Academics
Student Well-Being
When you become a Shipley student, you join a community where being your best self is about far more than academics. It’s about growing into someone who’s ready to take on the world—with confidence, resilience, and strong character.
That’s why well-being initiatives are woven into every aspect of Shipley student life. By prioritizing individual growth and respect, we ensure that all students—from our youngest learners to our graduating seniors—have the tools to navigate challenges, build meaningful relationships, and make their marks on the world.
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THE SHIPLEY FRAMEWORK FOR WELL-BEING
At Shipley, well-being isn’t just an idea. It’s a framework—a guide for how we help every student grow into their full potential.
The Shipley Framework for Well-Being is rooted in decades of research and practice. It’s built on seven key domains: areas we care deeply about for ourselves and others, which impact our ability to live fulfilling lives. This framework informs school policies and procedures, ensuring all students build the skills and mindset to handle anything that comes their way.
| Belonging & Connection | You should feel at home at school—and know you’re valued for who you are. At Shipley, we help you connect with others while encouraging you to be true to yourself. |
| Emotional Awareness & Agility | Real strength comes from understanding your emotions, not avoiding them. We teach you to recognize, manage, and grow from every feeling, whether joy or frustration. |
| Character Strengths | You have unique strengths that make you YOU. At Shipley, we help you discover and develop those traits so you can make a positive impact on the world around you. |
| Achievement | It’s important to celebrate your wins—big or small. By setting goals and working toward them, we help you feel the pride that comes with mastering new skills. |
| Meaning & Purpose | Life is bigger than your own lived experience. We help you find ways to contribute to something greater, giving you opportunities to make a meaningful difference. |
| Deep Engagement | True understanding requires more than scratching the surface. We encourage you to dive deep into activities and experiences that inspire and challenge you in the best ways. |
SEED PROGRAM: PRE-K THROUGH GRADE 12
Shipley plants the seed for lifelong well-being in our pioneering Social, Emotional, and Ethical Development (SEED) program.
Each week, students at all grade levels learn about important topics that help them better understand themselves and their world—things like identity, relationships, mental health, social justice, and decision-making. These lessons evolve as students grow their skills year after year.
In Lower School, students might explore identity by drawing self-portraits. In Middle School, SEED fosters self-awareness and study skills to support students’ well-being, relationships, and academic success. In Upper School, students engage in meaningful discussions on identity, relationships, mental health, and ethical decision-making while developing the skills to navigate complex social issues with empathy, resilience, and integrity.
In Lower School, students might explore identity by drawing self-portraits. In Middle School, SEED fosters self-awareness and study skills to support students’ well-being, relationships, and academic success. In Upper School, students engage in meaningful discussions on identity, relationships, mental health, and ethical decision-making while developing the skills to navigate complex social issues with empathy, resilience, and integrity.
An integral part of the Shipley experience since 1995, SEED creates space for joy, reflection, and self-discovery while preparing students to handle life’s highs and lows with grace and confidence.
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Lower School SEED: Growing from the Inside Out
Lower School students build emotional awareness and self-regulation through the core idea that all feelings are valid. Lessons also introduce belonging, connection, and character strengths—laying a foundation for empathy, resilience, and respectful behavior.
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Middle School SEED: Skills for Life
Blending social-emotional learning with practical study skills, SEED helps students develop self-awareness, healthy relationships, academic responsibility, and personal values—equipping them to navigate Middle School and thrive in school and life.
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Upper School SEED: Identity, Voice & Purpose
Students revisit core well-being skills through deeper exploration of identity, agency, and decision-making—culminating in a meaningful Senior Service Project that connects personal strengths with real community impact.
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WELL-BEING SCREENING: GRADES 6–12
At Shipley, we don’t just hope our well-being initiatives are making an impact. Starting in 6th grade, we check in with every student through an annual Well-Being Screening, a survey assessing well-being (such as emotional agility and belonging) and ill-being (such as stress and anxiety).
This information informs SEED instruction, advisory programs, and support strategies. Our goal is to help all students leverage their strengths for both personal development and academic success.
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5+ Years
Shipley students have outperformed national EPOCH wellness averages every year since 2019 -
6th - 12th Grades
All students in grades 6 through 12 can participate in the annual well-being screening. -
Since 2015
Shipley students have taken the well-being screening. The results have informed initiatives and curriculum to promote student well-being.
