Announcing C&C’s Next Principal
January 11, 2023
Dear City and Country School Community,
The City and Country School Board of Trustees and Search Committee are delighted to announce the appointment of Dr. Frank Patti as C&C’s next Principal, beginning on July 1, 2023. Frank’s mission-focused approach to leadership and commitment to progressive education make him exceptionally suited to bring our community together and to guide the School through its next chapter.
Frank joins C&C from Milton Academy in Massachusetts, where he is Lower School Principal. However, his family’s move to the West Village is very much a homecoming. Frank spent many years working in Manhattan independent schools, as well as attending Bank Street School of Education, where he received a Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership prior to earning his EdD from the University of Pennsylvania.
From a nationwide field of strong candidates, Frank’s background, skills, and experience made him the Search Committee and Board’s unanimous choice for our next Principal at this important moment in the School’s long history. He will bring a strong strategic vision, rooted in a deep understanding of progressive education. As a teacher and division leader, he has brought progressive principles into the classroom, and has a proven commitment to faculty professional development. Frank’s expertise in school communications, marketing, and outreach will be invaluable to spreading the word about C&C’s innovative progressive program. The Board was particularly impressed by his steadfast and demonstrated dedication to creating diverse and inclusive communities and successful implementation of DEIB initiatives, which will advance our work in becoming an anti-racist and more equitable community. His extensive experience in school operations and management, as well as in fundraising and admissions, will be central to supporting the healthy functioning of our institution.
The feedback we received from our community was invaluable to the selection process. Like the Search Committee, community feedback fell overwhelmingly in favor of Frank and mirrored the many positive qualities that the Search Committee saw in their interactions with him. Thank you for the many ways in which you have engaged with the search and shared your insights and perspectives through countless meetings and interviews and hundreds of survey responses. Thank you also for sharing who we are: Your warmth, openness, and deep commitment to progressive education in our community was clear to all who visited our school and was instrumental in helping us find the right person to serve as our next leader. We are especially grateful to the members of the Search Committee, the Staff Advisory Committee, and the Parent Advisory Committee for their invaluable contributions of time and energy to this important and intensive process.
In the coming months, Frank will be in close contact with Principal Scott Moran and the C&C Board of Trustees to ensure a smooth transition. We look forward to sharing more about upcoming opportunities for you to get to know Frank and his family this school year, and throughout the year ahead.
Please join us in welcoming Frank to the C&C community!
Best,
Josh Cender, Search Committee Co-Chair and Chair, C&C Board of Trustees
Kate Bostock-Shefferman, Search Committee Co-Chair and Secretary, C&C Board of Trustees
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January 11, 2023
Dear City and Country School Community,
I am so deeply honored to join C&C on July 1 as your 14th Principal. I have visited your campus several times throughout my career in NYC—as assistant teacher, head teacher, and division director—and have seen firsthand the magic of your school. However, it wasn’t until I had the chance to spend two full days with your community last month that I fully understood the tremendous power of a school that is so truly and unapologetically progressive.
During my visit, I had 21 meetings with various members of the C&C community, and each conversation was—for various reasons and in various ways—energetic, vibrant, and inspiring. What touched me the most, though, was my lunch meeting with a handful of your Upper School students. Poised, confident, and bright, these students demonstrated to me in just 25 minutes what schools can achieve if we truly put students at the center of our work. Simply put, I was blown away by the young people at C&C.
I am so grateful to Scott Moran, the members of the Principal Search Committee, the Board of Trustees, Lisa Pineda, C&C staff, faculty, leadership, families, and students. You gave so much of your time and attention during one of the most stressful weeks of the school year. Thank you!
My family is excited for our move to NYC this summer. I look forward to introducing you to my husband TJ, daughters Havana (7) and Liliana (1), and our chocolate lab Stella. I am eager to meet each and every one of you soon, and begin working with Scott and Josh on a smooth transition. Our world needs progressive schools now more than ever, and I am honored to be a part of C&C’s next chapter.
With gratitude,
Frank