Mr. Brown is the new Assistant Principal of the World Languages Department. The New Dealer was very excited to have the opportunities to interview Mr. Brown about his experiences so far at FDR!.

The New Dealer: You recently joined FDR as an AP, how has the experience been for you, and do you have some highlights so far?

Mr. Brown: Being at FDR has been a good opportunity for me to grow professionally and personally. I love the diversity here at FDR.  Some of the highlights have been the Chinese New Year event and the MBK mixers.  I have really enjoyed getting to know our MLL students.  I was an ENL and Spanish teacher, so I love supervising my departments. They are near and dear to my educational passions.

The New Dealer: As the AP of the World Languages Department, can you explain some of the resources at FDR for students who are multilingual and for students who are ESL or ELL?

Mr. Brown: We have after school tutoring and college clubs (Dreamer Club and SIFE = Students with Interrupted Formal Education). We will be having even more exciting things this spring- such as Financial Planning, Roundabout Theater for MLLs and OSHA / Food Prep training. We will also have a weekly meeting for MLLs to get homework help and learn English, as well as Regents and SAT prep sessions.  

The New Dealer: At FDR, we currently only offer Spanish and Chinese, do you think this will be expanded in the future? Why or why not?

Mr. Brown: At this time, I am not aware of any plans to add more languages, but I would be curious to know which other foreign languages students would like to have.

The New Dealer: I know it has not been easy transitioning from remote learning to full in-person learning again, what are the teachers in the World Languages Department specifically doing to help with this transition?

Mr. Brown: One of the challenges has been getting students to talk in the classroom.  Our teachers have been planning to create lessons that facilitate communication.  I have seen video presentations that are edited with sound and special effects, Socratic seminars, and amazing presentations online using Flip Grid and Actively Learn.  We have some talented students at FDR.

The New Dealer: We recently had the Chinese New Year festival at school. Was that something you were actively part of and how do you think having events like this impacts students at FDR, especially ESL and ELL students?

Mr. Brown: I was part of the Chinese New Year festival. I gave my first speech in Chinese. I was very excited.  I think events like this are very important for all our students. I want to add more celebrations and acknowledgements for the different ethnic groups at FDR.  We can learn so much about one another when we share this way.  With these kinds of events, we get to celebrate our uniqueness and find so many things we have in common.  

Thank you for sitting with us Mr. Brown. Welcome to FDR!