The CFS Board of Directors and the Head of School Search Committee announced today that Troy Baker, Ed.D., has been unanimously selected as Church Farm School’s next Head of School, beginning July 1, 2025. We are confident that Dr. Baker will continue to advance Church Farm School’s mission and core values while building on the legacy of the Shreiner family, fourth Head of School The Rev. Edmund K. Sherrill and Ms. Tiffany Scott, who is currently serving as Interim Head of School. Dr. Baker has extensive experience in faith-based and independent school education. He currently serves as Upper School Director at Breck School in Minnesota, an Episcopal PreK-12 college preparatory school, where he leads innovative academic programming and works with key stakeholders to foster a culture of continuous improvement.
QuestBridge, like Church Farm School, is a nonprofit organization that “grew from a core belief that all students deserve to reach their full potential, regardless of their financial background.” Co-founded in 1994, QuestBridge identifies bright young people from disadvantaged backgrounds and aims to provide opportunity through significant financial aid to the nation’s leading colleges and universities. When Tiffany Scott, Church Farm School Interim Head of School, joined the CFS administrative team in 2014 as its first-ever Director of College Guidance, she made it a goal for the school to partner with QuestBridge. Since 2015, 13 CFS students have been named National College Match Finalists, with seven seniors matched and receiving full rides to Princeton, Brown, Tufts, Williams, Vassar, the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Chicago. This year, Church Farm School is proud to add three more names to that list. Hector Audelo Gutierrez ’25, Achylles Farias ’25 and Kennent Pineda ’25 well all named National College Match Finalists in October. On December 2, Hector learned that he matched with Amherst College in Massachusetts and Kennent matched with Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania. Both will receive full, four-year scholarships.
The Church Farm School is pleased to announce that it has selected Lisa Sembrot, SPHR, SHRM-SCP, MPA, as its first-ever Director of Human Resources, effective August 19, 2024. Lisa has worked in the Human Resources field since 1994 and brings a wealth of experience and expertise to Church Farm School. In this role, Lisa will lead all areas of human resources, including performance management, employee relations, recruitment and retention, salary and wage administration, regulatory compliance, workers’ compensation, FMLA and leave management and unemployment administration. She will report to the Head of School.
It is with great sadness that the Church Farm School shares that Shirley McKee Shreiner, wife of the late Dr. Charles Shreiner (our second Head of School), passed away on Thursday, July 25 at Dunwoody Village in Newtown Square, where she had resided for more than 25 years. She was 96 years old. Shirley is survived by her three children Charles W. Shreiner III (CFS’ third Head of School), longtime former CFS Board Member Stacey S. Kley (Bill), Alix S. Markee (Jim), eight grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. Shirley was born in Jenkintown, PA, in 1928 and married her late husband Charlie (d. 2004) at St. Martin’s Episcopal Church in 1951. They lived together at Church Farm School until Charlie’s retirement in 1987.
We are thrilled to announce that Dr. Darryl J. Ford will be providing the keynote address at our Convocation Ceremony on Friday, September 6 at 1:00 p.m. in the Chapel of the Atonement. The former Head of School at William Penn Charter from 2007-2023 currently serves as Vice President, Education Leadership Services, at Carney Sandoe & Associates.
The Church Farm School Board of Directors, at its May 14, 2024, Annual Meeting, elected Vincent J. Napoleon as Chair and President through May 2027. Vince joined the Board in 2018 and for the past year, has been serving as Vice Chair alongside Matthew J. Burns, whose three-year term as Chair and President recently expired. Vince is a seasoned C-suite business leader, legal executive and retired U.S. Air Force Reserve Colonel with extensive experience representing global Fortune 100 and 500 aerospace, technology, advanced technology, heavy industry, professional services and life-science related companies. He is Founder and Principal of Eagle Consulting Advisors, a business and legal advisory services firm. Vince also serves as an arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association where he presides over disputes between commercial parties.
The Church Farm School is pleased to announce that it has selected Christopher Kramaric to join the school community as its Chief Advancement Officer, effective July 1, 2024. Christopher joins CFS from the Woodlynde School, where he served most recently as Assistant Head of School for External Affairs, overseeing fundraising, marketing/communications and admissions. As a member of the CFS Administration, Christopher will lead the school’s Advancement efforts, including fundraising and stewardship activities and events, alumni and community relations and marketing and communications.
The CFS Board of Directors has retained the leading national recruitment firm of Carney, Sandoe & Associates to guide Church Farm School through the Head of School Search process, with a goal to have a new Head in place by July 2025.
The Church Farm School Board of Directors is pleased to announce the appointment of Tiffany Scott, M.Ed., as the Interim Head of School, effective July 1, 2024. The Board considered several qualified candidates both internally and externally. Tiffany stood out for her leadership record and demonstrated impact as Director of College Guidance and Strategic Initiatives.
Tiffany’s impactful and long tenure as a CFS school administrator, her completion of the competitive National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) Fellowship for Aspiring School Heads Program and her respect both inside and outside of the CFS community as a thought leader on issues that relate to boys boarding and independent school education make her a natural fit for the Interim Head of School position.
The CFS Board of Directors announced on March 18 that The Reverend Edmund "Ned" Sherrill will be departing after this school term after 15 years of service. "Ned helped our school take critical steps forward throughout his tenure as CFS Head, recruiting a more diverse and best-in-class group of teachers, administrators, and board members. Oriented to the success of every scholar, he and his team have maintained the highest accreditation standards and produced Strategic Plans that ensure the continuous development of the school's educational program and residential community. Moreover, the school made meaningful modern campus updates during Ned's tenure—adding a one-megawatt solar power grid, state-of-the-art and ADA-accessible facilities, greater safety for pedestrian mobility on campus, and a new all-weather track and turf field that helps us compete for and attract top student-athletes."
The Church Farm School is an independent boarding and day school for boys in grades 9-12 located in Exton, PA. Founded in 1918 to provide an excellent education to young men from limited means, Church Farm School now serves boys from a range of socio-economic circumstances who are seeking an extraordinary educational opportunity. The school offers a challenging college preparatory curriculum and an exceptional level of personal attention, with class sizes averaging between just 7 and 12 students.