Megan Fisher
Megan Fisher: All the wonderful experiences at Caldwell prepared me
“All the wonderful experiences at Caldwell have prepared me.” – Megan Fisher M.A. ‘19/ Ph.D. ‘22
Megan Fisher’s days as a school principal consist of “being everywhere and doing everything”—back to school night, a parents meeting, substitute teaching, going to church, supporting new faculty, attending a volleyball game, outside events like a ceremony honoring a student for saving his brother from drowning. As the new principal at the Academy of St. Paul in Ramsey, New Jersey, Fisher wants to be visible and available so families and parents know how invested she is in the school—so people know “that this is a community and a home.”
That’s the beauty of a Catholic school education, said Fisher, who earned her master’s in curriculum and instruction and her Ph.D. in educational leadership from Caldwell. “Once you become a part of the community of the school you are working in and it is a positive environment, it’s really hard to leave.”
Fisher first experienced Catholic school education at St. John the Apostle elementary school in Clark, New Jersey. After earning a bachelor’s degree in history from Ramapo and taking extra education courses for a math and science certification (with a 24-credit course load at one point), she held temporary long-term positions and then accepted a permanent fourth- and fifth-grade science teaching position at St. John’s. She thought she would “get her feet wet” and then go to public school. “That’s what most people do,” said Fisher.
But for her, the experience ended up being “the complete opposite.” She found great fulfillment in a Catholic school system founded on the “morals and values that Catholics believe in that guide us to help live a good life … and that is what families want nowadays …they have a certain idea of what children should be learning or what they should focus on, and we are providing that for their family,” said Fisher, who started the RCIA process while at the school and became a Roman Catholic. She was married in the church there with her students attending the wedding.
While teaching at St. John’s, Fisher began her master’s studies at Caldwell (she already held a master’s in educational technology from Ramapo) and instantly appreciated the Dominican values, the small classes and her relationships with the professors in the School of Education. “I felt like Dr. [Joanne] Jasmine could know who I was pretty quickly,” Fisher said. She was challenged and stimulated academically and decided to move on to the educational leadership doctoral program. She appreciated the Friday and Saturday hybrid, which she preferred to the Friday, Saturday and Sunday model some schools use. For her dissertation topic, Fisher chose to research why Catholic school educators remain long term in Catholic schools. She found it reassuring that the Caldwell professors supported her. “A lot of that has to do with the faith aspect of Caldwell too. They allow you to focus on that,” Fisher said.
Now Fisher is putting her dissertation into action as the leader at St. Paul’s. She wants to build good relationships with her faculty so that they feel valued, appreciated and respected.
She is happy to boast of all St. Paul’s has to offer: pre-K through eighth grade, serving Catholic and non-Catholic students; the three tenets of scholarship, spirituality and service; a beautiful campus across the street from the church; a new chapel where teachers pray the rosary with students; three honor societies and extracurricular offerings including art, digital media and chess clubs, and community service with a food pantry for families in need. “The eighth-graders take the food over after Mass,” explained Fisher.
She sees God’s hand in bringing her to St. Paul’s, especially since it had been a year with personal heartbreak; following her dissertation at Caldwell in the spring, her mother got sick and died shortly after her daughter’s graduation. Embarking on a new adventure at St. Paul’s has helped. “You don’t always see it at the beginning … all the struggles led me here. And even all the wonderful experiences at Caldwell have prepared me for life.” As a woman of faith, Fisher knows the losses will not prevent her from succeeding. “There really is a plan … I know that it is all meant to help me survive and do well here.”