Administration Extends Academic Dress Through Winter, Students Express Concerns

With the rollout of the 2026 to 2027 Student Handbook, Deerfield Academy updated its dress code to require academic dress year-round. In previous years, the Student Handbook allowed casual dress for January and February of the Winter term.

Academic dress is described in the Student Handbook as “a blazer or sportscoat (with lapel) … an appropriate top layer … [and] an appropriate bottom layer.” Written restrictions are present or “clothing inconsistent with a formal academic atmosphere … [including] blue denim pants, denim jackets of any color, sweatpants, yoga pants, and athletic attire.”

According to Associate Head of School for Student Life Amie Creagh, the decision-making process began last spring, when the Academy recognized the importance of aligning school policies with its mission.

Students first found out about the policy change in Head of School John Austin’s Families FYI email on August 14. In the newsletter, Dr. Austin explained, “Academic dress at Deerfield is too important and too distinctive to be a ‘sometimes’ policy.” 

The announcement sparked conversation amongst students as they arrived back to campus.

Many expressed concerns with both the method and timeframe of the announcement. Anne Kelly ’27 said, “You need to communicate changes sooner.” She added, “They did it during the summer so that nobody could complain in person.” 

In response to student concern, Ms. Creagh, on behalf of the Student Life Office (SLO), said, “The clarity on this being a likely policy outcome was not there until this summer.”

Student Body President Justin Wang ’27 said that student council members were not informed of 2026 policy changes prior to the student body. Reagan Warren ’27 added, “This is just a statement that they don’t want student opinions.” 

Kelly described this policy as being “too big a leap” for the SLO to take without student opinion.

The student body largely showed support for enforcing a dress code, but opinions differed on rule application. Allie Peterson ’28 expressed a desire for “dress down days,” saying that “it gets kind of tiring” when academic dress is required year-round. Devon Celli ’29 agreed, finding the winter term extension “unnecessary.” 

Some students expressed difficulty  finding warm clothes for winter term. Hera Agirbicean ’28 explained that the winter policy left her with few options for seasonally appropriate clothing. “A lot of nicer clothes don’t work for cold weather,” she said. 

Ms. Creagh responded, “There is not an adult on campus who wants a child to be cold,” adding that “students should be able to wear the same outfits they wear in December in January and February.” 

For some students, as Linnea Knox ’27 explained, the practical challenges of winter academic dress outweigh the need to “uphold the tradition” and the SLO’s “impulse” for consistency, citing Deefield’s varying co-curricular schedules during the winter and lack of weekday sit-down dinners.

Students also mentioned the unequal application of the dress code being a problem. Both Adannia Okpokwasili ’27 and Knox attributed their relationship with academic dress to the fact that none of their teachers “enforced the blazer rule.” Knox elaborated that female students don’t see the blazer rule enforced to the same extent as their male counterparts. 

Students advocated for more flexibility and communication in the policy. Warren said that “an extremist approach never works in anything. I think [the SLO is] underestimating how much we’re willing to find a middle ground.” She recommended the SLO provide guidelines on what to wear over explicit direction, saying, “I think there’s more repercussions to making it a strict academic dress in the winter instead of being like, don’t show up to class in PJs, which is really what they’re trying to communicate. But you can say that without saying full academic dress.”

Kelly, Warren and Noah Bennett ’27 recommended the SLO take communication more seriously. In her announcement during School Meeting, Dean of Students Heather Brown explained that students should give feedback regarding the dress code to their class deans. However, Kelly thought it was intrinsically easier to talk to a student than a teacher about opposition to a policy. 

Overall, Kelly, Warren, and Bennett recommended that the SLO involve the student council more when making decisions. Ms. Creagh said, “Both Nate and Justin meet regularly with Ms. Brown. So there is an avenue for collaboration, partnership, and discussion.”