Ohio educator, Dr. Landon Brown, principal at Emerson Academy, is bringing 22 years of experience and an enthusiastic attitude to inspire remarkable academic change at his school. Dr. Brown was recently highlighted by the Ohio Coalition for Quality Education, an advocacy group that supports public charter schools, for the dramatic improvements his school is making.
Dr. Brown has been a driving force for the school’s significant growth on the Ohio state report card, moving from an F grade to an overall C grade. Emerson Academy is one of only three schools in Dayton to advance two letter grades in one academic year.
This dramatic shift comes after Dr. Brown joined the school only two years ago. Prior to joining Emerson Academy, he led another NHA school, Stambaugh Charter Academy in Youngstown, Ohio for four years. Dr. Brown shared that he is motivated to do this work because of his students. He loves seeing his students’ smiling faces as they are engaged in learning.
“I love seeing the ‘light bulb’ go off when the students learn a new concept and use it in an engaged, learning environment,” said Dr. Landon Brown. “The students truly keep me young at heart.”
Emerson also earned a B grade in gap-closing on the state report. “This illustrates the school's performance in closing the achievement gap between diverse subgroups,” said Dr. Brown. The school also has outperformed the local district on the state test for the last five years.
“The work taking place at Emerson is truly a collective effort from staff, parents, and students,” said Dr. Brown. “All stakeholders are engaged in cooperative efforts to raise student achievement and implementing the best strategies for student success. It truly takes a village.”
Dr. Brown’s high-level of enthusiasm adds to the improvements being made at Emerson. Reflecting on a memory, he shared that at a pep-rally, which was intended to motivate students to do their best on the Ohio state tests, he went into a “dancing frenzy” that ended in a cartwheel and splits.
“I'm still sore from that day,” joked Dr. Brown. “The kids got ‘pumped up’ and excited for the state tests, which led to improved progress from our students.”
Prior to joining NHA, Dr. Brown worked at a school district in Atlanta, Georgia for 16 years as a teacher and as an administrator at the middle and high school levels. “I am now in my 22nd year in education,” said Dr. Brown. “I spent four years serving as a middle school math teacher, six years as an assistant principal at the middle and high school levels and am currently in my 12th year as a school principal.”
Dr. Brown shared that he uses a quote by Oprah Winfrey to inspire his students, "do what you have to do until you can do what you want to do." He also shared that “students should never grow tired of doing the right thing as they will surely reap the benefits if they continue to do good work.”
Great work Dr. Brown and Emerson Academy staff and students!
About Emerson Academy
Emerson Academy of Dayton is a tuition-free, public charter school in Dayton, Ohio, serving students in kindergarten through eighth grade. It is part of the National Heritage Academies network, which includes more than 100 tuition-free, public charter schools serving more than 65,000 students in kindergarten through 12th grade across nine states. For more information, visit nhaschools.com.
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