Imagine...

• Introduction

• Student Experience

• Faculty Commitment

Read the Imagine Deerfield strategic plan, learn about funding priorities, see a list of campaign volunteers, or find an event in your area.

Classroom & Critical Thinking

With time and technology come new knowledge and deeper understanding. Deerfield will review its programs and invest in the physical and intellectual resources required to ensure that they remain world-class.

• A Targeted Curriculum Review examines multi-section courses, core skills, and information literacy to bring coherence, consistency, and alignment to the academic program.
• Capstone and Research Courses, such as Global H2O, an interdisciplinary, team-taught course that explores the challenges we face as water becomes an ever-diminishing resource, encourage our students to connect ideas across their entire academic experience. Read more about Global H2O in Deerfield Magazine.
• New Student Orientation Programs put incoming students on the path for success from the moment they arrive at Deerfield.
• Summer Programs sharpen student skills, encourage year-round learning, and encourage deeper studies in particular subjects.
• Additional Classrooms in the Arms Building outfitted with modern teaching amenities, maintain small classes and enable innovative teaching methods.

Read more about the Deerfield academic experience in the Deerfield Magazine features “Critical Elements,”“Load Distributors,” “Ellie and the Georgics,” “SPF 2012: Summer Program Fundamentals,” “A Crooked Line,” “The Science of Not Knowing,” and “Critical Elements.”

Personalized Academic Support

We’ll invest in a new Academic Center, housed in the Boyden Library, that uses modern technology and data-driven analysis to identify and support more personalized programs for our students.

• New Academic Resources teach organization, time management, information literacy, and study skills.
• A Writing Specialist, focused on non-fiction writing, supports our students while providing guidance in clear, creative, and critical thinking.
• Academic Center Specialists provide students with early, individualized guidance on their greatest academic challenges and opportunities.
• Diagnostic Tools evaluate student progress throughout their time at Deerfield, ensuring focus on the most important challenges and opportunities.
• A Test Preparation Program supports all Deerfield students’ performance on standardized tests—and reduces pressure on classroom time.

Community Spirit, Community Space

New technology enables easy relationships, but at Deerfield, we continue to focus on meaningful ones. Our campus remains a vibrant community—supportive, inclusive, and involved. To ensure that the unique character of our community endures, we must continually invest in spaces that bring Deerfield together as a family.

• A new Dormitory with Faculty Housing ensures that faculty are close to students’ lives and needs and ensures that comfortable common rooms remain an attractive spot for students to gather.
• Upgraded Arts Facilities provide venues for events that bring the campus together: performances, school meetings, and weekend events. Read more about the renovation of the Memorial Building in Deerfield Magazine.
• Community Spaces like the fitness center and Greer Store provide casual spaces for students to gather and share, even as they serve essential functions for health and wellness.

Read more about the visual and performing arts programs in the Deerfield Magazine features “On Cue,” “Skeleton Key,“ and “He(art).”

Financial Access

To promote Deerfield’s excellence, and to prepare students for leadership in a collaborative, global community, the Academy will significantly increase its financial aid budget, ensuring that we bring worthy students from every corner of the socioeconomic landscape.

• Expanded Financial Aid ensures that Deerfield’s programs benefit from worthy students, regardless of their background, financial need, or hometown. 

Read more about Deerfield’s financial aid program in Deerfield Magazine.

Deeply Committed Faculty

Mr. Boyden’s model of “teach, coach, and live” still define Deerfield’s faculty, but within that framework, teachers face more complexity than ever before. New technology, more advanced students, more connected parents, and a more competitive athletic environment means that our teachers are stretched to the limit.

• Additional Teaching Faculty keep class sizes small, guide new programs, and ensure that Deerfield’s teachers have time to pursue professional growth, new methods, and new technologies.
• Diversity Recruiting and an International Visiting Fellow provide diverse perspectives and ensure that every Deerfield student can find an adult to whom he or she can relate.

Read more about Deerfield’s deeply committed faculty in the Deerfield Magazine features “Load Distributors,” “Ellie and the Georgics,” and “SPF 2012: Summer Program Fundamentals.”

Teaching Excellence

The best teaching comes through a relentless pursuit of excellence. We’ll help our teachers identify new opportunities in their lessons—new tools, techniques, and pedagogies—by delivering more data, more feedback, and more opportunities for collaboration. The result will be a faculty—teachers, coaches, and mentors—that is collaborative and reflective about its practices and intentional about its professional growth.

• Professional Development Systems set clear expectations for our academic program—aligning departments and classes around key goals.
• Classroom Observation and Feedback programs provide comments and recommendations to teachers on best practices, curricula, and lesson planning.
• A Data Coordinator provides faculty and administration with key metrics on student success.
• A Comprehensive Performance Evaluation System provides faculty with frequent and valuable feedback on their teaching—and their students’ success.

Read more about our collaborative
faculty in the Deerfield Magazine.

Global Perspectives

Cultural knowledge is the key to collaboration and innovation, and with it, our teachers can help our students unlock global opportunities. We’ll ensure that Deerfield’s teachers understand the nuances of different cultures and the global marketplace by providing them with first-hand knowledge. When they return to the classroom, faculty will better relate in-class lessons to real world opportunities—bringing unique perspectives into the classroom and onto the corridor.

• A study of Global Teaching Methods brings successful teaching practices from other countries back to our American school.
• Expanded Travel/Service Opportunities provide direct experience of different cultures and bring that perspective into the classroom.
• International Study Opportunities enrich faculty knowledge and speed access to pedagogies from around the world.
• A Global Studies Coordinator connects Deerfield students and faculty with cultural resources and travel opportunities throughout the world.

Read more about faculty travel in the Deerfield Magazine feature
“Far Beyond the Western Mountains.”