MENU:
Welcome
Mission
Who We Are
Organization Info
History
Events
Tools
Topics
Presenters
Newsletters
Photos
Press
Testimonials
Partners
Donate
Contact Us
Nominate someone
you know for the
"JIMMY" Medal!
STEVEN S. PILTCH, ED.D.
Head of School, The Shipley School
Presenting on Parental Teen Trust
Steve Piltch has spent his entire career as a scholar, teacher, coach, counselor, and educational administrator. One of nine children, he attended the Cambridge and Brookline, Mass. public schools. For him, school was a great experience, in which he says he was challenged as well as supported, held accountable, and appreciated for who he was. “I always loved school. It was fun, and it made me feel good,” he says.
From Steve’s parents he learned the importance of integrity and from an experience with a fellow patient during a hospital stay and through his siblings, some of whom have learning differences, he learned to be aware of other people and to appreciate them for their strengths. He developed a firm commitment to the underdog. Throughout high school and college he worked with emotionally disturbed, underprivileged, and learning disabled children.
After graduation from Williams College, where he was a Lehman Scholar and President of the Student Body, Steve taught math and psychology at Choate Rosemary Hall for six years, where he also was a Form Dean, served as an advisor, and coached squash, baseball, and soccer. Although he had considered going into medicine or law, within two days of starting teaching he decided to make his career in education. “It balanced everything I liked,” he says, “children, academics, athletics, co-curricular subjects.”
Steve proceeded to earn two Masters degrees in Education, one with a concentration in counseling and consulting psychology, the other in secondary education, and a Doctorate in Education with an emphasis in Administration, Planning, and Social Policy, all from Harvard University. While doing his graduate work, he taught for three years in the Newton and Brookline public schools and was a Teaching Fellow of Supervision in the Harvard Graduate School of Education. One of Steve’s particular enthusiasms is squash and during this period he was Assistant Coach of Men’s Squash and then Head Coach of Men’s and Women’s Squash at Harvard. His coaching experience also took him to Israel, where he coached the 1989 and 1993 United States Men’s and Women’s Squash Teams in the Maccabiah Games. “Squash is a medium for education,” he says. “Through it students learn to take risks, work hard, and strive for excellence; they can learn who they are. And while you play to win, you cannot learn to win until you have first learned how to lose.”
In 1992 Steve was appointed Head of The Shipley School in Bryn Mawr, Pa, a coeducational school with some 795 students in Pre-K through grade 12. Since then his wife, Sunny Greenberg, and their three children have all become integral parts of the School. As for Steve, “Shipley’s mission and my philosophy are a perfect match. I care about children. I want them to find out who they are, to enjoy learning, and to help make the world a better place to be. I want people to care about each other.”
In addition to being Head of School at Shipley, Steve serves on the boards of the Gladwyne Montessori School, The Vanguard School, ADVIS, the Center for Alternative Learning, and the United States Committee for Sports in Israel. He is an avid sportsman and enjoys his time with his wife, Sunny Greenberg, and their three children, Matt (10), Ali (8), and Jamie (6).
Contact Information:
(610) 525-4300 ext. 4122
SPiltch@shipleyschool.org
