chester county woman's journal winter 2014

Holiday 2014Northern/Southern

Chester County Editions

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Women Making A DifferenceChurch Farm School

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Back Row: Tiffany Scott, Director of College Guidance; The Reverend Edmund K. Sherrill II, Head of School; Julie Wickland, Assistant to Head of School; Shana Garcia, Athletics and Student Support

Center Row: Rebecca Lee, English Faculty; Lori McDermott, Director of Alumni Relations; Diahann Hughes, Foreign Language Department Chair; Carol Houck, Assistant to Assistant Head of School and Director of Academics

First Row: JohnDerek Daniels ’15, Awes Choudary ’15, Angelino Go ’18, Ruslan Murphy ’15, William Zarycranski ’19, John Zhang ’15, James Cromartie ‘19

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Women Making a Difference: Church Farm School Then and Now By Stefanie Claypoole, Marketing and Communications Manager, Church Farm School

Minding the Mission Sherrill, who became Head of School in 2009, is equally determined that CFS boys are surrounded by similarly focused and influential women in every facet of the school’s operation. “Our goal is to raise young men who have a sense of purpose and responsibility—gentlemen, in the best sense of that word—and they can only do this when they learn to respect themselves and their neighbors. Our dedicated staff of women and men are constantly involved in the lives of these boys, helping shape their character and moral compass.”

In 1918, the school’s founder, The Rev. Dr. Charles W. Shreiner (“The Colonel”), an Episcopal priest, set about turning the ruins of the old Moorhead farm in what was then known as Glen Loch into a boarding school that would support single mothers by ensuring their sons had a place to live, work and study. His vision of salvaging the potential of both the boys and the land upon which they worked has been sustained for nearly a century. For more than half of that century, Church Farm School was dominated by men, in the classroom and on the farm. Until the 1970s, the few, yet critical,exceptions to this rule were the housemothers charged with the care of the boys in the 10 residential cottages, the wives and daughters of the school’s headmasters and all-male faculty, the women who worked in the kitchen and the infirmary and the kind souls who supported the school through their philanthropy, such as early benefactor Mrs. Thomas and recently Mrs. Sally Graham of Downingtown, one of the school’s first female board members.

Today, women are an integral part of the CFS community and are nearly half of the workforce. They are the mothers, aunts, grandmothers and female caregivers who trust the school to help rear and grow their sons in mind, body and spirit. They live in the cottages, helping boys with their studies in and out of the classroom and modeling how to navigate conflict and grow into mature adults. They are teachers who labor over engaging curricula that will incite a lifelong passion for learning. They are members of school staff who work hard to ensure that students thrive at CFS and set them up for success afterward. They are a significant part of a growing number of supporters who donate their time and their treasure to ensure the school’s unique mission can be sustained for another century and beyond.

WITHIN THE STORIED HISTORY of Church Farm School (CFS) in Exton and its mission on behalf of boys of mostly single-parent mothers is an even more impressive story of the women dedicated to its success. “Women have

centrally and selflessly contributed to the welfare of CFS and its boys since the founder first dreamed of placing a school in the heart of the Great Valley,” says current Head of School, The Reverend Edmund K. “Ned” Sherrill. In fact, the first buildings were made possible by the dedicated generosity of philanthropists Mrs. George C. Thomas and Mrs. Mary M. Garret. “Their influential work drew other women and men to the school’s mission and, before long, its ability to support boys of ability and promise, boys who were otherwise suffering under economic and social duress, grew.”

Headmaster Rev. Dr. Charles W. Shreiner, faculty, staff and housemothers, c. 1924

Until the 1970s, women at CFS were relegated to the critical role of housemothers. Today, they make up half of the workforce.



STACEY SHREINER KLEYGranddaughter of FounderCFS Board of Directors

Stacey Shreiner Kley, granddaughter of CFS founder Charles Shreiner, daughter of second headmaster Charles Shreiner, Jr. and sister to third headmaster Terry Shreiner, has fond memories of growing up at Church Farm School. She and her family (in addition to Terry, she has a sister, Alix) attended chapel services and Sunday dinners with students, swam alongside them at the pool, cheered at sporting events and helped make up the female contingent at school plays. Kley, now a board member at CFS, has watched the school evolve through the decades to “keep up with educational trends and to ensure its sustainability long term.” Perhaps the biggest change was the end of farming at CFS and the sale of much of the school’s land, which provided a significant endowment. As the school looks forward to another 100 years, Stacey said that “increasing the size of the endowment, or providing additional sources of income, will remain a priority.”

MARY ANNE BUCHANANFirst Female Faculty Member

Before 1976, women were present at Church Farm School in the kitchen, the infirmary and the cottages or living on campus with their husbands who worked at the school, but there were no “official” female faculty members. That changed with the hiring of Mary Anne Buchanan. Already living on campus with her then husband and children and serving as an elementary education teacher elsewhere, CFS administration hired Mary Anne as an English teacher for 7th, 10th and 12th grades. “It worked out wonderfully. My husband taught in the mornings and I taught in the afternoons,” she says. She enjoyed the tight-knit residential community CFS offered. The first year was tough, Mary Anne recalls, despite the full support of the administration and most faculty. “The older kids thought I’d be a pushover. But the young boys were so sweet. They’d be talking and accidentally call me ‘mom.’”

