Like father, like son: Two generations of assistant principals in Groton
Groton — When Robert Brown filled in as an interim assistant principal of a school, even if it was just for a few weeks, he’d take the yearbook home and study the faces so he could greet students by name.
Now his son is taking a lesson from his father.
Matthew Brown, the new assistant principal of Robert E. Fitch High School, brought the yearbook home with him and will start paging through it this weekend.
Matthew Brown said his father offered him this advice: “Every decision has to be based on what is best for the student. I think if you just follow that, you can’t make a wrong decision.”
Both father and son spent their educational careers at Fitch.
Robert Brown, 73, started as a history teacher at the high school in 1967. He served as head of the social studies department from 1976 until 1979, then became an assistant principal. He held that post until he retired in 2003.
Matthew Brown, 37, was hired as a math teacher at the high school in 2003, after completing an internship. He served as math department head for about three years and filled in as interim assistant principal for about four months last year. He took the assistant principal’s job this summer.
He said he saw at a young age the impact his father had. Robert Brown kept himself visible in school, something that resonated with students.
Matthew Brown grew up in Stonington, played Little League and football, and got to know the students from Fitch who knew his father.
“It seemed like every time I came into contact with a kid at Fitch, they always talked about how fair my dad was," Matthew Brown said. "He was everywhere. He did a lot of discipline but he didn’t just discipline; he genuinely cared about what was going on in their lives.”
Robert Brown also served as director of Groton Adult Education from 1988 until 2004, which allowed him to follow struggling students. “I didn’t want them dropping out of school,” he said.
"I think I was fair and consistent. And I think I was a good listener," Robert Brown said. "I think those are important qualities with students. That you listen to their concerns. Students know what you're thinking. They can size you up pretty fast."
As a high school administrator, the senior Brown had the nickname "Brown Bear." Students didn't call him that to his face, but he knew he had the name.
"Maybe because I was roaming a lot," he said.
Father and son also coached sports at the school. Robert Brown coached junior varsity basketball in 1967 and 1968; his son coached freshman basketball from 2002 until 2010.
Robert Brown started tennis as a varsity sport at Fitch in the early 1970s, then coached it until he became assistant principal. Matthew Brown coached tennis in 2004 and for the last several years.
Matthew Brown's siblings also went into teaching.
His older brother, Christopher, teaches math at an international school in the Middle East; his sister, Laura Hoinsky, works as a special education teacher at Mary Morrisson Elementary School in Groton.
“There were plenty of times when we were in (our father's) office growing up playing teacher,” Brown said of him and his siblings.
Matthew Brown’s wife, Allison Brown, teaches first grade at Pleasant Valley Elementary School.
The grandchildren also have caught the education bug.
At a family gathering this summer, Matthew Brown said, "All of our kids were playing teacher and my youngest said, 'I'm the assistant principal.'"
As assistant principal this fall, his role will focus on instruction and curriculum. He plans to visit classrooms as much as possible, and to continue holding "educational rounds" at Fitch, similar to the medical rounds done in a hospital.
During rounds, groups of teachers visit eight to 10 classrooms for 10 minutes each and observe what students are doing. Then the teachers gather as a group and discuss what they observed, what's working and what might be done differently.
Robert Brown said his son doesn't need his advice as he starts his new role. But Matthew Brown said he's asked for it, and received some sensible words from his father.
“The time to do your office work is at the end of the day as much as possible,” Matthew Brown said. “To be in the hallways, be in the classrooms, be in the cafeteria, greet students as much as you can. Be at athletic events, be at concerts. Just care for the students. And he did an outstanding job at that.”
Comment threads are monitored for 48 hours after publication and then closed.