Doyle excited and ready to come to Longmeadow

Date: 3/22/2010

March 22, 2010

By Courtney Llewellyn

Reminder Assistant Editor



LONGMEADOW -- Marie Doyle said she is excited to become the superintendent of Longmeadow Public Schools.

Doyle was selected by the School Committee as the best candidate to fill the position being vacated by current superintendent E. Jahn Hart, who is retiring at the end of the 2009-10 school year.

Serving as the superintendent of Carlisle Public Schools, which serves students in kindergarten through eighth grade, since 2004, Doyle said she applied to become the head of the Longmeadow schools because it is an "outstanding system, it has a strategic plan, and Longmeadow is in a position to lead nationally with technology."

"As technology moves at lightning speed, it is crucial that our students not only possess strong literacy and math skills, but also develop strong critical thinking skills for research, problem solving and creativity," Doyle said of her educational philosophy. "Our future graduates need to be competent as innovators, problem solvers and global citizens as well as prepared in language, science, technology, math, engineering, finance, civics and media."

During an interview with the School Committee, she said she considers her work in integrating new technology into the Carlisle schools, including starting afterschool science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) programs one of her most important accomplishments.

Doyle started her career in education in 1982 as a teacher in Belmont and Lowell before becoming a curriculum specialist and assistant principal in Foxborough, then a principal in Newton and finally a superintendent in Carlisle.

"I love working with children and education seemed like a perfect thing to do," Doyle told Reminder Publications. She added that she was encouraged by her principal in Belmont to pursue an administrative position.

"I thought being an administrator would be interesting and challenging," Doyle said. "I like working with the bigger picture ideas."

Those ideas have included three previous school building projects, including one in Carlisle that Doyle said is currently in the same phase that the Longmeadow High School project is in.

She added that she's not worried about coming into a district with a high school. "Larry [Berte, LHS principal] is an excellent principal, and I feel I'll make the transition smoothly," Doyle said. She noted that she did work with a high school while employed in Newton.

Doyle is expected to start with the Longmeadow Public Schools on July 1. She noted during her School Committee interview that her plan for her first 90 days as the new superintendent was to "listen, listen, listen . . . get input and advice."

"I definitely plan on listening," she added during her interview last week. "I also want to learn more about the high school project, the school's technology and learn about the hopes and aspirations people have for the future of the schools. It's really important I get to know people."

Doyle earned her bachelor's in American Studies and Education from Merrimack College, her master's in Educational Research from Northeastern University and has completed 60 credits of coursework at the University of Lowell and Harvard University.

"I am ready to come to Longmeadow," she said.