After over 20 years and various roles within the Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD), Christopher Brown has wrapped up his time in Long Beach.
Brown served as LBUSD’s Assistant Superintendent of Research for 21 years, gathering and presenting important data regarding student academics and wellbeing. He was one of Superintendent Jill Baker’s first appointed members.
“I had supervised him previously when he was a school principal and director and it was a pleasure to work with Chris. He’s very bright and brings innovative thinking to his work,” Baker said.
The assistant superintendent of research leads a team of about 20 people within the research office and works with other departments and state and other officials around data. Baker said the ideal candidate is someone skilled in setting goals and targets across different sets of data.
The assistant superintendent of research also presents data findings at board meetings. In August 2022, the board of education switched to a student outcomes-focused agenda which makes space during meetings for presentations highlighting student data. Parents and community members can find past presentations from the research team at the district website.
Brown, whose official last day at LBUSD was June 30th, began his work at the Capistrano Unified School District (CUSD) on July 1. CUSD is Orange County’s largest school district serving nearly 50,000 students.
Brown said he wasn’t necessarily looking to leave Long Beach, but it was more so a “right opportunity at the right time” situation. What appealed to him the most was that CUSD was looking for someone long-term.
“I want to spend a long time like I have at Long Beach in another district working to try and help the district continue to improve. I don’t want to jump around.”
Christopher Brown
“I want to spend a long time like I have at Long Beach in another district working to try and help the district continue to improve. I don’t want to jump around,” Brown said.
Brown was also involved in planning for the transition period.
“I’m leaving the research office in a position where they’ve got some leadership for the transition and some plans to help onboard whoever district leadership decides to hire,” Brown said.
Brown said during the interim transition, the research department will be supported by executive cabinet members Tiffany Brown and Christopher Lund, as well as a member of the current research leadership staff that worked alongside him.
“Long Beach has a lot of very talented leaders at the helm, from Dr. Baker to the executive cabinet, so I don’t feel like I’m leaving Long Beach in a lurch or anything like that and so it kind of gives me this sort of freedom to explore another option,” Brown said.
The district hopes to find Brown’s replacement internally. Applications closed Friday, June 30 and Baker said interviews will take place throughout July. The district hopes to select someone by the July 26 board meeting.
“We are looking for someone who has demonstrated leadership, knows schools well and has a command of data in a way that can be innovative,” Baker said.
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