Our Town Brownfield: New high school leading the way in innovations

BROWNFIELD, Texas (KCBD) - In most places, spring break is normally spent at the beach or on a road trip. In Brownfield, that week was spent moving into a brand new high school.

“The whole process was a challenge,” said Chris Smith, Brownfield ISD superintendent. “We actually broke ground in January of 2020. Of course, we all know what happened in March of 2020, and so the challenge kind of took hold right from the beginning, but with dedication of the workers and our community coming together, we were able to get it done, and get moved in two years.”

Not only is the building and everything inside new, there’s also a ‘new attitude’ and culture inside the walls.

“We’ve been able to do some great things academically. We’ve got garnered some recognition for the gains that we’ve made and the programming that we have,” Smith said.

One of the new innovations is a course which allows students to pilot drones inside a classroom.

“We’re proud to say that back in September, the Commissioner of Education came to Brownfield ISD to see what we were doing here because our data was really strong and improving, and considering our demographics, it was powerful,” he said.

Smith started his education career two decades ago as a coach and teacher in Brownfield. Just recently, he finished his fourth year as superintendent.

“One of our mantras that we have right now is “C US Rise”, and the “C” being our Cubs’ “C” here, and so our getting our team to buy in, or teachers to buy in, and even our community to buy in, has really become a really a rallying call in our community.”

This resurgence in school spirit has spread within the community.

“I’m just very proud of what’s going on. I’m proud of our school. Our facilities are top notch, our kids are top notch, our teacher are top notch, and it’s just a great time to be a Cub right now.”

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