Dave Samson ’95: Prioritizing Restorative Practices in Education
Aaron Dalton '94
Imagine growing up with terrariums on the kitchen table and hatchling trout in the sink. That’s the sort of childhood that Dave Samson ’95 enjoyed thanks to his mother, who taught in Shipley’s Lower School before becoming a science teacher at Wayne Elementary. Seeing his mother’s love for learning was a huge factor in setting him on the path to a career in education.
Samson was also inspired by many of his teachers at Shipley, including Kay Francis Graff ’54 in math, Kristin Jaffe and Jamie Neilson in English, Lura Coleman Wampler ’56 in chemistry, Tony Morinelli in theater, and Chris Wagner in art. “They had an ability to connect with all sorts of different students and figure out how to motivate and engage them,” says Samson.
After serving in administrative and teaching roles at Rowland Hall day school in Utah and Germantown Academy in Pennsylvania, Samson recently became Head of Upper School at Brookwood School in Massachusetts. He credits Steve Piltch, former Head of School at Shipley, and Tom Nammack, former Head of Upper School, for being invaluable mentors through the years.
At Brookwood, Samson places great emphasis on restorative practices. Instead of punishing students with detention for breaking rules, Samson feels it’s more important to give students an opportunity to take responsibility for their actions and find ways to repair the harm by mending relationships that may have been impacted.
“To be a great educator, you have to constantly learn and be flexible. You have to know your subject, but also…let students’ curiosity shape where the class is going. Most of all, you have to love children,” says Samson. “It’s going to be messy at times and they will make poor choices, but then it’s going to be amazing, and you’re going to tear up at the progress and growth they make.”
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As Founder and Director of CREDO, the Center for Research on Education Outcomes, Margaret “Macke” Raymond ’72 is on a mission to improve the evidence around which education policies and programs produce the best outcomes for K-12 public school students. Raymond says her experiences at Shipley played a formative role in her career, which she has spent trying to emulate the strengths of Shipley's educational model.
For Dave Samson '95, seeing his mother’s love for learning was a huge factor in setting him on the path to a career in education—as was the influence of many of his teachers at Shipley. As Head of Upper School at Brookwood School in Massachusetts, Samson places great emphasis on restorative practices that encourage growth and building community over punitive discipline.
Caleb Balderston ‘06 joined Teach for America, teaching math in Chicago public charter schools. Working mainly with low-income students of color, it was there that Balderston developed his passion for equity in education. As high school principal at Academy of the Pacific Rim Charter Public School in Massachusetts he is explicit in his focus on identity work and global citizenship, in addition to academic mastery.
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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.