By Ruoshan Dong ’21
Grace Brown joined the school community as the first ever learning specialist. As learning specialist, Brown works with students who have learning differences and provides them with tips and strategies on how to work efficiently and effectively. She divides her time between both campuses, spending two days a week at the Middle School and three days at the Upper School.
“My job is to work at the Middle and Upper School to support students academically…. I work with any student who wants a little help in class or with study strategies [and] organization,” Brown said.
Brown previously worked at Miss Porter’s School in Farmington, Connecticut.  According to her, having a learning specialist is very important to student well-being.
“I’ve been trained to understand how the brain learns, so I can offer that as a resource to
the community, and it’s just one more perspective on learning and support for students,” Brown said.
Learning specialists not only help those with learning difficulties, but they can also help with general study tips.  Brown provided some examples of strategies she would recommend.
“Know how your brain works and experiment with strategies for memorization, note taking, writing.  Get help when something feels difficult,” she said.
Brown also offered a word of advice for students struggling with their workload.
“[Create] a schedule and [make] sure that you are putting in things that you want to do, not just homework. Make sure you have balance, and schedule time to do what you need to do… and have it all in one place,” Brown said.
Brown seems to be enjoying her time at the school so far.
“Everyone I’ve met is so friendly, and the students are really driven and want to do well… it’s a great environment to be working in… the faculty here are very helpful and caring, and want to take care of the students,” Brown said.
According to faculty and staff, Brown is proving to be a useful asset to the school community.
“We all could use a little more Grace Brown in our lives,”  school psychologist Kelly Decker joked.