Information for Boarders

Off-Campus Guidelines

Students may travel to Greenfield and the local area after properly signing out. However, they are expected to make good decisions and remember that they represent the Academy. Local cab and shuttle services offer transportation to town if students need a ride. Students are not permitted to ride in day student cars to Greenfield or anywhere else. The town of Greenfield is a five-minute drive from campus and offers access to barber shops, sports stores, movie theaters, grocery stores, restaurants and more.

Absence from school bounds without following proper procedures is considered a violation of Deerfield’s rules. The physical limits of the Deerfield Academy campus are defined as including the area bounded on the west by the Deerfield River, on the east by Routes 5 & 10 (excluding the grounds of the old grammar school), and extending north and south the full length of Main Street. After 8:00 p.m. every evening, the lower level of the Deerfield campus, including the playing fields, the track, and the river banks, are off limits to students.

Students are required to be on campus Monday through Thursday by 8:00 p.m. Prior to that time, if you wish to go to Greenfield or other points off campus in Deerfield, you must fill out and post an Off Campus Slip on your dormitory door. The procedures are the same for leaving campus on Fridays and Saturdays; as always, you are obliged to be back on campus by curfew. In order to go off campus to a location other than Deerfield or Greenfield, you must obtain the signature of the faculty resident, on-duty associate faculty resident, or the School Officer in Charge, whereupon you must post your Off Campus Slip on your dormitory room door.

Winter practice schedules and dinner hours can cause confusion; however, during the winter term the bounds policy remains the same: students are required to be on campus Sunday through Thursday by 8:00 p.m. A violation of off campus sign out procedures is considered a breach of trust and the revocation of sign out privileges is the minimal response to that violation.

Weekend and Overnight Permissions

The Parental Permissions and Release Form is used by the Dean’s Office to check that a student has permission to leave campus for an overnight visit when school is in session. During school vacations, when a student is required to leave campus (see school calendar), the Dean’s Office does not verify that his or her destination has parental approval.  It is assumed that parents know and approve of the vacation plans for their child. All parents must fill out the Permissions & Release Form and return it to the Dean of Students Office each year. Parents of a returning student should note that the permission forms signed last year are no longer in effect.

Until we receive a completed form, your son or daughter will need permission from you for every overnight visit, even to go home. Such permission must be received in the Dean’s office by the Wednesday prior to the weekend the student wishes to be absent from campus. A student’s weekend permission can be changed at any time during the year by means of a letter mailed or faxed (413-774-1476) to the Dean of Students Office.

A student must submit his or her weekend plans to the Dean of Students Office by Wednesday before noon prior to departure for a weekend. Permission slips need to be signed by your faculty resident, or a resident associate. Be sure to tape the yellow copy of your weekend slip to your door. A student who is away from campus for a weekend is due back by 6:00 p.m. Sunday evening and is expected to participate in “Sunday cleanup.” Upon returning, students must check in with the School Officer in Charge at Sunday dinner. Permission to return later must be obtained from the Dean of Students Office prior to departure for the weekend.

A student may not miss a class in order to accommodate weekend travel plans.  Special permission may be obtained from the class dean, if unusual circumstances warrant an exception. There are designated closed weekends when all boarding students must remain on campus. These weekends are listed on the Deerfield Academy calendar. A boarding student, while school is in session, will not be permitted to go to motels, hotels, or inns without adult supervision, even with parent permission. When a dean is concerned about a student’s weekend plans, he/she may require specific parental authorization. Any dishonesty in making weekend plans is considered a major rule violation.

While on weekend leave, it is not appropriate for students to return briefly to campus and to leave again without notifying a Dean of Students or School Officer in Charge. The school officer in charge can be reached on weekends at 9-772-9070. It should be understood that whether technically on weekend leave or not, anytime a student is on campus, he/she is subject to all rules of the Academy. If a student does not comply with this procedure or the excuse for returning late is not acceptable, a student may be placed on restrictions, and/or his/her weekend privileges may be revoked, or future vacation periods shortened.

As in all situations, we expect and rely on the honesty of Deerfield students. Submitting a weekend slip that is false, misleading, or intentionally incomplete is a serious breach of trust and will be dealt with accordingly.

Telephones

Boarders can request to have a phone in their room.  When activated they will receive messages on this phone.  Day students have voicemail available accessible from any phone.  All internal and local calls will be available at no charge.  Each student will have their own personal identification number (PIN) that will be used for placing long distance calls. Cell phones may be used ONLY in specific locations.  All other cell phone use is prohibited.

To maximize evening study time, students will not be able to receive or make telephone calls during evening study periods (8:00 – 10:00 p.m.).  Refer to the Student Handbook to find the cut-off time in the later evening for telephone usage.  Callers will be automatically transferred to the student’s voice mailbox to leave a message during these restricted periods.

There will be no public directory listing of student telephone numbers.  If someone calls for a student through the main number, they will be transferred.  However, the number will not be given out.  Campus operators have all been with the Academy for many years and can help with appropriate names and locations in most cases.  Deerfield uses an answering service for security purposes only after the switchboard has closed.

Personal Student Accounts

An individual student account will be established through our Finance Office for each student to take care of school-mandated charges such as College Board examination fees.  Certain items of a discretionary and/or personal nature may be charged to the student account if desired.  Examples are charges at the school stores, the snack bars, some bus transportation and social events.  If you wish your son or daughter to have these charge privileges, you must complete the “Student Charge Privilege Authorization Form” from the Finance Office.

We urge those parents who wish to establish charge privileges to do so before the end of August.  This will help to avoid delay in the ability to charge items shortly after the start of school when the demand is generally heaviest.  This is particularly important in the case of members of the athletic teams who may be returning to school early.  Please note that it will take at least a few days for the student’s charge card to be processed.  We recommend that all students have access to cash or a checking account upon arrival at school.

Motor Vehicles, Bicycles, and Hitchhiking

A boarding student is not permitted to operate motor vehicles unless accompanied by his/her parents or when authorized by the Dean of Students. It is the policy of the Academy that boarding students may not have cars on campus, or parked anywhere in Deerfield or Greenfield, while school is in session.  Parents are asked not to request exceptions to be made for their children.

A boarding student is not permitted to ride with a day student at any time unless in conjunction with an approved overnight request. In addition, a boarding student may not drive with anyone who is under the age of 21, unless the student has received written or verbal permission from parents in conjunction with an approved overnight request.

A student may not ride a bicycle on state or federal highways, including Rtes. 5 & 10, except when authorized by a faculty member or the Dean of Students.

Hitchhiking is prohibited.

Bicycle Registration

Bike racks are provided and locks are strongly encouraged. Please remember that bikes on campus are not community bikes, but individually owned. Bikes must be registered with the Security Office. Failure to do so will result in one AP.

Insurance

It is recommended that students arrange for insurance coverage through their family’s policy for their belongings such as bicycles, cameras, electronic equipment.  Deerfield Academy IS NOT responsible for a student’s personal belongings and does not carry any insurance policy in that regard.

Local Vendors

Students should understand that they cannot use their school charge card to charge items purchased off campus.  Some businesses allow students to pay by check.  Deerfield does not accept any responsibility for student checks that are returned due to insufficient funds.