Sue Szczepkowski - Head of Lower School
Mrs. Sue Szczepkowski began her tenure as Head of Lower School at Germantown Academy on July 1, 2012. She brings deep experience in numerous teaching and leadership positions, including four years as the Lower School Head at Chestnut Hill Academy (2000-2004).
Since joining GA, Szczepkowski and the Lower School faculty have worked to innovate, develop, and grow the areas of teacher leadership and professional growth by nurturing and mentoring teachers as leaders to create a healthy school climate, have an innovative mindset, and meet children where they are. Faculty members had also been engaged in master planning and building projects like the Tinker Lab and A to Z Library and Learning Commons. Programming like Design Thinking, IDEA (Identity, Diversity, Empathy, Advocacy) curriculum and affinity groups, as well as robust programming like Language Network, Extended Learning Network, and skills-based math instruction are used to meet the developmental needs of a broad range of skills. Through events like 4th and 5th grade mini-triathlons, 3rd grade Lenape Day, GA Naturally, and Welcome Walks students experience learning outside of the classroom.
Prior to her appointment at Germantown Academy, she spent several years as an elementary school teacher in Chadds Ford, Radnor, and Rose Valley, and at The School in Rose Valley, she was a member of the school board and the long-range planning committee. Szczepkowski spent a year as a service-learning consultant for the Kellogg Peer Consultancy for Service Learning in Radnor. She was also an adjunct faculty member at St. Joseph’s University from where she oversaw the organization of professional development and mentoring and supervising intern teachers for the Philadelphia School District’s Reduced Class Size/Balanced Literacy Initiative.
At Chestnut Hill Academy, she supervised the daily operations, worked with faculty to set and maintain academic standards, curriculum and professional development, served on the admission committee, was a member of the student and parents instructional support team and worked collaboratively with school-wide administration on all-school initiatives. Szczepkowski led a committee to revamp student assessment and evaluation to reflect national standards and developmentally appropriate expectations, and organized efforts to strengthen school-wide diversity initiatives. She left Chestnut Hill Academy in 2004 to begin her family, and currently, with husband, Michael, has three boys.
Szczepkowski is especially passionate about the GA mission, in which students are Independent in Thought, Confident in Expression, Compassionate in Spirit, Collaborative in Action, and Honorable in Deed. She said that the values speak to what she cares deeply about for teaching children, and for how she aspires to collaborate with and nurture faculty, parents, and the larger community.
Szczepkowski earned her undergraduate degree in American Civilization and a Master’s degree in elementary education from the University of Pennsylvania. She also earned a second Master’s degree and her Pennsylvania Principal certification from Gwynedd Mercy College in educational leadership. Szczepkowski completed her administrative practicums at the Souderton Charter School Collaborative and at Souderton Area High School in 2011.
Outside of GA, Szczepkowski serves on the advisory board of EQuipt People, a training and consulting company dedicated to helping organizations develop their staff and create cultures of understanding. The Listening Path® is a proprietary system on transformational listening that has been embraced at various Fortune 100 corporations, universities, law firms, and privately-held companies nationwide.
Field hockey has played a major part in Szczepkowski’s life. Besides being an accomplished NCAA student-athlete at Penn, she spent six years as the administrator, site director and head coach of the Olympic youth development program at the United States Field Hockey Association in Colorado Springs. She has also served in several roles on the University of Pennsylvania Field Hockey Alumni Board since 2007.
