Ithaca City School District (ICSD) students were surprised to find an interview with Superintendent Luvelle “Big Luve” Brown on the website of popular magazine GQ this week. The article featured a high-definition portrait of Dr. Brown in his signature suit and tie, and outlined the superintendent’s transformative plan for ICSD. In an interview with journalist Wesley Lowery, Dr. Brown announced his plan to transition from a traditional school district to a more progressive model, establishing an agency called the Department of Education and Learning. Instead of the current teaching positions, the department would employ both paid Education Professionals and unpaid Learning Solution Workers, the equivalent of current paraprofessionals such as TAs and substitute teachers. Current ICSD teachers would have to reapply for positions in the new district model, a point of contention between the plan and the teachers’ union’s response.
Brown says the district has battled with the teachers’ union over discipline for problematic teachers in recent years, including one teacher who was caught on an iPhone camera bragging about inadequately preparing students for the AP European History exam, and another who was found to have contaminated district water with pencil lead. Dr. Brown has expressed concern for the quality of teaching, but so far has not enacted any punitive measures.
“This is my 10th year overseeing the district. And at times I feel like I’m the hot twenty-something lifeguard at a public pool that somebody peed in,” he said. “When that happens, you have to scoop a gallon of pee water out, and put fresh water in, and the tank becomes a little less urinated with each gallon. This is a way of demolishing the pool and building condominiums in its place.”
Dr. Brown holds the belief that there is a systemic problem in teaching all over the country. He has adopted abolitionist rhetoric, describing the plan as an effort to abolish teachers without abolishing teaching. According to a report compiled using input from focus groups including both educators and students, most students agree with their superintendent’s assessment. In fact, some want to take it further.
“With the increased district budget needed to build a new model, the superintendent should think about employing police officers to monitor teacher activity,” says Raia Gutman, a prominent Blue Lives Matter supporter at Ithaca High School.
Despite early setbacks, such as the teachers’ union’s hostile response to the proposal, Dr. Brown is confident in the future of the new education agency. He plans to bring the proposal to a vote by the Board of Education, known for its impartiality and reluctance to form personal friendships that hinder its objectivity, and if passed, begin enacting the plan as soon as the marking period ends.
“Everyone wants teachers to perform better when they show up, everybody wants that. What this plan is saying is that we also want teachers to show up less—and that’s a radical thing for a school district and superintendent to do,” Dr. Brown said in the interview. He seems to expect the nation to recognize his progressive actions once again after his initial ascent to notoriety as a master educator, adding, “Fox News will lose their s***.”
APRIL FOOLS’!
