Frederick Brown
President | CEO
Frederick Brown is Learning Forward’s president | CEO. Fred is an education visionary who knows firsthand that our nation’s schools need transformational change if we are to meet the challenges of the next decades. Fred advocates that every child deserves to reach their highest potential and every educator must have the opportunity to participate in exemplary, ongoing, professional learning programs to provide students the skills needed to meet their unique needs. Supporting educators at all levels and improving student achievement are through lines of Fred's career. An elementary school teacher, a middle school assistant principal, and school principal, Fred saw firsthand the impact high-leverage instructional practices and school culture have on school success. Fred is a frequent speaker on leadership and building high-quality learning in schools. He has co-authored two books that have made significant contributions to the field of education, demonstrating how a comprehensive approach to professional learning can be achieved so that everyone in a system is a learner, and how principals apply a learning lens to their many critical responsibilities to create a productive climate for learning and collaboration. "Becoming a Learning System" and "The Learning Principal -- Becoming a Learning Leader" are time-tested Learning Forward resources for schools and leaders. Fred is a Learning Forward Academy graduate and serves as secretary/treasurer on the board of Learning First Alliance.
All Articles
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Intentional connection and community within the Annual Conference
Have you ever been in a room full of people and felt completely alone? I’ve experienced that feeling during several conferences I’ve attended throughout my career. I remember walking into the receptions, plenary sessions, and even small concurrent sessions without knowing a soul and then exiting without having a conversation […] -
New initiative to redesign principal preparation programs
These last few years have been extremely powerful for education leadership. We’ve witnessed the unveiling of the Professional Standards for Educational Leaders, formally the ISLLC Standards. The field also has its first-ever Model Principal Supervisor Professional Standards. Both of these significant contributions to the field come to us thanks in […] -
Changing one’s own practice is a great first step!
Truly changing one’s own practice takes a focused commitment, and the support of a coach can significantly increase the likelihood of success. That’s one of the big takeaways from Learning Forward’s experience facilitating 33 Academy cohorts. For those who are unaware, the Learning Forward Academy is an extended learning experience that immerses […] -
How policy can strengthen the principalship
I recently attended a School Leadership Preparation and Development Network Conference in Chicago, Illinois. During the preconference, Paul Manna talked about his recently released Wallace Foundation-commissioned study, Developing Excellent School Principals to Advance Teaching and Learning: Considerations for State Policy (Manna, 2015). Manna's report addresses several questions, including: What can policymakers do […] -
All it takes is a few risk takers to get people moving
The Learning Forward team had a very successful weekend in Toronto with our Academy cohorts, affiliates, institutes, and board meetings. Our Academy 2017 cohort got off to a great start, and many of the Academy 2016 members shared with us how much their learning is starting to gel. The affiliate […] -
Is the school principalship a doable job? It depends
A few years ago, I attended a State Consortium on Educator Effectiveness meeting in Baltimore co-hosted by the Council of Chief State School Officers and Learning Forward. At the meeting, principals from across the country were asked, "Is your job doable?" Their answers were both passionate and poignant. Although no […] -
Are you learning forward or backward?
Followers of the Learning Forward blog know that we changed our name several years ago from the National Staff Development Council to Learning Forward. Later this year, we'll reach the five-year anniversary of the new name. As I reflect on those years, I think about some of the learning I've […] -
Uninterrupted learning for all
As an elementary teacher in Elyria, Ohio, a small urban district about 30 miles west of Cleveland, I looked forward to asking my students the question all my teachers had asked me that first day of school: "What did you do this summer?" However, I quickly realized that many of […] -
Advancing the standards: Leaders in a learning system
Principals create the conditions for effective teaching and learning that is scaled throughout their buildings and sustained over time. See what a learning system looks like from the perspective of a school leader. -
Advancing the standards: Strike up the band: Lessons in leadership
By Frederick Brown Frederick Brown shares his reflections on his high school band leader, Mr. White, who embodied the Leadership standard of the Standards for Professional Learning by developing capacity for learning and leading, advocating for learning, and creating support systems and structures.
