District 57 chief will leave in spring

Mount Prospect Elementary District 57 Superintendent Bruce Brown will end his tenure next spring, after serving the district for seven years.

Brown, 60, said it's time for him to move onto other ventures. That leaves the board on the search for a new leader by July 1.

Brown expects to spend the first months of his retirement with his family but will then consider teaching at a university or consulting for other districts, he said.

He said he decided to retire now instead of signing another contract for three to five years.

"I think 38 years plus (in education) is plenty of time doing this," he said. "I've decided to go out on top of my game."

Brown began his career at Hess Upper Grade Center on Chicago's West Side. He's also been a principal at Link School in Elk Grove Village and Lincoln Hall in Lincolnwood.

"I have seen both ends ... in the inner city schools in a challenging environment and working in the suburbs," he said. "It's easy to improve things when it's so awful but coming to the suburbs where things are really good was a challenge. It's a much greater challenge trying to go from good to great than from bad to good."

Brown said he's most proud of increases in student achievement scores while he was superintendent.

Illinois standard achievement test scores rose from 84 percent on composite scores for math and reading to 93 percent of students meeting or exceeding standards.

"I attribute that to the teachers and administration team," he said. "It has been a great group of people to work with."