ANDERSON – A few words from Lennon Brown eventually get around to a conundrum engraved on a plaque in his office.

“Everybody wants to get to heaven, but nobody wants to die.”

The man who will serve as interim superintendent after 36 years with Anderson Community Schools laughs that he’s gotten calls congratulating him, and calls asking why he’d give up retirement for this.

Fast with such soft-spoken wit, Brown just as quickly turns serious when he talks about the challenges and opportunities facing the school system.

“I will attack this position with all the energy and enthusiasm I’ve ever had,” he said during an interview Thursday. “Do we have problems? All school systems do.”

The ACS board last week appointed Brown as interim superintendent to take the place of Mikella Lowe, who will retire July 1. The system is continuing to search for a permanent superintendent.

Lowe brought Brown with her as her assistant superintendent when she took the ACS leadership post. She previously had been a teacher at Highland High School when Brown was principal.

“I learned some pretty good lessons from him,” Lowe said. “He’s very thoughtful about things, and he works as hard as he can at everything.”

Brown, 62, admits a strong work ethic. He said he didn’t take lunch during his years at Highland: “My relief during the day was to leave my office and talk to the kids.” Students perform better, he said, “if they know you, trust you, and believe in you.”

One of the drawbacks of his new job will be less of that kind of contact, but he still plans to spend lunch hours visiting schools and talking with students.

Even such involvement goes only so far, he stressed. “We have 180 days a year to impact students academically. ... I need parents to be more active in the lives of these students.”

Brown noted that in early grades, parental involvement is higher, and tends to decline when students enter middle and high school. But those times can be crucial in a child’s education.

“We need parents to come in with an open mind,” he said. “Have the desire to go look and ask questions.”

Brown said that, at ACS, “We do a good job doing our jobs, but we don’t sing our song loudly enough. There are a lot of good things happening that don’t get out.

“I do think we have an excellent array of offerings for our kids. I contend our kids who follow the academic curriculum can go anywhere with success.”

Anderson Community Schools’ problems are well documented. Brown said: “I don’t like our suspension rate, our expulsion rate; I don’t like our ISTEP scores.

“But it all happens down here,” he said, lowering his hand to the level of a very young child. Students who are prepared for school at an early age are far ahead of those who are not, he said, and the result is often an achievement gap.

“We treat them all as if they can succeed,” he said. “And we bridge the gap."