Dexter School
Coordinates: 42°18′34″N 71°08′07″W / 42.309346°N 71.135167°W
Dexter School | |
---|---|
Our Best Today, Better Tomorrow. | |
Location | |
20 Newton Street, Brookline, Massachusetts | |
Information | |
Type | Private |
Established | 1926 |
Headmaster | Todd A. Vincent |
Grades | Pre-K to 12 |
Enrollment | 425 |
Student to teacher ratio | 7:1 |
Color(s) | Maroon and gray |
Newspaper | The View |
Website | www.dexter.org |
The Dexter School is an independent school for boys located in Brookline, Massachusetts, USA. The school was founded in 1926. Its campus is also home to its sister school, Southfield, an independent school for girls founded in 1992. The school motto is "Our Best Today, Better Tomorrow."
Campus
The 36-acre campus on the Boston-Brookline border includes buildings such as Fiske Hall and the Sears Building grace the campus. Of particular note is the Clay Center for Science and Technology which provides students with classroom opportunities as well as an astronomical observatory.
Buildings of Importance
•Clay Center for Science and Technology
•Fiske Hall
•Hewitt Building
Academics
Dexter School's curriculum includes arts as painting, wood shop, choir, ballroom dancing, and much more. Beginning in Kindergarten 2, each homeroom does one public speaking event per year. Starting in sixth grade, every boy takes Latin through eighth grade. When in seventh grade, each boy takes Latin and a modern language. Every boy in the 7th and 8th grade is required to take a language and all boys take six classes in grade 8. In the high school, there are fifteen AP courses offering anything from AP Physics to AP European History to AP Latin. There are also honors and normal level classes for most courses. There are many upper class electives in history, English, and science.
Athletics
Dexter's Varsity Tennis in 2012 was in NEPSAC Class A and beat teams like Philips Andover and Philips Exeter and advanced to the semifinals of the Class A tournament. The Varsity Hockey team is year after year one of the strongest in New England competing against teams like Cushing, Nobles, Exeter, KUA, and St. Pauls. The Varsity Hockey, Lacrosse, Tennis, Football, and Baseball teams have all had many athletes continue their careers at the Division 1 level of NCAA sports.
Upper School Sport Offering
Fall: Cross-Country, Football, Soccer
Winter: Hockey, Squash, Swimming, Basketball, Curling
Spring: Golf, Crew, Tennis, Lacrosse, Baseball
Athletic Facilities
•Darlymple Gymnasium (Basketball Court, Lockers)
•Athletic Facility (Ice Rink, Gym, Locker Rooms)
•Thorndike Rink (Winter-Ice Hockey, Spring-Tennis)
•Fuller Field (Soccer, Lacrosse)
•Cornish Field (Football, Field Hockey)
•Charles River Boathouse (Crew)
•Southfield, Farm Field (Multipurpose)
•Lincoln Pool (Swimming)
•Baseball Field, Softball Field
New England Championships
•Varsity Hockey, 2010 NEPSAC Piatelli/Simmons Tournament Runner Ups, 2011 Piatelli/Simmons Tournament Champions, 2012 Piatelli/Simmons Tournament Semifinalists, 2013 Elite 8 Quarterfinalists
•Varsity Lacrosse, 2010, 2011, 2012 NEPSAC Small School Champions
•Varsity Tennis, 2011 NEPSAC Class C Champions, 2012 Undefeated Regular Season, Class A Semifinalists
•Varsity Baseball, 2011 Undefeated Season
History
Dexter was founded in 1926 after a group of parents decided to do something following the closure of the Nobles Lower School. The school originally had students drawn from some of Boston's oldest families, resulting in the school's reputation as a breeding ground for young Brahmins. Traditionally, most Dexter students, after graduating from what has more recently been called the lower school, have gone on to ISL boarding and day schools, most commonly Belmont Hill, Noble & Greenough, Roxbury Latin, St. George's School, St. Mark's School, and Groton. Today, with the high school now operating, students have attended elite universities such as Harvard, Oxford, Yale, Duke, Vanderbilt, and UC Berkeley
List of Headmasters
•Myra Fiske, 1926-1938
•Reverend Francis Caswell, 1938-1964
•William Phinney, 1964-2011
•Todd Vincent, 2011-Present
Traditions
Every year in the grades K-8, the New Boy Assembly is held during the 2nd week of school in Fiske Hall to welcome all incoming Dexter students to the school. Also, Dexter Day which is held during October is essentially the schools homecoming as both the Varsity Football and Soccer teams have home games where many students, faculty, alumni, and fans come out on a Saturday to support the school. Field Day is held in May where students K-8 compete in track and field events such as cross country, sprints, long jump, high jump, relay races, and many more. Also, every boy in grades 3-6 are assigned to either the Massasoit or Mohawk team for intramural sports. Prize Day is the last day of the school year for students K-8. In the high school, traditions such as the Fall Pep Rally before Dexter Day and Senior Prank Day have brought much fun to the community. Every Wednesday morning, each student in grades 9-12 meet in Fiske Hall for a chapel procedure. Grades 1-6 meet on friday mornings for the chapel procedure. There are Bible readings, an inspirational story told by a teacher, and the school prayers. Each student sings along with song cards.
Notable alumni
- John F. Kennedy, 35th President of the United States (1961 — 1963)
- Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. Brother of John F. Kennedy, served in the U.S. Navy during World War II
- Story Musgrave, Astronaut
- Ben Bradlee, Editor of the Washington Post
- McGeorge Bundy, United States National Security Advisor
- Gaston Caperton, President of the College Board
- Ernie Adams, Director of Football Operations for the New England Patriots.
References
http://www.dexter-southfield.org/dexter.aspx