Rob Brown is new to his role as superintendent at the Twin Rivers district, but he is no stranger to the public education system.
Brown brings with him 22 years of educational experience. Prior to his role as superintendent, he served as the Twin Rivers head basketball coach for four years, as well as the principal of Aurora High School in Aurora, Missouri, for six years.
“So it’s been a great learning curve. I think being in the district previously has kind of helped me. I already had some relationships established with some people and just gathering information every day is a learning experience,” said Brown.
The Twin Rivers district has experienced a lot of changes recently, from new building principals to a new superintendent and a new four-day class schedule.
“When we had our back-to-school meetings, it seemed like there was a really positive aura in the room,” said Brown. “Things have been kind of tough over here for a while and we’re just trying to get on the right track and get the district headed in the right direction.”
The newest and probably most substantial change that Twin Rivers has seen in recent years has been the transition to a four-day school schedule. Upon further discussion with Brown, he said Aurora had made the transition to a four-day schedule during his time as principal there, “in other areas, that four-day week is a lot more prevalent than it is in Southeast Missouri.”
Brown said the schedule had worked well for his previous school and he believes the overall outlook for the four-day schedule to be primarily positive.
“I think one of our biggest challenges and the one thing that worries me on the four-day week is the threat of floods in the spring and having to use over our (severe weather) days and maybe have to tack on a few days in the end. It’s always a gamble in this area, just from that geographical standpoint,” said Brown.
A shortage of teaching staff has been a serious issue for many schools, along with the recent hurdles of COVID restrictions.
“We had to hire a couple of full-time substitutes to fill some positions and our sub list is a little short, a little smaller than it used to be,” said Brown. “So, we’re always looking for subs. Right now, if someone doesn’t have 60 hours and they’re willing to take the frontlines to substitute teaching course... We will pay.
“If they will take the course, get certified and do their background check, if they serve in the district for five days, we will reimburse them for their class, their background check and certification fee.”
He went on to say every day is a challenge in public education.
“We just tackle each issue as we can. We’re just looking for ways we can improve our district, help our employees and hopefully next year we can retain the vast majority of our employees and not continue with this shortage,” said Brown.