Since he was a kid, Mr. Stein has always had a passion for teaching. “I set up a little classroom in my house for my little brother and my cousin, and we would do chemistry experiments,” he recalled. This passion carried him on this path throughout college and grad school, ultimately leading him to Springside in 1983.
When he started his college career at Muhlenberg College, Mr. Stein was on track to become a doctor, following in the footsteps of his father. However, he decided to get his Master’s degree in Science Education. “My dad was a doctor, and so there was some science all around all the time,” Stein described, “Most of my courses in undergrad were bio related, so bio just seemed like, yeah, I love doing this. I never really thought about teaching history or teaching something else.”
“I always wanted to be a teacher. My parents wanted me to be a doctor, so I left med school, went to grad school, and then took a science maternity leave position for part of a year while I was finishing up at the University of Virginia,” Stein said.
As a Philadelphia native, Mr. Stein was drawn back to his home as he searched for teaching positions. But he “never heard of Chestnut Hill Academy or Springside until [his] interview. I didn’t even know it was an all-girls school at the time.”
He got the job and came on as a full-time science teacher. The independent school environment proved to be a perfect fit. “You can build everything,” he noted, “if you’re smart, energetic and want to always get better, then this is the place for teachers and then also for students, which is why I’ve been able to teach so long; because you can just keep growing.”
Stein kept growing in his teaching career and became chair of the Science department at Springside in 1996. Since then, the science department has expanded, with new electives and opportunities for students to talk with professional scientists, such as the Scientist in Residence program and an expansive alumni network, which includes Stein’s former students.
For the past 42 years, Mr. Stein has worked to prepare his students not just for his tests, but for success as a student in Upper School and college. “The things that we teach in Bio and AP Bio are not necessarily bio. It’s working hard, staying organized. Can I think? Can I write? Can I read? Can I work with other people?,” said Stein. Students who have taken biology before know the workload it requires, and many times the value of it is not recognized immediately, but Mr. Stein noted how being able to develop these skills in his students is a source of pride. “That’s what I’m most proud of. I think I can get people to succeed in those things.”
“Mr. Stein’s classes have always been a bit challenging for me, and honestly, I struggled for a really long time about what it meant to me to be a good student,” said senior Quinn Seawright, a student of Mr. Stein’s for the past two years. “In taking his class and working with him for a few years now, I can see that his class and teaching have led me to realize a new motivation in a struggle.”
Stein’s support has helped Seawright on her path to study in the field of biology. She discussed Mr. Stein’s impact on her personal growth, as well, stating “He has really been a major part of why I can separate grades and success. I think in taking his classes and working with him, Mr. Stein has helped me be more confident in myself, and that effort can make so much of a difference.”
As her senior speech advisor, Mr. Stein helped Seawright manage the difficult topics she wanted to discuss. His support helped her overcome her nerves and deliver the speech to the senior class. “It gave me so much more confidence that it wasn’t ‘weak’ to share,” said Seawright.
As a practice, Mr. Stein asks his students how they are feeling before class starts. “He always checks in with us and makes an effort to have some fun while ensuring my voice is heard in class,” said junior Alex Kim, a current student of Mr. Stein’s. He strives to give his students continuous support, whether it be through setting a time to answer emails every night, or motivating and guiding students when they are faced with challenges.
Seawright and Kim are just a few of hundreds of students Mr. Stein has impacted over the past four decades. Beyond SCH, Mr. Stein designs curricula for schools in the tri-state area and has instructed workshops for other biology teachers locally.
A hallmark of Mr. Stein’s curriculum is inclusivity. He strives to make every student feel included as a part of the learning environment. As it says on his website, “students can’t achieve to their fullest academic and personal potential if the step of belonging doesn’t exist for them in our classroom.”
This includes activities that educate students about transgender people in sports, or why people have different skin colors, and uses inclusive language in lessons daily. At the end of the year, the course evaluation asks students if they felt their identity was represented in the material. Over his time at SCH, Mr. Stein has built up this ideology to support every student and has been a leader in bringing our core value of Diversity into the classroom.
Mr. Stein also drove the creation of the BioMed track, which accepted its first five freshmen this year. “That’s been the dream for a while,” Stein said, “and I finally got the criteria down to making it something that some students already do. A lot of students do summer work, but the summer work was never required, but now we’ve made awesome connections throughout Philadelphia with alums so that we can place kids in summer programs or in labs.”
His dedication to biology and SCH has earned him numerous awards over his career. “I’m also proud of the awards I’ve won through my teaching,” he added. Stein has earned the National Association of Biology Teachers’ Pennsylvania Biology Teacher of the Year and the PA Society of Professional Engineers’ Philadelphia and Delaware Valley Science Teacher of the Year Awards, along with many grants and fellowships. He was also “WMMR school’s coolest teacher. I have a mug for that. That’s a shining moment.”
When asked what his plans for retirement are, Stein simply said, “No plans.” However, he will have much more time to pursue some other passions of his that his students might not know about.
“I love volunteering, and I think adults with disabilities are the forgotten people to work with,” said Mr. Stein. Since the COVID pandemic, he hasn’t gotten the chance to continue his work, but he plans to return in retirement. Mr. Stein is proud of his commitment to this work, and in 2016, he earned the Brighter Future from the City of Philadelphia for his work with Adults with Disabilities. “Adults with Disabilities can be scary, and so people shy away from them,” he commented, “but I love them.”
Having teaching as a background has helped him with this difficult task. “Maybe because I have patience, and I know that deep down, everyone’s a good person, you just need to find out what’s special about each person,” said Mr. Stein
He also plans to put his biological knowledge to good use and continue gardening, which he started when his daughters were children. His garden includes strawberries, blueberries, kale, carrots, tomatoes, and several varieties of hot peppers. He uses his crops in his cooking, another hobby of his that he hopes to develop into new areas.
Through his time and dedication to Springside and SCH, Mr. Stein has inspired countless students and left a lasting impact on science at our school. “I would say my students are what I’m most proud of, and the thank you notes I get from my students,” Mr. Stein reflected. “Not just like preparing them, but that I care about them as people.”
The search for a new bio teacher and department chair has been extensive, with options still being considered. Middle school science teacher Kasia Garbacz will be the interim chair, but anyone hired will surely have much to live up to as we say goodbye to Mr. Stein.
