Doannie taught middle school and high school science in both Oakland, California and Boston, Massachusetts, before leaving teaching to help launch the Massachusetts region of Teach For America in 2009. Doannie was responsible for professional development for all new TFA teachers in Massachusetts and he built up their partnership with Boston University, where he has also served on faculty. During that time, the Massachusetts region was in the top 10% of all TFA regions in terms of effectiveness, satisfaction and retention of teachers. While doing his doctoral work at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, he was sponsored as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at NewSchools Venture Fund, using design thinking and Lean Startup methodologies to launch an education technology company called the Teaching Genome. Doannie left his startup to join the leadership team of Boston Public Schools as Assistant Superintendent for Academics and Professional Learning. He led the inter-departmental team that worked with the Boston Teachers’ Union to develop the Essentials for Instructional Equity, the district’s vision for instruction that would close opportunity gaps. The Essentials were recently recognized as a “bright spot” in the district by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Before joining the team at the Center for Innovation in Education, Doannie served as the Assistant Superintendent for Innovative Programs for Fulton County, Georgia. He oversaw the design of two innovative high school models, and also supported the development of the district’s professional learning strategy based on the implementation of PLCs at every level from the Cabinet to teachers.
