March 28, 2024
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Foxcroft Academy headmaster resigns Trustee says Coffill will be missed by all

DOVER-FOXCROFT – Foxcroft Academy’s well-liked headmaster who greeted people with open arms and brought unity to the school community has tendered his resignation effective June 30.

Robert Coffill submitted his resignation to the board of trustees to pursue other professional opportunities. He reportedly informed his staff late Monday afternoon.

“Mr. Coffill’s imprint on the academy will be felt for many years to come, and he will be missed by faculty and parents, but especially by students,” Vandy Hewett, president of the FA board of trustees, said in a prepared release.

Tracy Roberts, an FA junior, said she would miss Coffill. “He brings a smile on every day and greets new people with open arms and gives people second chances,” she said. “He was very into the school unity,” she said.

Coffill’s bubbly personality spilled out into the community where his positive influence helped strengthen the academy’s relationship with parents and the community, according to Ralph Gabarro, Mayo Regional Hospital’s chief executive officer. Gabarro said Monday that Coffill also was a strong supporter of the academy’s health center.

“I think Bob was great for the academy; he worked very closely with the hospital and YMCA,” Gabarro said. “I really liked his focus on the kids; the students were his priority.”

“I’m personally going to miss him,” Gabarro said.

Coffill’s lobbying efforts supporting the work of the Maine Association of Independent Schools placed him in themiddle of the recent “private school rule” discussion that was submitted by the pastcommissioner of education and later withdrawn, according to Hewett.

His work with the academy’s administrative team will allow Foxcroft Academy to become one of the first schools in the state to fully adopt a standards-based curriculum, Hewett said in a prepared statement. She noted that Coffill also played an integral role as a member of the academy’s planning team, which recently recommended to the trustees the adoption of 20 strategic objectives to guide the academy’s growth in the next five to seven years.

A search for Coffill’s replacement will begin soon, according to Hewett.


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