MINNIE KIRWINPast Parent and Friend

Minnie Kirwin grew up aware of Church Farm School because her family were donors and enjoyed the long-gone tradition of receiving a package of scrapple from the school each Christmas as thanks. In 1996 when she and her husband, John, began researching private schools for their, son, Alex, they saw an ad for an Open House at the school and decided to attend. Today, 15 years later, Alex is a senior sales development manager at the Wall Street Journal who recently got married at the school’s Chapel of the Atonement. John is a member of the school’s board of directors. Minnie has contributed as a donor and organizer to several special events, including the first gala in spring 2014. “At Church Farm, Alex was never a number; he was always an individual,” Minnie says. “Alex developed a passion for learning that continues today. He benefited from close relationships with teachers, administrators and boys from all over the world.”

The Significance of Women at Church Farm School By Stefanie Claypoole, Marketing and Communications Manager, Church Farm School (CFS)

STACEY SHREINER KLEY MARY ANNE BUCHANAN MINNIE KIRWIN LIZETTE SHERRILL

“Women have centrally and selflessly contributed to the welfare of CFS and its boys since the founder first dreamed of placing a school in the heart of the Great Valley.”

—The Reverend Edmund K. “Ned” Sherrill II

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The Significance of Women at Church Farm School By Stefanie Claypoole, Marketing and Communications Manager, Church Farm School (CFS)

LIZETTE SHERRILL

LIZETTE SHERRILLWife of Rev. Edmund K. Sherrill IIHead of School

Lizette Sherrill spends much of her time as “an ambassador” within the CFS community of faculty and staff, students, alumni, parents and friends. She believes the presence of women in all facets of school life models gender equality for the students. “CFS is not a patriarchal world. It benefits the boys to see women as professionals, as well as being their coaches, cottage advisors and friends.” Lizette and Ned often invite students to their campus home to go sledding, make their own pizza or play games. They can also visit with their dog, cat and four chickens. “Being together is always fun,” says Lizette, “and we have always enjoyed this part of boarding school life.”

TIFFANY SCOTTDirector of College Guidance

Tiffany Scott joined CFS in summer 2014 after working in admissions at the University of Delaware. Like many who hear about the school for the first time, she was awed by its mission. “I was impressed by their commitment to serving boys who come from single parent households. Plus, the school’s financial support of their

students is phenomenal,” she says. The diversity of students at CFS was also a draw. “It is great working for a place that supports students from various socio-economic backgrounds and brings young men together from around the globe.” She hopes her new role will positively impact the students. “As the Director of College Guidance, my role is to make sure that the only limits they have are the ones they place on themselves. It is imperative that these boys know their value in the world early so that they can be prepared to fully contribute to our society.”

JENNA IRRGANGTeacher, Cottage Faculty

Jenna Irrgang was drawn to CFS because of its unique mission and history. “I felt like this was a school where I could really make a difference as an educator and specifically, a female educator,” she says. She was hired as part of the cottage faculty in 2011, which allowed her to get to know the students in and out of the classroom. “So much learning occurs outside of a classroom here at CFS. The position of cottage faculty really allows the faculty member to help students with life lessons that are ‘real.’” The benefits of a residential education are many, Jenna says. “If you know a boy in the cottage or outside of the classroom, you can

work with them better in the classroom.” That includes being there to lean on in the absence of parents. “The structured routine of the school helps with homesickness, but we often try, as an entire school faculty, to act as a family in our consistency and guiding presence.”

DONNA ZARYCRANSKICurrent ParentPresident of CFS Parents Association

When Donna Zarycranski was searching for a private school for her son, Stephen, she knew very little about CFS, although she drove by it nearly every day. “We were aware that it was a prep school for boys and it had charming, simple aesthetics,” she recalls. Stephen spent a day shadowing a student and excitedly enrolled as an 8th grader in 2011. Donna says she and her husband were impressed by the affordable cost, technology access, academic rigor, small classes, the ability to participate in athletics no matter the skill level, the caring staff and CFS’s unique mission. Based on Stephen’s positive experience, Donna enrolled her son Will in 2013 as a 7th grader. “Our sons’ personal maturity has grown tremendously at CFS,” she says. “Church Farm School takes young men who already demonstrate solid academic ability and discerning character to the next level.”

TIFFANY SCOTT DONNA ZARYCRANSKIJENNA IRRGANG


FOUNDED ON THE DREAM of creating a school dedicated to rigorous work, real life learning, compassion and helping boys grow into strong, good men, Church

Farm School (CFS) is a community of dedicated learners.

The school’s four core values—Brotherhood, Respect, Integrity and Responsibility—are affirmed every day by teachers, advisors and mentors, and become pillars for living that students can depend upon for the rest of their lives.

CFS is a microcosm of the world, with unparalleled diversity—economic, cultural, ethnic and racial—that prepares graduates to live and work in a world that isn’t much different from life at CFS. Nearly 100% of CFS graduates attend competitive four-year colleges and universities, often with significant financial and athletic scholarships.

One hundred years after its founding, CFS has moved from its all-male and agrarian roots into a 21st century college preparatory school community of women and men, still dedicated to “boys of ability and promise.” In addition to its historically strong residential population, CFS continues to grow its day-student population of boys from Chester, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties. With an increasing number of women on campus fueled by those who philanthropically support its mission, CFS is a thriving educational leader in Chester County, nationally and beyond. Learn more: www.gocfs.net.

Why Church Farm School?


www.gocfs.net I 1001 E. Lincoln Hwy I Exton, PA 19341 I (610) 363-7500

Foreign Languages teacher and Cottage Faculty member, Stephanie Heerschap, teaches students.

Athletic Trainer Rachel Shanks supports CFS athletes.

A Philadelphia Inquirer story about Church Farm School from July 1925 praises its character-building education coupled with hard work.

chester county woman's journal winter 2014

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