Deerfield Academy often expresses pride in nurturing a community culture associated with terms like “closely-knit” and “connected.” But with 11 percent of the student body absent once the required school and co-curricular day ends, how intertwined into the Deerfield community can day students really be?
Day students have been part of the Deerfield Academy community since its founding in 1797, when the Academy primarily taught local residents. Evidently, much has changed in the last two centuries, and now, Deerfield enrolls students from all over the world, making boarding students the overwhelming majority and norm. Day students at Deerfield account for 73 out of 653 students, living anywhere from on campus faculty housing to a 45-minute drive away. There are polarizing views within the community on day student presence: one side arguing they are conducive to unifying the Deerfield community while others believe they are disadvantageous
Many students believe that dormitory life is essential to creating a strong sense of community. Maggie Monroe ’26, a day student from Longmeadow, Massachusetts, said, “I never realized how much I was missing out after study hall until curfew.” Monroe discussed the significance of time for bonding with hallmates saying, “Despite being associated with a dorm, integration is challenging as a day student because you miss out on small but important moments like feeds which form the tight-knit group.”
Cooper Johnson ’26, a day student, also believes dormitory life distinguishes day and border experiences. He said, “There is obviously separation because day students can’t be in the dorms after curfew and there’s a lot of community in the dorms that day students aren’t a part of.” At night, events like club meetings, dorm feeds, brushy-washy, and dorm shenanigans, which are key community building moments that day students miss out on.
Due to this divide, many day students struggle to fully assimilate into Deerfield’s social fabric. Aiden Van Epps ’25, a day student, said, “There are day students that are complete ghosts and go home right after classes.” This contrasts with day students who make active efforts to establish a presence on campus and illuminates how becoming a ‘ghost’ is a result of the lack of such efforts.
Jadin Smith ’26 elaborated on this campus divide saying, “We’re pretty tight-knit as a day student friend group so there’s not a lot of crossing between day students and boarders. For the most part, I would consider us separate.” According to Smith, in comparison with boarding students, day students have put forth conscious effort to bridge the gap.
In addition to the social network, students also acknowledge day students’ potential to connect Deerfield with the local community. Owen Tymchuck ’26, a boarding student, shed light on how day students broaden the community’s reach beyond campus. Tymchuk regularly travels with his day student friends to play for local soccer teams. “I wouldn’t be able to do that without them,” he said. “Deerfield is a diverse school, day students contribute to the community because they add a local perspective.”
Students also discussed socioeconomic diversity regarding day students. With more accessible tuition and travel fees, positions for day students add more opportunities for class diversity at Deerfield. “I think it is important to think about different socioeconomic classes to bring diversity to our community,” Monroe said. “Day students bring in people who don’t always have the opportunity to go to a boarding school.”
While day students offer varying perspectives to the Deerfield community, they must navigate the social separation.