Alumnae
Distinguished Alumnae
Betsy Kaufman Sampliner ’58
Educator and Community Volunteer
Betsy Kaufman Sampliner ’58’s motto is simple: “Math is 99% how you feel about yourself as a math student.” This longtime teacher and a graduate of Smith College knows that what defines success is not only how her students perform on a math test, but their sense of self and how they feel about themselves as learners in general.
Betsy Kaufman Sampliner ’58’s motto is simple: “Math is 99% how you feel about yourself as a math student.” This longtime teacher and a graduate of Smith College knows that what defines success is not only how her students perform on a math test, but their sense of self and how they feel about themselves as learners in general.
For the last 26 years, Betsy has volunteered two days a week as a math tutor at the Cleveland School of the Arts (CSA), supporting grades 9-12 by providing one-on-one and small group math tutoring to students requiring extra assistance. Now working to formalize CSA’s volunteer program, she has touched almost every community-based program connected to the school and her commitment and consistent presence in a school that has undergone many changes has been an invaluable asset to students and faculty alike.
As one CSA faculty member wrote, “It is obviously important that she is highly skilled in the subject area, but I believe it is really the love and care and patience she brings to her work that makes her so effective. Students not only love working with her, they love her. Young people know when an adult truly cares about them. They can feel it. And they all know Ms. Sampliner is there for them. I see students all the time stop her in the hall for a hug. They deeply appreciate what she does for them.” That quiet commitment and dedication to young people has not gone unnoticed. In 2017, Betsy received the Center for Community Solutions’ Most Treasured Volunteer award in recognition of her work at the Cleveland School of the Arts.
Before inspiring students at CSA, Betsy was a beloved Middle School math teacher at Lyman Circle. For 13 years, she helped the Laurel girls under her patient and caring tutelage stretch their math muscles and embrace their potential for the pursuit of STEM careers. Her ties to Laurel are deep: in addition to being a past president of the Alumnae Association, she is the sister of Jean Kaufman Stotter ’47, mother of Lisa Sampliner Weitzman ’82 and grandmother to Danielle ’13 and Chloe ’20 Weitzman.
Only the third recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award, Betsy’s achievement, evident in the impact she has had on generations of Laurel and CSA students, can be distilled to this guiding principle— that every child should feel confident, inspired and successful about her own learning.
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As one CSA faculty member wrote, “It is obviously important that she is highly skilled in the subject area, but I believe it is really the love and care and patience she brings to her work that makes her so effective. Students not only love working with her, they love her. Young people know when an adult truly cares about them. They can feel it. And they all know Ms. Sampliner is there for them. I see students all the time stop her in the hall for a hug. They deeply appreciate what she does for them.” That quiet commitment and dedication to young people has not gone unnoticed. In 2017, Betsy received the Center for Community Solutions’ Most Treasured Volunteer award in recognition of her work at the Cleveland School of the Arts.
Before inspiring students at CSA, Betsy was a beloved Middle School math teacher at Lyman Circle. For 13 years, she helped the Laurel girls under her patient and caring tutelage stretch their math muscles and embrace their potential for the pursuit of STEM careers. Her ties to Laurel are deep: in addition to being a past president of the Alumnae Association, she is the sister of Jean Kaufman Stotter ’47, mother of Lisa Sampliner Weitzman ’82 and grandmother to Danielle ’13 and Chloe ’20 Weitzman.
Only the third recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award, Betsy’s achievement, evident in the impact she has had on generations of Laurel and CSA students, can be distilled to this guiding principle— that every child should feel confident, inspired and successful about her own learning.
Lyman Campus | Laurel School
1 Lyman Circle
Shaker Heights, OH 44122
Phone: 216-464-1441
Admissions: admissions@LaurelSchool.org
General: info@LaurelSchool.org
Shaker Heights, OH 44122
Phone: 216-464-1441
Admissions: admissions@LaurelSchool.org
General: info@LaurelSchool.org
Butler Campus | Laurel School
7420 Fairmount Road
Novelty, OH 44072
Phone: 216-464-1441
Admissions: admissions@LaurelSchool.org
General: info@LaurelSchool.org
Novelty, OH 44072
Phone: 216-464-1441
Admissions: admissions@LaurelSchool.org
General: info@LaurelSchool.org
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