Who's Who at Buckley

Larry W. Dougherty, Ed.D., Head of School

Larry W. Dougherty, Ed.D., joined The Buckley School in July 2006. A graduate of Wesleyan University who holds master of arts and doctorate of education degrees from Harvard University, Dr. Dougherty is an experienced, senior administrator with more than 30 years experience in both independent and public schools.

Dr. Dougherty came to Buckley from the American Overseas School of Rome, a 60-year-old international K-12 school, where he served as headmaster for 11 years. Prior to his tenure in Rome, he was headmaster of Graland Country Day School in Denver, Colorado.

His posts in public education included serving as superintendent of schools in Fairfield, Connecticut, assistant superintendent of elementary education in Greenwich, Connecticut and as an elementary principal in the Brookline, Massachusetts schools. Dr. Dougherty began his career in the classroom, teaching sixth grade and high school history.

His research work includes the Brookline Early Education Project, a collaborative research project with Children’s Hospital and the Harvard Graduate School of Education studying the impact of providing health and developmental services for children and their families from three months before birth until entry into kindergarten. He was the project’s assistant director. He also worked with students with severe reading problems in a program associated with Dr. Edwin Coles, noted neurologist and head of the Massachusetts General Hospital Reading Clinic. While in Connecticut, Dr. Dougherty directed a training program for principals entitled "Developing a Vision of Excellence: A Leadership Institute for Principals."