, his passion to help kids grow is evident.
After graduating early from college, he says the chance to lobby for teachers on Capitol Hill and completing a Teacher's Academy project, shaped his view and showed him that passion.
But it was seeing his minority peers struggle while in school that prompted him to pursue administration, so that he could make a bigger difference.
Taking a short break from rounds, he makes sure students and teachers hit academic goals.
"Then I can just hold teachers accountable and making sure that students who are not meeting their minutes in their usage, they actually get that accomplished," said Brown.
He admits being an assistant principal is a lot of hard work, but soon his role will be expanding.
"Managing all these different systems and people...producing outcomes is what I call it," Brown said.
Doing a little troubleshooting throughout the day, Brown is set to begin work on the Maple Heights School Board come January —
"I think the next thing you need to do is have a plan to move forward," said Brown.
Making him the youngest person yet to serve.
Calling teachers to help students get back on track, Brown's looking forward to the challenge even while he handles a few student challenges.
Ultimately, Brown says he just wants to support leadership and help build transparency between the school board and community so that all students can thrive.
Brown, who is a former Maple Heights student, will officially start his new position in January, while still serving as the assistant principal at Lander Elementary School.
