In August 1994, just back from her honeymoon, Anne Reidell Smith interviewed for a Middle School Latin teaching position at Shipley. Two weeks later, she walked into her classroom as Mrs. Smith—a name she was still getting used to. The West Middle School building was just one year old. Thirty-two years later, Anne is retiring as one of the Middle School's longest-serving and most steadfast teachers, and the architect of a generation of Classical Adventures.

"More than half of my life has been here at Shipley," she says. " And, as I reflect on that, I am filled with much gratitude."

When Anne arrived in 1994, she and her colleague and dear friend Dr. Lynn Ennis Iozzo were charged with creating a Middle School Latin program from the ground up. The two would teach as a team for more than 20 years, building the curriculum together and developing the signature traditions — Saturnalia celebrations, Latin poetry readings, student-directed skits adapted from Roman myths — that would define Latin in the Middle School for years to come. After Lynn's passing, Anne carried the program forward on her own, sustaining its rigor and scope as its sole Middle School teacher in recent years.

In Magistra Smith's classroom, Latin is anything but a dead language. "My expectations are high, and I work hard to make my teaching meet my curricular goals and my students' needs with rigor and support," she says. She has emphasized creativity, kindness, and respect alongside intellectual risk-taking, resilience, and growth mindset. Her students have consistently distinguished themselves on the National Latin Exam and in the Philadelphia Classical Society's annual creative project competitions, where her young classicists have submitted everything from traditional artwork to 3D-printed Roman coins. In recent years, some of those coins have been donated to Penn Museum’s Touch Tours initiative for sight-impaired visitors.

Experiential learning has long been the centerpiece of Anne's teaching, and nowhere has that come through more vividly than in her overseas Classical Adventures. Starting in 1997, Anne and Lynn began taking Shipley students to Italy, and since then Anne has led — or co-led — more than 20 educational tours through Rome, Pompeii, Sicily, Florence, Venice, and the Bay of Naples. Her final tour, in June 2024, was co-led with her Upper School Latin colleague — a deliberate passing of the baton.

Beyond Latin, Anne has worn many hats: 6th Grade Dean, advisor, Middle School field hockey and volleyball coach, Middle School Representative to the Board of Trustees, longtime Co-Head of the Colleague Awards Nominations Committee, and, four years ago, founder of the Middle School Gardening Club.

Over the years Anne has been recognized with numerous Shipley honors, including the Founders' Chair Award, the Margaret Bailey Speer Distinguished Teachers' Award, the Dennis Nicholson Professional Development grant, recognition as a Shipley Changemaker, and Shipley Honorary Alumna status. In 2005, she was named "Most Inspiring Teacher" by a Shipley alumna who was recognized as a U.S. Presidential Scholar — an honor recognized at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. And in 2018, the Classical Association of the Atlantic States honored her with the Ovatio award for distinguished service to the discipline of Latin.

Anne's family roots at Shipley run as deep as her professional ones. She is the mother of two Shipley Lifers, Meghan ’14 and Shannon ’16, who attended from PreK through 12th grade. "Our family has been centered here at The Shipley School," she says. "I take to heart our school’s mission of courage, grace, academic excellence, and appreciation of beauty."

Asked what she'll miss most, Anne doesn't hesitate to answer. "The students. The families. Generations of them. Seeing former students when they grow up and come back on campus — it makes my heart sing to know that I was so fortunate to be their teacher."

In retirement, Anne is looking forward to family time, gardening, travel, and creating mosaics. Above all, she's looking forward to la dolce vita — Italian-style, slow-paced living, and the unhurried pleasure of a really good cup of coffee. "I'm going to create that," she says. "I'm going to cultivate that."

Anne Smith taught Middle School Latin at Shipley for 32 years. She will retire at the end of the 2025–2026 academic year.

Roles at Shipley: Anne taught Middle School Latin (grades 6–8) as both co-teacher and sole teacher of the program, and also taught 9th grade Latin for several years. She served as 6th Grade Dean, advisor across all three Middle School grade levels, Middle School field hockey and volleyball coach, longtime Co-Head of the Colleague Awards Nominations Committee, Middle School Representative to the Board of Trustees, founder and leader of the Middle School Gardening Club, and Middle School Horticultural Coordinator. She also served on the Strategic Plan, Middle School Head Search, Professional Development, ASAC, and Colleagues Welcoming committees, and led Middle School Service partnerships with CosaCosa Art-at-Large, Thorncroft Equestrian Center, and Cradles to Crayons. She mentored countless colleagues over the years.

Awards & Honors: Founders' Chair Award (2001); Margaret Bailey Speer Distinguished Teachers' Award (2004); recognized as "Most Inspiring Teacher" by a Shipley U.S. Presidential Scholar in 2005; Shipley PD-funded grants (2006, 2010); Agnes and Sophie Dallas Irwin Award (2013); Ovatio Award from the Classical Association of the Atlantic States (2018); Shipley Changemaker recognition (2018); Dennis Nicholson Award for Professional Development (2019); Shipley Honorary Alumna (2019).

Why did she stay so long? "I love The Shipley School and its community. I love our mission. I've taught thousands of Shipley students, and it has been decades of sharing my passion and always learning. I'm proud of my dedication and legacy as an educator who promoted the humanities, and hopefully also I have inspired many on the art and archaeology experiential overseas tours."

Gratitude for Shipley: Anne is grateful for the relationships she has built with families across generations, for the creative license she has had in her classroom and beyond, and for the experience of watching her own daughters grow up at Shipley alongside her students.

Teaching Philosophy: "My expectations are high, and I work hard to meet my curricular goals and my students' needs with rigor and support. I model and expect kindness and respect — for self, others, and the community — as pillars of my classroom, and uphold the tenets of intellectual growth mindset, risk-taking in learning, integrity, resilience, and perseverance."

What She's Most Proud Of: Carrying the standard of Latin in the Middle School and leading more than 20 overseas Classical Adventures to Italy since 1997 — bringing hundreds of students into direct contact with the ancient world they had studied in the classroom.

What She'll Miss: "The students. The families. Generations of them. Seeing former students when they grow up and come back on campus."

What's Next? Anne is looking forward to family time, gardening, travel, and creating mosaics for personal creative expression. She's also looking forward to la dolce vita — Italian slow-paced living and the unhurried pleasure of a really good cup of coffee.