Biography
Dr. Daniel J. Dooley has served as the Superintendent of the Absecon School District in Absecon, New Jersey, since 2018. He has been a K-12 educator for the last 21 years, including the last 16 years as an administrator.
In June 2023, Dr. Dooley was named the 2023-2024 Atlantic County Superintendent of the Year and serves as the 2024/2025 Atlantic County Association of School Administrators President. He is also the Atlantic County liaison to the New Jersey Consortium for Excellence through Equity, a collaboration of the New Jersey Association of School Administrators Education and Research Foundation (NJASA ERF) and the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education's Coalition for Educational Equity, dedicated to promoting equity in New Jersey schools.
As Superintendent of Absecon Public Schools, Dr. Dooley continues his work regarding school climate and culture, and is devoted to providing the best educational opportunities for all students; especially as it relates to literacy, mathematics, and science achievement.
During his tenure at Absecon Schools, Dr. Dooley has led the transformation of the district and the learning community. One of his first initiatives was the adoption of best practices in English Language Arts and Mathematics within the district curriculum, including the implementation of a comprehensive balanced literacy approach and adoption of Ready Math. He has overseen the expansion of middle school specials from just 5 when he arrived to more than 30 to date, especially focusing on career exposure in burgeoning fields for students, including health sciences, STEM and aviation.
A champion of the district’s tutoring and academic support programs, Dr. Dooley has worked to expand the district's offerings, free of cost, for students who would benefit both during and after school, as well as throughout the summer.
Dr. Dooley is immensely proud of the academic accomplishments of the student body under his leadership, especially in being the only school district in Atlantic County that made progress on all tested areas of the standardized testing in 2023, including 100% proficiency in Algebra.
In addition, he has been at the forefront of expanding after-school programs to create a well-rounded educational environment for all students. The STARS before- and after-school care program services more than 100 students a day throughout the school year and over six weeks in the summer. The program includes enrichment activities to promote student growth. The district’s sports and clubs offerings have also grown under Dr. Dooley’s direction to more than 15 extracurricular activities at both the middle and elementary schools.
An advocate for offering access to quality education for even the youngest of Absecon’s learners, Dr. Dooley also oversaw the creation of a full-day public preschool program, funded by Preschool Education Aid through the state of New Jersey. The comprehensive, play-based program, which began with just two classrooms, now serves more than 150 3- and 4-year-olds in the city of Absecon.
Beautification of the district’s campus, which consists of the Marsh Elementary School and the Attales Middle School, continues under Dr. Dooley. He is also responsible for the creation of the district’s Transportation Department, which services not only Absecon students, but also contracts with several area schools and serves as a large revenue source for Absecon Schools.
Inspired by his dedication to providing a positive educational culture and climate, Dr. Dooley developed a multi-faceted Therapy Dog program with his own Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs, Skye and Hope, at his previous district, which he successfully implemented at Absecon Schools when he arrived here in 2019. The Therapy Dog program includes the Silent Mentors In Literacy Education Program or S.M.I.L.E., as well as use in student counseling sessions, physical therapy, and Autism and self-contained classrooms, reward incentives, and as an integral part of our Reset Rooms. Since then, Dooley has worked with other districts, such as Hammonton and Egg Harbor Township, to implement their own therapy dog programs and has given several presentations to mentor other educational leaders, both locally and nationally, on the benefits of therapy dogs.
Dr. Dooley’s knowledge and passion for animal-assisted therapy led him to become involved with Pet Partners, a national organization for therapy animals, in the founding of Association of Animal-Assisted Intervention Professionals (AAAIP), an affiliate organization for animal-assisted intervention in a professional setting. Dr. Dooley currently serves as the Chairperson of AAAIP since 2020. Additionally, Dr. Dooley has worked with school leaders throughout the region in developing their own therapy dog programs, and has forged partnerships with several area businesses, including with AtlantiCare to bring therapy dogs into healthcare settings. He has given numerous presentations on the topic, including presenting at the New Jersey School Boards Association Workshop since 2018, and presenting at the National Dog Show Therapy Dog Symposium at Rowan University in 2020 and 2023.
Dr. Dooley received his doctorate in Educational Leadership and Policy from Seton Hall University, master's degree in Educational Leadership from Fairleigh Dickinson University, and bachelor's degree in English/Education from LaSalle University.
In addition to his role in Absecon, Dooley is the senior member of the NYS-required professional development course for The Dignity for All Students Act (DASA) at College of Staten Island, the City University of New York.