Village School of Naples Names Head of Upper School/Assistant Head of School

The Village School of Naples, an independent school serving students in Preschool through 12th grade, announced the appointment of Nikki Belmarce-Sweeney as its new Head of Upper School/Assistant Head of School. In this role, she will oversee the school’s ninth through 12th grade division and assist in all future strategic initiatives.

Belmarce-Sweeney has more than 25 years of professional experience in the field of education. Most recently, she was Director of Innovation and Education Technology at the University School of Milwaukee. During her two-decade tenure there, she played an integral part in developing several of the independent prep school’s emerging programs.

“I am honored and thrilled to have Nikki join the TVS community as our new Head of Upper School and Assistant Head of School,” said Dennis Chapman, Head of School for The Village School of Naples. “She has a breadth of experience that will become a valuable asset in our Upper School division and throughout the entire TVS community.”

Belmarce-Sweeney earned an M.S. in Educational Leadership and a B.A. in Education from Cardinal Stritch University, a private Roman Catholic university in Milwaukee. She also has an M.Ed. in Educational Technology from Lesley University in Cambridge, MA.

Belmarce-Sweeney will be relocating to Naples from the greater Milwaukee area with her husband, Joe Sweeney, who is a businessman, private equity investor and professional board member as well as inspirational speaker and New York Times Best-Selling author.

Located at 6000 Goodlette-Frank Rd., The Village School of Naples originally began as The Caring Place Preschool in 1985 as an outreach at North Naples United Methodist Church. In 2000, the church relocated to the present campus location and added The Village School, beginning with K-2 and 37 students. In 2006, the school was accredited by the Florida Council of Independent Schools and the Florida Kindergarten Council.

In 2009, parents asked The Village School for a middle school to be added and soon after added the middle school one grade a year to complete the eighth grade. Four years later, the Board of Directors voted to add an upper school division in the fall of 2017. A capital campaign followed, and the new division opened in August 2017 with 17 students.

In June 2020, The Village School celebrated its first-ever graduating class of seniors with a class of 12 students. For additional information, visit www.villageschoolnaples.org.