Helping bring business classes into 21st century.
By: Audrey Levine
At the end of the month, she will walk out the doors of South Brunswick High School, armed with paperwork, picture frames and books from her office.
She will place them in her house permanently, fond memories to cherish forever.
After 32 years, Maryanne Dougherty will retire from the school where she has supervised and taught the school’s family and consumer services and technology education courses.
"I gave 150 percent all these years," she said. "It’s time to pursue things I haven’t had time to do."
Ms. Dougherty said she wanted to be a teacher since her own high school years.
"Several of my high school teachers inspired me and I saw how much they enjoyed it," she said. "I followed in their footsteps. That’s a tribute to them as well."
Ms. Dougherty is a graduate of Rider College (now Rider University), where she earned a bachelor’s degree in business and education and a master’s degree in supervision and administration.
Her first job after college was as a teacher at South Brunswick High School 32 years ago. For the early part of her career at the high school, she was Maryanne Colligan. She met her current husband, Joe Dougherty, who now teaches computers at Crossroads South and is the high school’s varsity wrestling coach, in 1984 when he was a permanent substitute in the Business Department.
Although she was offered a job at two other schools, she said that South Brunswick just "felt right."
She began teaching business classes, including typewriting on a manual typewriter, and shorthand, courses no longer offered or necessary once the computer came into common use.
"Changes (in the program) kept up with the times," Ms. Dougherty said. "I had to change, too. Either you change or you become extinct."
Despite these changes, however, Ms. Dougherty said she still found the experience rewarding as she was teaching students lessons that they could offer back to employers in the future.
"(The classes give) kids an opportunity to experiment with hands-on and project-based work, and to find out what they really want to do," she said. "The kids get to express themselves other than in a purely academic class."
In 1998, Ms. Dougherty became supervisor and cut back to teaching one class, cooperative business education.
As supervisor, she was responsible for working on curriculum and helping new teachers become acclimated to the school and develop strategies for teaching. Ms. Dougherty said, however, that she is more interested in teaching and spending time with the kids.
"It has been my calling for 32 years," she said. "I had a purpose and I had a goal."
Ms. Dougherty said she is proud to have had an opportunity to touch people’s lives and make an impact on her students. Although she said she never knows right away if she has accomplished this, she has attended weddings, graduations and other celebrations with past students, acknowledging that she remains a part of their lives.
"You don’t know if you’ve touched their lives, but then they come back and say, ‘remember that story you told me,’ " she said, laughing. "I can make an impact on kids and I’m teaching them life skills."
Ms. Dougherty said she is glad she spent her career in South Brunswick, citing the hard work of the school administration, the Board of Education and the community as keys to making her program so successful.
She said some districts are still behind in their curriculum, but South Brunswick has a great and up-to-date business program because of the support it receives.
Ms. Dougherty said she looks at her retirement as the end of one phase of her life and the start of a new adventure.
"I’m not retiring to do nothing, I’m retiring to do something else," she said.
While her plans include playing tennis, doing volunteer work with literacy programs and reading, Ms. Dougherty will not be abandoning her love of teaching.
"I love the classroom and I miss it and it’s something I’m going to pursue in my retirement," she said.
She will be teaching business courses at community college, keeping herself in the classroom where she feels most comfortable.
Ms. Dougherty said she plans to keep in touch with her former colleagues.
"We will socially keep in contact," she said. "I developed long-term relationships with these people, (but) I’m looking forward to the next step and it will be different."
Overall, Ms. Dougherty said she wants to thank the community for sharing their kids with her and allowing her to teach them because she garnered much enjoyment from the experience.
"I’ve had a wonderful career here and I wouldn’t trade it for all the money in the world," she said.