FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL

ABOUT CHRIS HUGHES

Christopher A. Hughes is the 12th Head of Garrison Forest School. He comes to GFS from St. Paul Academy and Summit School (SPA) in St. Paul, Minnesota, a coed K-12 day school, where he served as Upper School Principal for 10 years. As chair of multiple K-12 task forces, Chris was instrumental in the school's success in increasing enrollment, evaluating and improving its science program and a campaign to upgrade STEM facilities and redesign the Upper School.  During his tenure at SPA, he continued to work in the classroom teaching courses in global issues and ethics.

Chris developed a genuine understanding of the importance of empowering young women to lead during his time at Chatham Hall, an all-girls' boarding school in Chatham, Virginia, where he worked for seven years. At Chatham Hall, Chris wore many hats including teacher, advisor, soccer coach and Academic Dean. As Academic Dean, Chris was integral in helping to improve the academic program and reduce faculty attrition.

His day-boarding experience began at the start of his educational career at St. James School in Hagerstown, Maryland, where he served as Director of College Counseling and Dean of Students supervising student activities, residential life and student discipline.

Chris holds a BA from Lafayette College and an MA from Lehigh University, both in history and education. 

Chris and his wife Farida, an artist and marketing professional, have two children; Jordan, a senior at Washington University in St. Louis, and Leah, a sophomore at Parsons School of Design. The family is delighted to live on-campus as part of the GFS residential life community. 

Chris Hughes was formally installed in September 2018. Read the full speech here.