DEDICATED COUNSELORS & STUDENT SUPPORT
No two Shipley students are the same–and neither are their challenges. Whether a student needs extra academic support or simply someone to talk to about a problem, they always have a team by their side.
Every division has a dedicated Student Support Team that includes the Director of Student Support, Division Administrator, Division Counselor, Learning or Academic Support Coordinator, and School Nurse, with Athletic Trainers also integral to student well-being. These caring adults are here to work with students on everything from getting organized to tackling tough subjects or managing feelings.
Meet the Student Support Team
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A COMMUNITY THAT BELIEVES IN YOU
At Shipley, you’re not just a student. You’re a valued member of a community that cares deeply about who you are and who you’re becoming.
For more than 130 years, Shipley has been committed to nurturing the whole student—and as one of the few schools offering comprehensive social/emotional education rooted in scientific research, we’re proud to have created a community where every student is seen, valued, and supported in becoming their best self.
SPOTLIGHT ON WELL-BEING
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Making Sense of Emotions by Making Music
Dr. Harley Givler asked his third grade students to imagine what a storybook's characters would sound like as a musical composition. The third graders performed the composition for their PreK Book Buddies, sharing lessons in emotions, tolerance, and being an upstander, as well as inspiring a love of music.Read More -
Guiding Students on the Path to Success: Shipley’s Sixth Grade SEED
Helping students identify their strengths and weaknesses is an essential goal for any educator guiding them on the path to success. This is especially important in sixth grade, as students make the transition from elementary to middle school. One cornerstone of the sixth grade SEED curriculum is having students explore their own learning styles and apply this knowledge to forming relationships.Read More -
3-2-1 Care to Share? A Quiet Lesson in Diversity
Middle School is a time of physical and emotional growth and transformation, but the process that each child goes through is uniquely beautiful, messy, and complex. Through conversations in sixth grade SEED, teacher and Middle School counselor Lindsay Fick hopes that her students learn to acknowledge that for themselves and build the skills to accept it when it comes to others—a powerful lesson in viewpoint diversity.Read More -
Q&A with Sharron Russell, Director of Positive Education and Student Support
In 1995, Dr. Sharron Russell was hired to write and teach Shipley’s social-emotional curriculum. Dr. Russell, who holds a certificate and doctoral degree in school psychology from Immaculata University and Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, respectively, has been directing student support since 2011 and positive education at Shipley since 2016. She is largely responsible for helping to make Shipley the first-ever positive education school in the country.Read More -
Q&A with Upper School Counselor Kira White
Get to know Shipley's new Upper School counselor, Kira White. A graduate of Swarthmore College and the University of Pennsylvania, Kira says they chose to pursue a career in counseling because, "I wanted to help students figure out some of the other [non-academic] parts of growing up. I think the presence of a supportive school counselor is something that adults either remember from their time in school or wish they had had at that time in life." They appreciate Shipley's focus on the development of students as whole people including emotional well-being and awareness, "skills fundamental to navigating the world." Learn more about Kira in our New Colleague Q&A.Read More -
Shipley Community Shows Compassion in Action
Compassionate participation in the world is a pillar of Shipley's mission and something Shipley strives to instill in every member of the community. Read more about how Shipley's students, families, colleagues, and alumni are living the mission and displaying compassion in action, especially during the global pandemic.Read More -
Psychologist Lea Waters, Ph.D. Visits Shipley to Speak About Strength-Based Parenting
World-renowned psychologist Lea Waters, Ph.D. visited Shipley on Thursday, September 6 to speak to colleagues and families about strength-based parenting.Read More -
Meeting of the Minds: Gender & Sexuality Diversity
It’s an important topic that’s sparked legal battles, political debates, and philosophical divides in communities across the country. Our roundtable explores the role of schools in navigating this complex subject. How are Shipley and other schools responding to the issues surrounding gender identity and sexuality diversity? Shipley’s Head of School and a national expert weigh in.Read More
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See What It Means to Thrive at Shipley
Ready to explore a school where well-being is just as important as academics? Visit Shipley to experience how our research-based approach helps students grow into confident, capable, and compassionate people—ready for whatever comes next.
The Shipley School is a private, coeducational day school for pre-kindergarten through 12th grade students, located in Bryn Mawr, PA. Through our commitment to educational excellence, we develop within each student a love of learning and a desire for compassionate participation in the world.
