Sitton SchoolGreg Brown's Bio
Where are you from?
I grew up in suburb of Boston called North Reading. I went to college in Boston and spent my late teens-mid twenties living in various parts of Boston and Cambridge.
For how long have you been an educator?
I have taught with PPS for 8 years as both a special education teacher and as a classroom teacher.
For how long have you worked at Sitton?
This is my 4th year at Sitton. In 2009-2010 I taught in a 1st/2nd grade blend, in 2010-2011 I taught 3rd grade, 2011-2012 I taught a 2nd/3rd blend, and I currently teach a 3rd/4th grade blend
Why did you choose to become an educator?
I got my undergraduate degree in media arts and had planned on pursuing a career in the music industry. I spent the early part of my twenties playing music, doing live sound at clubs, working at studios, and selling music recording equipment.
In my mid 20s, it started to become clear that this wasn’t the direction I wanted my life to go, so I started to make some changes. I had some experience working with children in summer day camp settings. These experiences were very positive, so thought I would explore a career in education.
I became a paraprofessional in a Boston Public School that served kids with severe social/emotional impairments, and I simultaneously started to work on my Masters in Special Ed. Two years later, I earned my degree and was hired to teach with Portland Public Schools.
What is your favorite part of your job?
There are so many!
I like greeting every single one of my students at the door each morning with a fist-bump. They usually have big smiles and are eager to get the day started. Most of them like to update me on something that happened since school ended the previous day: "My tooth fell out," "My cat peed on my book," "My team won last night," etc...
What do you like to do when you're not teaching?
In the summer, I operate an arts-based summer day camp called Deer Fern.
When I'm not in the classroom or running a camp, I enjoy cycling, gardening, record collecting, listening to music, and hiking.
photo by Lorarsia
