AUBURN — Schools Superintendent Cornelia Brown will retire at the end of the school year, she announced on the school department website Friday afternoon.

“It has been my great pleasure to serve as the Auburn School Department Superintendent of Schools,” Brown wrote in her announcement. “As many of you know, both of my parents taught in the Auburn School Department for many years and always spoke very highly of the community, its schools, and the wonderful people who call Auburn home. My experience here in Auburn has been similar to theirs. At this time, I would like to share with you that I am retiring at the end of the 2023-2024 school year.”

Brown had served as superintendent in Augusta and Winthrop before coming to Auburn in 2020. She also has been a classroom teacher, an elementary school principal, a Title 1 director, an assistant superintendent and director of a nonprofit organization.

During her years in Auburn, she helped guide the school system through the complexities of the COVID-19 pandemic and also saw student scores rise during her tenure.

“The assiduous efforts of the staff ensured that our students did not lose any academic ground during the pandemic,” she said. “In fact, we raised the achievement scores of our students by more than 40 points.

“I have been extremely fortunate to have worked with wonderful staff members who give so selflessly to their students and who are committed to a vision of high expectations for student achievement,” she wrote. “The Auburn School Committee has been incredibly supportive of my work and it has been my experience that they are properly focused on policies that improve the educational experience for all of our students. Admirably, they have been able to set aside differences and work together as a united team, something often seen as a rarity among other school committees.”

Brown said she felt fortunate to have been a part of some important milestones, “including the construction of a new Edward Little High School and raising its graduation rate from 72% to 92%.”

She praised Phil Crowell as “easily one of the best city managers I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with” and described him as “a wonderful collaborator.”

“It has been a great honor to work here in Auburn. I wish the community continued success in the future,” Brown wrote.

Crowell commended Brown for the amount of things she achieved during her  years with the school department.

“Dr. Brown has been an amazing superintendent for the Auburn School Department,” the city administrator wrote. “We both started our new positions at the same time so we were able to kick off a great relationship between the school and the city. During her tenure, our management teams have been able to explore efficiencies which has enhanced the level of services being provided and reduced costs to the taxpayers.

“Connie understands the concept of teamwork,” Crowell said. “Her strength and leadership have been on full display during the design and construction of the State of Maine’s premier high school; as they were when she led our teachers and students back into the schools following the pandemic. She has reduced the budget while producing incredible results with improved graduation rates and testing scores. Auburn has been fortunate that Dr. Cornelia Brown chose our city as the last stop in her successful career as an educator and administrator. Auburn students, staff, and parents will miss her.”

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