Bangor appoints new school superintendent

The Bangor School Department has a new superintendent.

The Bangor School Committee on Wednesday unanimously approved Dr. Marie Robinson to become the new superintendent of the Bangor School Department. The vote met the committee’s goal of hiring a new superintendent by July 1.

Marwa Hassanien, Bangor School Committee chairperson, said the committee was “impressed by Dr. Robinson’s proven track record of academic excellence, innovative thinking, and commitment to supporting the success of all students. We look forward to the new ideas and energy she will bring to our district.”

With more than 25 years of experience in education, Robinson spent the majority of her career as an elementary and middle school teacher in Philadelphia before becoming a school principal.

After moving to Maine in 2016, Robinson served as principal of a preschool through 12th grade school in RSU 89 Katahdin Schools in Stacyville. In 2019, she earned her Ph.D. in education and rose to become superintendent of RSU 89.

Robinson lauded Bangor’s “exceptional schools, talented educators, and engaged community.”

“I look forward to collaborating with the school committee, administrators, teachers, staff, students, and families to continue advancing educational outcomes and supporting the growth and development of every child,” she said.

As superintendent of RSU 89, Robinson said she was most proud of the variety of education pathways at Katahdin Middle High School that helped personalize learning for students as well as “innovative changes” she helped facilitate, such as outdoor learning spaces. Those improvements, she said, are what contributed to the school’s reduced chronic absenteeism and high graduation rates.

During her time in RSU 89, Katahdin Middle High School achieved a 100 percent graduation rate for three of the past six years and attendance rose by five percent in the last year alone.

U.S. News & World Report also named Katahdin Middle High School as the third best high school in Maine this year in its annual ranking of more than 18,000 high schools nationwide.

As Bangor superintendent, Robinson said she wants to reduce chronic absenteeism in the department by “bringing the joy back to learning.”

“I want to hear the voices of the students and families to better understand what we can do differently to better engage those families in a way that’s innovative,” Robinson said. “We’ll continue to innovate so we can make the best possible situation for kids.”

Robinson also helped found the Katahdin Children and Families Foundation, a nonprofit that serves children and families in the region and is a fiscal partner to the district.

Robinson will replace James Tager, Bangor’s current school superintendent, when he retires on June 30 after holding the position for three years. He took over the role in 2021 following the departure of longtime Bangor Superintendent Betsy Webb in 2020.

When announcing his retirement, Tager said his proudest accomplishment as Bangor superintendent was creating a new in-school health clinic in Bangor High School in 2022. The clinic, operated by Penobscot Community Health Care, offers students mental and physical health care, which helps keep students in school and off months-long waitlists for care.

During Tager’s tenure, 40 percent of Bangor students accessed accelerated programming, and students earned the Seal of Biliteracy in Chinese, French, Spanish and American Sign Language.

Bangor High School’s graduation rate also climbed from 82.4 percent to 89.9 percent in 2022 — the highest graduation rate in the department’s history.

Robinson said she plans to continue increasing the high school’s graduation rate, which still hovers around 90 percent.

“That means we have 10 percent to go,” she said.

Tager also oversaw the adoption of a new emergency alert system in 2023 that allows school staff to call for first responders and police instantly by pushing a button on a wearable badge. The system is designed to create faster response times from first responders in the case of a school shooting or lower-level problem.