The Advising System at Deerfield

Although teachers and coaches are actively involved in your daily life as a student, you also have a faculty advisor. In addition to acting as an informal counselor, guiding and supporting you through the inevitable triumphs and trials of boarding school life, your advisor attends to your academic needs. Together with you and your parents, an advisor examines your educational and personal goals in relation to special interests, strengths, and weaknesses. An academic program is then chosen to fulfill these goals. You ultimately assume responsibility for your course selections and academic performance, but your advisor guides and supports you through the process.

For first-year students, advisors are typically the faculty resident or associate on their corridor. After your first year, you may request to keep your present advisor or submit preferences based on your housing requests for the coming school year. Day students are usually assigned one of their classroom teachers as an advisor.

In addition to the support you receive from your faculty advisor, freshmen and sophomores have proctors on their dormitory corridors. Proctors, chosen from the senior class, are not disciplinarians, but rather act as role models and student mentors to the younger students. They are chosen for their maturity, their interest in helping others, and their ability to relate to people of different backgrounds and personalities.

Extra Help and Academic Support

At one point or another, almost everyone needs a little help. Whether it is a one-time visit for help on developing a particular study skill or weekly appointments to get tutoring in a specific course, Deerfield’s study skills coordinator is on hand to help. One-on-one meetings mean that students get personalized attention that makes it easy to address specific needs. Deerfield also has a system of peer tutors, willing and highly qualified students who are eager to help someone else with a subject in which they have had success. These tutors meet with students one-on-one to help with a specific course or program. In some cases, students may also consult outside tutors.

Peer Tutoring

Peer tutors are available online Sunday through Thursday evenings from 7:30 – 10:30 p.m. Students can log on to the Peer Tutoring Moodle page and join the conversation – all questions will be met with a quick response!

Tutoring

If you are having trouble with an academic course, it is often helpful to see if you can schedule extra help sessions with your teacher. You can also take advantage of the Student Tutoring Program.

Academic Accommodations

The Deerfield Policy on Academic Accommodations details Deerfield Academy’s policy on academic accommodations for students with documented learning disabilities. For any questions related to this document, please contact Academic Dean Peter Warsaw.