Days of glory are not only confined to the halls and fields of Western Massachusetts. In the desert, there is another school that has sit-down meals, accountability points, and blazers and ties.
While there may be differences as a result of cultural and regional factors, there are several parallels between Deerfield Academy and King’s Academy in terms of student life and institutional structure. The connection between these two schools has provided countless opportunities for education, travel, and global connection, through exchange programs and faculty interrelationships.
While Deerfield provided a blueprint for King’s Academy, the school has flourished into its own unique institution, blending American education with a Jordanian environment. His Majesty King Abdullah II ’80 founded King’s Academy in Madaba, Jordan to mirror the Deerfield experience with a focus on the relationship between students and teachers. He was inspired not to copy the institution, but to create something in the spirit of it with the hope that time and experience would grant it the same level of prestigiousness that guided some of his most developmental years. From his experience at King’s Academy, Deerfield History Teacher John Leistler said, “The obvious genesis is that the King of Jordan so loved his experience at Deerfield in the class of 1980, that when he became King, he wanted a school similar.”
At King’s Academy, there are references to Deerfield customs all throughout the institution. The Kaziyeh, King’s version of the Greer, also sells dorm necessities like toothpaste, mini fridges, and comforters, as well as ready-made meals and drinks. Additionally, their form of Accountability Points (APs) are called Missed Obligation Points (MOPs) which share the same disciplinary system.
However, one of the most important customs King Abdullah II appreciated from Deerfield and brought to King’s was the sit-down meal program. In Jordan, students have the same opportunities to connect with peers from varying grades, dorms, teams, etc.
In the Hess Family Dining Hall, round tables encourage conversation and students take turns waiting tables. Before each meal, grace is said by two students in both Arabic and English before students conclude the prayer with applause.
Abdullah Ali ’25 arrived at Deerfield last September for an exchange trimester from King’s Academy. He later decided to transfer permanently. Ali explained that when he first arrived, he remembered the prayer ritual at sit-down meals like muscle memory. “I would start clapping and everyone would look at me weird,” he said.
That is one of the most special things about the bond between both schools: the ability to be similar, while also being different. King’s Academy interprets some of our oldest traditions, twisting aspects of their culture within them.
The cordial relationship between Deerfield and King’s has allowed many possibilities of travel and experience abroad for both students and teachers. Head of School John Austin previously served as headmaster of King’s Academy. Some Deerfield teachers have also taught there, including History and Social Science Teacher John Leistler, Language Teacher Lina Al Samawi, and Philosophy and Religion Teacher Jan Flaska.
Mr. Leistler moved to Madaba, Jordan with no prior knowledge of the region to begin his career teaching at King’s Academy. He was eager to watch the pendulum swing and hear stories he had never heard before. It only took him a year to feel energized, inspired, and integrated with the culture and he still recounts the moment he noticed that shift. He was speaking with a Jordanian secretary about television shows they had watched as children in the 1970’s. As it turned out, Mr. Leistler and his colleague had watched the same show growing up: The Walton’s. Coming to understand that there were more similarities than differences, Mr. Leistler said, “In a very strange way, I found a parallel that I would never have thought and seen.”
Ali, who is one of Mr. Leistler’s advisees, discussed his experience moving between cultures. At King’s Academy, Ali was surrounded by the comfort of his home culture. Moving countries, learning how to live on his own, and joining a community in which no one knew him, he was fearful and unaware of what was to come. Nevertheless, the similarities between Deerfield and King’s Academy aided his integration into a completely different cultural environment. Ali attributed his successful assimilation specifically to faculty interrelations. “That connection kind of helped me feel more at home and more comfortable here,” he said.
Juan Del Valle ’25 spent his first term this year abroad in Jordan. He reflected on his time away as an extraordinary experience in which he quickly fell into a routine with friends, academics, and athletics. He credits the swiftness of this transition to the cultural fusion of both academies. As soon as he was settled, Del Valle felt as if he was right back in the valley, saying, “Once I got into my rhythm… it was as if I was at Deerfield.”