Message from Head of School: Marc Spera

Dear Members of the CFS Community,

As we move forward together through the challenges of a continuing pandemic, Church Farm School continues to address other important matters. Today, I share news of recent legal developments in the matter concerning a former student and the arrest of former faculty member, Marc Spera, about which I have previously written in letters to the community in June and August of 2020.

We learned today that Mr. Spera has pleaded guilty to several counts of sexual abuse of a minor and the court has sentenced him to 15-30 years in prison. The betrayal of trust between a teacher and student is clear in this case. We continue to hold sincere and deep empathy for a former CFS student and regret that he suffered while attending our school.

Let me also reaffirm that CFS has implemented revised and enhanced training, policies and procedures to safeguard against misconduct from happening in the future. The Board of Directors has engaged T&M Protection Resources as external experts to conduct a third-party investigation into any reports of misconduct by CFS employees that may have gone unreported. We have encouraged anyone who experienced or had information about sexually abusive behavior by Mr. Spera or any other former or current employee to contact T & M Protection Resources at 646-445-7743 or churchfarm@tmprotection.com. This investigation is still ongoing and we will communicate with you further at its conclusion.

If you have a question about child protection, training or policies, or if you would simply like to share comments or insights on these topics, I welcome hearing from you.

Sincerely,

The Reverend Edmund K. Sherrill
Head of School | Church Farm School