Dr. Teresa Brown Named New Superintendent of Madison Schools

She comes to Madison from Jennings County

At the July 13, 2022, board meeting the Board of School Trustees approved the hiring of Dr. Teresa A. Brown as the new Superintendent for the district. With over 35 years of diverse experience leading educators at the state, district, and local school level, Brown comes to Madison from Jennings County where she most recently served as the Superintendent for the last five years.

“Dr. Brown has a vast amount of experience in all functional aspects of education and district management,” states David Storie, board President. “We are very fortunate to have someone with her educational background and experiences but also feel very strongly that she will provide the necessary leadership for growth opportunities, development of existing and new programs, reignite energy, innovation, and accountability, and further expand safe, healthy and engaging working and learning environments for everyone who chooses Madison schools.”

Prior to leading the Jennings County school district of 4,200 students, Dr. Brown was the Assistant Superintendent of School Improvement at the Indiana Department of Education. While in this role, she gained essential experience in the fields of leadership, system development and innovation, policy and advocacy experience, finance and budgeting, collaborative relationships, and community involvement. Brown created the Outreach Division of School Improvement where staff provided grassroots support to local schools and districts to improve student achievement. She was responsible for the oversight and compliance of Federal and State policy implementation in eleven departments of the School Improvement Center, which included Outreach, Family and Community Engagement, Grants Management, eLearning, College and Career Readiness, Federal Title programs, Migrant Education, English Learners, Early Learning, District Improvement, and Special Education.

Additionally in her role, she created a number of systems around leadership development, designed the support system for Indiana’s Focus and Priority Schools, created Indiana’s Student Achievement Plan and State Development Network, and collaboratively developed the IDOE strategic plan for the Division of School Improvement.

She has experience in policy and advocacy including funding secured as a result of her work around student achievement results, was appointed as chairperson to lead the Out of School Learning Time Advisory Board, led IDOE staff graduation requirements task force, and co-authored an article to assist school leaders: Decker, J. Brown, T. & Eckes, S. (2017). Student substance abuse and dependency: Legal and ethical responsibilities.

Brown developed budgets and oversights, managed contracts and vendors, was responsible for securing and managing millions of dollars in federal grants and provided technical assistance to principals and superintendents to better understand how to align school goals to federal and state grants to maximize funding and avoid excess carryover of funds.

Throughout her career, collaboration has been a focus regardless of her role. From working with state IDOE and connected departments to ensure they were working together to support school districts to partnering with over 150 community and business partners throughout the state to network and provide support for Indiana schools, Dr. Brown has been committed to finding ways to work together.

While in her role as Principal in various schools, she has had the opportunity to focus on areas that have developed a skill set that will take Madison to the next level. At Thompson Crossing Elementary (Franklin Township Schools), she had the opportunity to dedicate her talents to climate and culture development. At Bob Sikes Elementary (Okaloosa County Schools), professional development took center stage. Frank H. Wheeler Elementary (Speedway City Schools) focused on equity and individualized learning to close student achievement gaps. Cascade Middle School (Mill Creek Community Schools) came with a building project and transformation of a junior high to a middle school. “Dr. Brown’s breadth of experience spanning from the classroom early in her career to the leadership roles in more recent positions, her cross-functionality across operational areas of the district, and focus on collaboration and resource management and development were all strong factors in her selection,” Storie shared. (Dr. Brown’s complete resume is included at the bottom of the release).

Brown graduated from Franklin College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Elementary Education with a minor in Special Education. She earned a Master's degree in School Administration(Principal’s license) from Butler University, an Ed. S. degree in School Administration (Superintendent’s license) from Indiana State University, and an ED.D. in Educational Leadership with a minor in Learning Sciences from Indiana University.

“I am honored to have been selected to lead this district,” Dr. Brown shared. “I look forward to being a part of a district on the move, building upon the work being done, and creating additional opportunities. We are very excited to make our home in Madison and become a part of this beautiful community.” She and her husband Lee have two sons and one daughter. Sam is a teacher at Center Grove Middle School and Max will begin his sophomore year at Purdue University. Caitlin resides in Florida, with their grandson, Will.

THE FULL PRESS RELEASE FROM MCS AND DR. BROWN'S BACKGROUND CAN BE FOUND HERE.