To tell the story of Deerfield Academy is in part to tell the story of American education in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and to tell of the town itself, Deerfield’s place on earth.
—Linus Travers ’54—Excerpt from the Foreword to Deerfield 1797 – 1997: A Pictorial History of the Academy
My contention (is that) individuals who do not know their past are not good captains for the America in which they will live, and, hopefully, prosper. Therefore, no student ought to leave Deerfield without an understanding of what Deerfield Academy and private secondary school education have made possible for them.
—Richard W. Montague ’52—Excerpt from a letter written to Head of School Margarita Curtis, December 2017
Through the generosity of Richard W. Montague ’52, Deerfield Academy is able to offer one student per year a grant of $1000 to support their research of one aspect, theme, or person directly related to the Academy (beginning in 1797), and examined through one or more of the following lenses: history of the village and the Academy’s connection to it, growth and expansion of the school, philosophy surrounding curriculum, the influences of modern-day founders Frank L. and Helen Childs Boyden on independent school education, or the purpose (and role) of independent schools (and more broadly, non-profit organizations). More details and submission form here.