Honoring Retirees

Two long-tenured employees will retire at the conclusion of the 2021-22 school year:

Rose Frola

Administrative Assistant to the Director of Finance and Operations Rose Frola was a stalwart in the Business Office for over two decades. She started at MFS in 1998 after serving as a long-time active parent volunteer. Her daughter Jessie graduated in 2000. Rose was the face of the Business Office, greeting visitors and callers, and providing support for the staff. As part of her role, Rose serves as transportation liaison, coordinating with bus companies and school districts to ensure MFS student and family transportation needs are properly met. She facilitates the process for state aid for transportation and textbooks, making certain that both the school and families submit all necessary paperwork to receive the appropriate state funding assistance. In addition to her core responsibilities, Rose has served on six different faculty/staff committees, including a term as Clerk of the Agenda Committee for Faculty/Staff Meeting for Worship for Business. She is proud of several of her ideas which became reality in some form, including separating Grandparents and Special Friends Days into divisional events and the Faculty/Staff Day of Service. Being a part of community life at MFS has always been a priority for Rose. She was involved in 28 MFS theater productions, serving as producer and lead costumer for many shows. Rose has helped coordinate costumes for eight May Day celebrations, with many costumes created and sewed from scratch. She has been one of the faculty/staff “MFS Stitchers,” who make blankets, baby blankets, and infant hats for retiring employees and those expecting babies. Before the pandemic, Rose was a fixture in her red and blue at MFS basketball and baseball games, and fencing matches, cheering on the Foxes.

A Long Beach Island resident, Rose has a large list of activities planned for retirement, most notably writing a book for her family. She is looking forward to spending more time with her daughters and grandchildren. and their families. She also plans to volunteer with highway cleanups, and at facilities which support pediatric cancer patients and geriatric patients.

Steve Shaffer

Steve Shaffer has served as an administrator and teacher at MFS for 29 years. He was appointed Middle School Director in 1993, arriving from Friends’ Central School where he had spent nine years as Director of College Guidance while also teaching Upper School English and coaching Varsity Boys’ Basketball. Before that, he spent five years at Columbus Academy (OH) as a teacher and high school baseball and basketball coach. He spent 22 years as the MFS Middle School Director and was well-known for being seen in every nook and cranny of the campus, maintaining the pulse of the Middle School and getting to know all of his students through conversation, mentorship, and fun. Many Middle Schoolers over the years wondered if there was more than one Mr. Shaffer since he often seemed to be in multiple locations at the same time. Steve also annually enjoyed teaching sixth grade English as a way to establish and maintain connections with students. In 2015, Steve returned to the classroom full time and has since taught sixth grade and eighth grade English, along with several Upper School seminar courses such as Sports Literature, Wilderness Literature, Short Stories, The Literature of War, and more. Athletics are a significant passion for Steve. While at MFS, he coached the Middle School “A” Girls’ Basketball team for seven years and also coached Middle School Boys’ “B” soccer for a number of years.

Steve has plans to increase his outdoor time - traveling, hiking, skiing, scuba diving, and surfing are among the many activities he enjoys. He looks forward to volunteering and performing service in the local community, and substitute teaching. Steve and his wife Susan live in Mount Laurel and their daughter Ally ‘10 lives in Philadelphia.