St. Pius X welcomed Mr. Spencer Brown to the English Department in January.

Originally from Tulsa, Oklahoma, Mr. Brown moved to Atlanta nine years ago and taught most recently at DeKalb School of the Arts. He said one reason he decided to teach at St. Pius was because of its “spiritually-centered environment” and easier commute, leaving him with more time for his wife and son.

In his free time, Mr. Brown said he is also a musician, primarily playing the drums and guitar.

“I spend much time and thought working on my craft,” he said. He also loves to bike on the BeltLine and Greenway trails with his family.

“Atlanta’s landscape reminds my wife and me of Tulsa, where we grew up. We can’t imagine living somewhere without trees, and there’s no shortage of those in Atlanta” he said, adding that he could do without the traffic, though.

So far he’s enjoyed teaching at St. Pius and feels very welcomed by both the faculty and students, however, there is one downside. 

“My only slight worry is that the SAGE dining selections I’ve had thus far are going to make it extra hard for me to be vigilant about my waistline. The food is phenomenal!” he exclaimed.

One notable addition that Mr. Brown has brought to St. Pius is a pen pal project that connects his Power of Speech class with elementary students at St. Peter Claver in Decatur. Each high schooler gets paired with a 5th or 6th grader, and they write letters back and forth to each other a couple of times each month.

Mr. Brown started this project 20 years ago when he was teaching high school in Tulsa. He partnered with his mom (then an elementary school teacher) and created a pen pal project between her elementary school kids and his seniors. 

“We figured if they got to choose what they write about and to whom they got to write, they would enjoy that more,” Mr. Brown explained.

St. Peter Claver’s 5th and 6th grade teacher Mrs. Breanna Johnson-Anderson, who graduated from St. Pius in 2011, agreed with Mr. Brown. She said she aimed to introduce her class of 20 students to the joy of writing and to the St. Pius community.

“This is a fun assignment that doesn’t seem to be as tedious as writing a long, drawn-out formal English paper. I wanted my student to learn more about SPX and the wonderful students who go there!” Mrs. Johnson-Anderson said.

Having pen pals not only helps with students’ reading and writing skills, but it also builds relationships between the two age groups.

“They think it is ‘SO COOL’ to have these newfound ‘friends’ in high school, who often give insight into issues my students may be going through, talk about their family life, and have similar interests in sports, food, and hobbies,” Mrs. Johnson-Anderson explained.

“I really enjoy the pen pal project because it allows us to connect and talk to someone who is in such a different stage of their life,” senior Erik Kolvereid said. “It has been cool to see how similar but different all of us are.”

According to Mr. Brown, “The most important part of the whole project is being a role model and a friend to the kids.”