Mr. James Donohue is the Special Education Coordinator at Abington High. He has been working at the High School for six years. He was first a Special Ed teacher for four years, until becoming the Team Chair two years ago.

Mr. Donohue is the point person for everything Special Ed related. He is responsible for overseeing programs that provide education assistance, such as reviewing the IEP (individualized education plan), which is designed for students that need educational assistance. The Special Education department works closely with each other, guidance, parents, their students, and content teachers. Ms. Culbert, who has been a Special Education teacher for 20 years at Abington High School , said, “Mr. Donohue is easy and fun to work with. He always supports our efforts on behalf of our students.  He cares about everyone’s success: both teachers and students.”  

In addition to working in the Special Education department, Mr. Donohue is also a coach for the Abington varsity baseball team.

Donohue graduated from Stonehill College in 1993, where he received a degree in Accounting and minored in Criminal Justice, after “my mother told me to,  although I did not enjoy it.” After graduating, Donohue says that he went to work in the financial industry. Then fifteen years later, he switched his field and went on to get involved with education and teaching. 

When asked why he made the switch from the financial field to become involved in the school district, Donohue said, “I made the career switch because working in finance was not very satisfying. I wanted to work in an environment where I felt I was making a difference.” Donohue also stated that once he got married and started a family, he realized that the financial industry was too demanding on his time. There was a lot of traveling involved which kept him away from his family.  Donohue says that he loves to spend time with his two sons. 

After deciding to change his job, he says that he went back to school and received a Masters in Special Education from Bridgewater State in 2015. And he is currently enrolled in a program to receive a second master’s in Education Leadership. He came to Abington, in part because “Abington was where I graduated from high school. I also really like the town.” He also stated that he wanted to give back to the town and the schools.

Donohue also likes watching all his favorite Boston sports teams, the Red Sox, Celtics, Patriots, and Bruins. He enjoys golfing “but hasn’t done so in a while.” In the summer he likes to go up to Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire. 

Like other Abington Public School faculty, Mr. Donohue returned to his roots here. In the future, perhaps one of Abington’s current students will find himself or herself back here as an employee too.