Since his childhood, there have been no shortage of people telling Owen Brown to “dress for the job you want.”

Brown wants to one day be a school district superintendent, and his daily dapper — a suit and tie or, at minimum, a blazer with a dress shirt and pants — send this message loud and clear to his students and colleagues at Starkville High School.

But the second-year teacher’s appearance goes beyond proclaiming his own aspirations. It’s also one of the many ways he tries to resonate with his students each day.

“A classroom should be a show of your personality,” Brown said. “I want my students to remember me as someone who was always dressed nice, always had a haircut and was always funny. I also want them to feel like my class is a happy, safe space for them where they are always cared for.”

Brown joined the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District in 2021, bringing his “edgy,” “entertaining” and admittedly sometimes “sarcastic” delivery to the College and Career Readiness curriculum. His efforts and their results were duly noted, as the district honored him as its New Teacher of the Year.

This year, Brown is teaching U.S. History, a subject that lends plenty of material to reaching his students where they are.

“I always try to throw in little nuggets I know students might be interested in to help connect the lesson to (today’s) world,” he said. “Some of my students may be interested in investing or the economy. Well, I can take examples like The Great Depression or (the recession of) 2008 and compare it to what is happening today.”

Brown also serves as assistant intercession coordinator for secondary schools (grades 8-12), a job necessitated by the district’s move to a modified schedule this year. Students started classes in July and will continue through June. As a result, there are longer breaks in the fall and spring, but students who need remediation or enrichment can take advantage of intercessions during those breaks.

Brown’s fast rise to such a leadership position comes as no surprise to Cynthia Thomas, a veteran U.S. History and Government teacher who served as Brown’s mentor last year.

“He came in with a sense of purpose, dedication and determination,” Thomas said. “I’ve never seen a young teacher, fresh out of college, doing what he has in a year’s time.”

A Jackson native, Brown cultivated his interest in teaching by watching his grandmother, who taught 30 years in Rankin County. After graduating from Jim Hill High School, he went to Mississippi State, where his mother had earned a degree in mechanical engineering.

Brown earned a bachelor’s in sociology and is completing his master’s in education. He also is trying to earn a specialist degree in teacher leadership, which he hopes will forge his path to administration and ultimately becoming a superintendent.

“I feel like that’s the position where you can make the ultimate difference in education,” Brown said. “You can inspire not only students, but faculty, staff and all the stakeholders in a community.”

Until then, he makes his impact at SHS, either as the “go-to” guy for his colleagues or in assembling what is the “puzzle” of teaching students. The latter sometimes finds him seeking counsel from his fellow teachers.

“Every puzzle can be put together,” Brown said. “If I cannot reach a child in (a particular) moment, maybe a coworker who has had this student in their class was able to reach and motivate them.”

Even then, teachers often face challenging situations that are beyond their control, Brown said. Maybe it’s a student’s home life, food insecurity or myriad other personal life elements that factor into classroom success.

“The hardest thing is when you see a student’s potential and they can’t,” Brown said. “So you intervene. They agree with and they know what you’re telling them, but something still keeps them from doing it. So many personal dynamics can affect classroom achievement. It’s like they know better, but sometimes they still can’t see themselves doing better.”

In those moments, frustrating as they are, Brown has learned from his colleagues — and increasingly from his own experience — to focus on the positive.

“Some kids come here already ready, and some need a little push,” he said. “The successes of some students give us the fuel to keep helping the others.”

Zack Plair is the managing editor for The Dispatch.

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