6000+ Thinkers

Luvelle Brown is the 2017 New York State Superintendent of the Year. He has served as Superintendent of the Ithaca City School District (ICSD) in Ithaca, New York since January 2011. Prior to arriving in Ithaca, Dr. Brown had experiences as a teacher, assistant principal, principal, school CIO, and district-level leader in Virginia. During his tenure in Ithaca, the Ithaca City School District has experienced unprecedented levels of success. The ICSD graduation rate has skyrocketed from 78% to above 94% while students are reaching unprecedented levels of performance including an 8% increase in enrollment and diversity in higher-level courses, an 8% increase in attendance, a 53% increase in enrollment inco-curricular programs, a 6% increase in number of students reading on-grade level k-5, a 63% reduction in discipline referrals, and a reduction of the district’s Special Education classification rate from significantly above state average (14.8%) to significantly below (11.6%). Specific school achievements include Northeast Elementary being named a National Blue Ribbon School, and 2 elementary schools have been recognized as a New York State Reward School. Also, Ithaca High School has moved from being on the New York State School in Need of Improvement (SINI) list to being recently recognized with GOLD distinction by Newsweek placing in the top 2% of schools in the United States.

Early in his tenure, Dr. Brown facilitated a community wide strategic planning process that resulted in a new vision and mission. Conversations in homes, community centers, places of worship and other local settings informed the vision of "6000+ Thinkers" and mission to "Engage. Educate. Empower." The newly informed vision and mission has led to district-wide initiatives based on systems thinking including: integrating thinking skills into every classroom, shifting the organizational design towards a systemic approach, redesign of learning spaces, and numerous technology initiatives such as systems-based visual mapping, game-based learning, innovative uses of social media, and 1:1 mobile device implementation.

The state and national recognitions for the ICSD and Dr. Brown have highlighted one of the best educational stories in the USA. Recently, Ithaca High School was placed on the AP Honor Roll by the College Board for increasing the number of students enrolled, increasing diversity, and increasing achievement on AP tests. Another recognition for the school district includes being named by the National Association of Music Merchants Foundation as one of the nation's Best Communities for Music Education. Remarkable quantitative and qualitative achievement results have attracted visitors from around the globe. The ICSD has hosted national conferences and site visits for school board members, superintendents, administrators, and teachers from 3 different continents, 37 different states, and numerous school districts throughout New York State.