Doane steps up as associate principal

As of July 1, Groton Jr./Sr. High School (GHS) has a new associate principal in its high school office, but Andrew Doane is not at all new to GHS.

Replacing Jean Amodeo, who took her own step up to become Trumansburg Central School District’s new middle school principal, Doane is stepping up at GHS from his position as history teacher, soccer coach and National Junior Honor Society advisor — and he is very excited about it.

“I’m really thankful this community has always welcomed me with open arms,” Doane said. “And I am really looking forward to having Brian Kavanagh, the GHS principal, as my mentor.”

Doane grew up in nearby Marathon on his family’s farm with his parents, Brian and Marge, and his older brother, Michael. His grandparents, Charles and Maxine Doane, also had a farm, so Andrew had plenty of opportunity to learn and do farm work whenever he could.

Andrew spent a lot of time baling hay in the summertime, but he was also a three-sport athlete (soccer, bowling and baseball) and the student council historian at Marathon High School.

“My focus was always on friends, family and community,” Andrew said. “So, I liked being on student council a lot. We put in hours of community service doing outdoor cleanup at the library and helping the elderly with raking and other things.”

While Andrew enjoyed his service to others and his involvement in sports, he humbly shared that school was a struggle for him — particularly in that he was very shy — but he knew from the fourth grade on that he wanted to be a history teacher someday.

Andrew spoke about how his parents got him interested in family history early on, and then his fourth-grade history teacher, James Ryan, helped him to overcome his shyness.

“Mr. Ryan was awesome because he could find the one person in class who struggled and he found me,” Andrew said. “He gave me confidence and brought me out of my shell.”

Andrew’s love of history was also influenced by his seventh-grade social studies teacher, Bill Perks, who taught a class on the American Civil War when Andrew got to high school.

“Between those two guys and my family, who also took me to some amazing historical places on vacations growing up, my love of history kept growing,” Andrew said.

After high school, Andrew earned his associate degree in adolescence education (AE) from SUNY Delhi and then his bachelor’s from SUNY Cortland with a dual major in AE and history. He had earned enough dual credit at Marathon to count for almost a full year of college, so that was his motivation to go to Delhi first.

“I always knew I wanted to get my BA at Cortland,” Andrew explained. “But I also wanted the experience of moving away from home first.”

Andrew also knew he wanted to study abroad for part of his college experience, influenced by his brother, Michael, who had studied in Ireland from Hobart College. Andrew spent a semester in Edinburgh, Scotland, which he described as “the most wonderful city I have ever been to.”

After graduating from Cortland in 2017, Andrew took his first teaching position as a history teacher at Hannibal High School for one year, after which he opted to take a job as a residence hall director (RHD) back at SUNY Cortland. He felt that would be an ideal opportunity to pursue higher education experience.

“It was invaluable,” Andrew said. “The experience and responsibilities were very similar to a building leader — everything from restorative justice practices to budgeting and dealing with the red tape of New York state!”

While in his RHD position, Andrew kept his eye on the job postings in education, and after just one year, he spotted an opening for a seventh- and eighth-grade history teacher at GHS. He applied immediately and was hired soon thereafter in September 2019.

Andrew taught United States history at that level for the following two years and then switched to teaching the same subject for eighth and 11th grades, including a college-level dual-credit course.

When Amodeo’s position became available this past spring, Andrew was immediately interested. He applied for it and was overjoyed when Superintendent Margo Martin offered it to him.

“I believe that I can bring stability and longevity to this position,” Andrew said. “I already have great relationships with the students, and I hope to build on that but help them to succeed in a different way. I want the students to be proud of our school and proud of our community.”

Andrew further elaborated on some of his hopes for the future. He believes that social-emotional learning is key right now.

“COVID put these kids under a cloud of restrictions, and it really hurt them,” Andrew said. “Now we can do things again, and it will be really nice to start the year fully back on track in the fall.”

Andrew said he loves the small-town feel of Groton and that it reminds him of home. He looks forward to helping build communication and foster relationships within the community.

“I hope to raise my own family here and contribute and get involved in the community as well as the school,” he said.

Andrew also expressed his heartfelt gratitude for all the help he has received from the administration, faculty and staff in his growth thus far.

“There are so many opportunities here that other schools just don’t have — for staff and for students,” Andrew said. “And I am just so grateful to be a part of it.”

Groton on the Inside appears every week in Tompkins Weekly. Submit story ideas to editorial@VizellaMedia.com or text or call Linda at (607) 227-4922.  

In brief: 
 
Library events 

The Groton Public Library (GPL) Garden Club will meet at 5:45 p.m. July 20. This month’s project will be a shade garden tour at Roberts Family Tree Farm, 782 Clark St. Ext. Arrive at the library at 5:45 p.m. to join a carpool or go directly to the garden at 6 p.m.

GPL July Story Time will be held at 6 p.m. July 21. The theme for this month’s story time is “Day at the Fair.” Come in for crafts, games and stories. There is limited space, so register today by calling (607) 898-5055 or email director@grotonpubliclibrary.org.

Summer Reading Group will feature Perry Ground at 6 p.m. July 28. Perry is a traditional storyteller from Turtle Clan and will share educational stories of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy and stories from “The People of the Longhouse.”

The library has a small supply of personal care product bags available for families. These bags are supplied by Catholic Charities Tompkins/Tioga and Community Foundation of Tompkins County.

The bags include a four-pack of basic toilet paper, a two-pack of bars of soap, a two-pack of toothbrushes, a 10-ounce bottle of laundry detergent and an 18-ounce bottle of shampoo. To receive a bag, a form needs to be filled out, and a family can get only one bag every other month while supplies last. Forms and a display bag can be found at the front desk of the library.

Arts and crafts in the park 

Groton Recreation is offering “Arts & Crafts in the Park” every weekday from 9 a.m. to noon July 5 through Aug. 12 at Groton Memorial Park on Sykes Street. Create free artwork with Groton Recreation staff at the arts and crafts table near the pool.

Make tie-dyes, paintings, sun-catchers, bracelets and more! There will be a different craft activity each day, and some take-home crafts are also available for those who do not want to complete a craft on site.