Deerfield Academy is a prep school located in Deerfield, Massachusetts. It is a four year boarding / day high school with a student body of approximately 600 students and employing about 100 faculty all of whom live on or near campus.

History

Deerfield Academy was founded in 1797 when Massachusetts Governor Samuel Adams granted a charter to start a school in the historic town of Deerfield. The academy quickly established itself as one of the finest schools in the newly formed United States and drew students, both male and female, from prominent families across New England. In the second half of the 19th century, however, its prosperity declined, culminating in a merger with the local public school.

In the early twentieth century, Deerfield's fortune sharply rebounded with the appointment of Frank Boyden as Headmaster. The prestige enjoyed by the school today is a direct result of the foundations he laid. Boyden's long career and legacy at Deerfield has been immortalized in the book The Headmaster , by John McPhee ('49). His success would not have been possible without the support and assistance of his wife, Helen Childs Boyden . After 66 years of serving Deerfield, Frank Boyden retired in 1968.

The current headmaster Eric Widmer ('57) was appointed in 1994 and has announced his retirement, effective following the hiring of a replacement. In 1989, the Academy reestablished co-education, which Boyden had discontinued during the 1940's. Today, Deerfield Academy is considered one of the leading prep schools in the country.

Prominent graduates include King Abdullah of Jordan; writer John McPhee; Sen. John Chafee; Ambassador Warren Zimmerman , the final American ambassador to Yugoslavia; members of the Bush family and Rockefeller families; journalist and publisher Stephen Brill ; and radio-host Howie Carr.

External Links

• Deerfield Academy Website