Teacher Profile: Steph Lehn, Grade 4 Teacher

A Forever Cheerleader,  Support System, and Ally

By Andrew Niblock

Steph Lehn has been cultivating Tiger Pride on Old Church Road for her entire professional life. She is an effervescent part of the weave that makes not just our Upper Elementary division, but the broader Greenwich Country Day community the vibrant place it is. To enter Steph’s orbit is an affirming and joyful experience for children and adults alike. There are scores of GCDS students and families who all love our school a bit more because they know Steph.

I was excited to talk with Steph about teaching, children, and our school.

When did you first think of yourself as a teacher?

I found swimming as a sport when I was young and quickly discovered how much I enjoyed staying after my practice to help with the youngest kiddos. The joy I felt with this volunteer job led to what became my consistent summer job as a lifeguard and swim instructor. I taught lessons to kids each day and quickly discovered how satisfying and fun it is to watch some-one grow and improve. 

Despite this experience, when I started at Boston College, I entered the pre-med program because society told me medicine is an important calling. When it came time to register for classes my junior year, my heart wasn’t in it. I became a psychology major and wasn’t really sure what my next step would be, but when I met a GCDS rep at a BC job fair my senior year, all of my incredible memories at the town pool came flooding back. 

The rest is history

What about fourth-graders inspires you?

Their energy, their passion, their curiosity. They are old enough to explore and develop their own identities, but still delightfully innocent and optimistic. I love watching them discover what brings them joy. I love helping them learn more about themselves as students and people. I love their loyalty to their friends—how they are seeking independence, but still need the close connection with the grown-ups in their worlds. I love how funny and playful they are. 

Penn has recently included a Thank You Note as an essay option for their application. As a teacher who would you write to? Who inspired/inspires you?

Jen Donnalley: First as colleague, now as dear friend. Her optimism, energy, and passion for all things service and teaching are admirable. I am grateful every day I found her so early in my teaching career. Running the service program in the old “Middle School” gave me incredible opportunities as a young teacher. I was able to connect with kids of all different ages, create new activities and programming with her support, and be directly mentored by one of the greatest! How lucky was I?

Sarah Cauldwell: She was a staple on the fourth-grade team when I started teaching science in 2006. She had a way with both parents and students that inspired me to connect more deeply—with students as a whole person and with parents as an empathetic partner. We were close when I taught science, but when I joined the fourth-grade team as a homeroom teacher, she took me under her wing. She cared about me as a teacher, but also as a person. I knew her when I was 24-years-old finding my way after college, and she cheered me on as I stepped into marriage, motherhood, and new professional opportunities. She knew intimately the challenges and joys this journey would bring, and somehow inspired me to be a better teacher while instilling the importance of work-life balance for my family.

Mr. Trapotsis: My high school honors and AP chemistry teacher. His classes were some of the hardest I ever took, butI loved them. He taught me a lot about the power of mistakes, the joy in grappling with new information/ideas, and what it means to feel supported. 

How do you hope students leave your classroom in June?

I hope they know they are so deeply loved and cared for by the people in their world—parents, friends, and teachers. I also hope they leave with a deep understanding of what they are capable of. And I don’t mean multiplication or completing a story arc . . . I mean that they have a growth mindset and they value who they are and the journey they are on. 

I also want them to know that I will forever be their cheerleader, support system, ally. 

You are a teacher leader with your work with the GCDS Center for Public Good. What role can service play in a child’s learning adventure?

All people want to put good out into the world. CPG does an incredible job providing a wealth of opportunities to do that. Building that identity in students helps them to be better friends, siblings, children, teammates because it requires them to think outside themselves, offers perspective, and brings kids together in a beautiful way. Every child cares about all children having a birthday party or food for their table at each meal. They all want to do whatever it takes to make that happen.

In our house, we have a small quote board that we change periodically. Since January, it has said, “What did you do to make someone else’s life better today?” This is something we talk about frequently. When our kids get out of the car in the morning or walk out the door to meet their walking buddies, we remind them to say thank you, be kind, and look for ways to be good friends. We appreciate that this is something that is reinforced in their school environment because we care more about our kids being good people than we do about their level of academic achievement. Don’t get me wrong, academics matter to us too, but their character is far more important to us than their score on the MAP Growth Test.

I am in awe of all Austin (Lehn—US science teacher, base-ball coach, CPG coordinator, and Steph’s husband) has done to make service come alive in the US. I love being able to help support the work he is doing. Whether it be brainstorming ways to teach a science class to elementary school students with an intersession group or sharing a craft for students to do with their students at Building One Community, it fills my bucket to support his work and put more good out into the world. 

GCDS is a family affair for the Lehns. What is that like?

It’s the best. We’re part of a village of incredible people. 

Being in multiple divisions provides a wonderful opportunity to facilitate connections between people, both students and faculty, and curriculum. Even though I don’t teach in the Upper School, I feel like I know some of the students through Austin. Recently, I had the opportunity to go see some rock star student playwrights have their work showcased at The Palace Theatre. I wouldn’t have known this was happening if it wasn’t for Austin. 

While listening to the book, The Light We Give, recently, I had an a-ha moment. It validated my experience on Old Church Road. Simran Jeet Singh shared, “Our internal disconnection is the greatest source of unhappiness in our lives.” In my mind, I immediately spun this to the positive (teacher brain) and thought of GCDS. Tiger Pride, and the values we strive to model in our faculty and instill in our students, aligns so closely with my priorities as a human and a parent. It is a large part of what has made me and my family so happy here.

Why do you teach?

I love my students, I love partnering with parents and colleagues to help students be their best selves both academically and as people. I love being part of this journey of growing up and the joys and challenges it brings. I feel like everyday I get to make a difference in someone’s life—whether it be a student who I help to understand the subtraction algorithm or a colleague I brainstorm with to find ways to make a lesson come alive. 

I get to spend my days learning—from my students, from my colleagues, from my administrators, and from my students’ families. Not everyone can say that about their job!

#GCDSCharacter