New department head brings leadership and a passion for science

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When Alexa Doeschner moved to Glen Cove in 2012 she was an assistant principal at a school in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. “I had no idea when I moved here,” Doeschner said, “that I would also work here one day.”

Doeschner, who is currently an assistant principal at Glen Cove High School, was recently appointed by the Board of Education to be the new head of the science department for the district. She will start her new position on July 1.

Dr. Michael Israel, the district’s superintendent for curriculum, instruction, and technology, is thrilled to have Doeschner filling the role. “What struck me was that she went to medical school for two years before she decided to become a teacher,” Israel said. “She has a great background and a love for science.”

Doeschner attended St. George School of Medicine in Grenada before returning to the United States. “I had finished all my course work,” she remembered, “but I realized that it wasn’t what I thought it was going to be.” She had been a teacher’s assistant at Columbia University, where she obtained her Bachelor’s and taught a summer course in chemistry. Doeschner enjoyed these teaching experiences and she pursued a New York City teaching fellow in Brooklyn, earning her Master’s from Pace University while teaching at Sunset Park High School in Brooklyn.

Teaching comes naturally to Doeschner because both her parents are college professors — her mother teaches at the College of New Rochelle and her father is a professor at Columbia.

She moved to Glen Cove in 2012 because she was drawn to its diverse community. Born in Romania, Doeschner grew up in Venezuela, her father’s birth country, and then moved to the United States with her family when she was eight. “It was hard,” Doeschner recalled. “I had to learn English. I think that’s why I identify so strongly with our ESL students, but my parents were also very academically focused, so I can relate to our high achieving students as well.”

She commuted from Glen Cove to her job in Brooklyn until she got the job as assistant principal at Glen Cove High School.

Seeing it as an opportunity to blend her experience with school leadership and her passion for science, Doeschner is enthusiastic about her new position. Recently the New York State Education Department issued science standards to be implemented in all school districts within a five-year period.

She said the district has already started making science a priority with a maker space in the middle school, which is a space where students are allowed to create with robotics components.

“I’m excited because there are more applications and engineering aspects that have real world applications,” Doeschner said, referring to the new state standards. She said in her new position she will initially observe what is already being taught in the district’s science classes, then determine what needs to be added and align all instruction from grade to grade.

Living and working in the same community has its benefits for Doeschner personally and professionally. She has two children, a five-year-old daughter who will be starting kindergarten in the district next year, and a two-year-old son. She said being recognized in the supermarket reminds her that she lives in a small town and she believes it gives her an advantage with her students. “Students respond to you differently when you live here,” Doeschner explained. “We know all the same places, we’re here together.”