The Dexter School was an independent school for boys in Brookline, Massachusetts, United States. The school was founded in 1926. The school motto was "Our Best Today, Better Tomorrow." In 2013 the Dexter School merged with the sister school Southfield School to form Dexter Southfield with which it had shared its campus since 1992.
History
Dexter was founded in 1926 by a group of parents wanting to fill the gap created by the closure of the Noble & Greenough 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. Of the first 600 graduates, over half of them attended Harvard. Today, with the high school now operating, students have attended elite universities such as Harvard, Oxford, Yale, Duke, Vanderbilt, and UC Berkeley. Dexter has a long tradition of academic excellence, character building, and athletic success.
List of Headmasters
- Myra Fiske, 1926â€"1938
- Reverend Francis Caswell, 1938â€"1964
- William Phinney, 1964â€"2011
- Todd Vincent, 2011â€"present
Campus
The 36-acre campus on the Boston-Brookline border included buildings such as Fiske Hall and the Sears Building grace the campus. Of particular note is the Clay Center for Science and Technology which provided 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 Southfield School's curriculum includes arts as painting, wood shop, choir, and much more. Beginning in Kindergarten 2, each homeroom does one public speaking event per year. Starting in sixth grade, every student takes Latin through eighth grade. When in seventh grade, each student takes Latin and a modern language. Every student in the 7th and 8th grades is required to take a language and all students take six classes in grade 8. In the high school, there are approximately 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 were 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 Phillips Andover and Phillips 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 Offerings
- Fall: Cross-Country, Football, Soccer, Volleyball
- 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
Recent Athletic Accomplishments
- Varsity Hockey, 2010 NEPSAC Piatelli/Simmons Tournament Runners-up, 2011 Piatelli/Simmons Tournament Champions, 2012 Piatelli/Simmons Tournament Semifinalists, 2013 Elite 8 Quarterfinalists
- Varsity Lacrosse: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 NEPSAC Small School Champions
- Varsity Tennis: 2011 NEPSAC Class C Champions, 2012 Undefeated Regular Season, Class A Semifinalists, 2013 Class A Quarterfinals
- Varsity Baseball: 2011 Undefeated Season (18â€"0)
New England Small School Champions
- Varsity Football: 2013 NEPSAC Tom Flaherty Bowl Finalist, 2013 Evergreen League Bonnefond Division Champs
Traditions
Every year in the grades Kâ€"8, the New Boy Assembly was held during the second week of school in Fiske Hall to welcome all incoming Dexter students to the school. Also, Dexter Day was 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 was held in May where students Kâ€"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 3â€"6 are assigned to either the Massasoit or Mohawk team for intramural sports. Prize Day was the last day of the school year for students Kâ€"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 6â€"12 met in Fiske Hall for a chapel procedure. Grades 1â€"5 met on Friday mornings for the chapel procedure. There are Bible readings, an inspirational story was told by a student, and the school prayers. Each student would sings along with song cards.
Notable alumni
- John F. Kennedy, 35th President of the United States (1961â€"1963)
- Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. Brother of John F. Kennedy, Naval aviator during World War II; killed in action
- 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
- David Walton, actor
- Barret O'Neil (baseball player) (University of Virginia)
- Johnny Magliozzi (baseball player) (New York Mets/University of Florida)
- Ryan Donato (2nd rd. Draft pick for Boston Bruins) (Harvard)