Six Thousand Miles: The Link Between Deerfield and King’s Academy

In 2007, His Majesty King Abdullah II ’80 founded King’s Academy at Jordan, starting a partnership with Deerfield that continues to this day. His aim was to bring his “Deerfield Days of Glory” to fellow Jordanians and other international students, and, as Head of School John Austin put it, “[to] educate the next vanguard of young leaders for the Middle East.”

King’s held close ties with Deerfield since its inception. Before come ing to Deerfield, Dr. Austin served as the second Head of School of King’s Academy. He comments that the start of the relationship between the two schools was “natural, without a lot of formal planning.” The exchange of culture, connection, and spirit between the two academies not only influenced the founding of King’s Academy but also continues to inspire faculty and students at Deerfield today.

Many current Deerfield students and faculty members also began their academic journeys at King’s Academy, one of them being Arabic Teacher Lina Samawi. After finishing her Master’s degree in English literature, Ms. Samawi started teaching Arabic to faculty members at King’s Academy. She taught many teachers who are now at Deerfield, including History and Social Science Teacher John Leistler, Director of Planned Giving Matthew Westman, English Department Chair Anna Steim-Miller, and even Dr. Austin—although Ms. Samawi claims he didn’t show up to classes very often. Later, she began teaching students Arabic too. “I started my career there, so it was a lot of trying different things and learning who I am as an educator,” she said. “There was a lot of trial and error trying to figure out my voice and my style.”

Before coming to Deerfield, Mr. Westman taught French and coached volleyball and basketball at King’s Academy for eight years, where he also met his spouse and English Teacher Ms. Hadley Westman. “One big thing I learned is [that], in [certain] academic environments, eloquence or language ability… is something we value and prize, particularly in education in the U.S.,” he said. “Working at King’s, I met thoughtful [and] creative people who contributed in so many ways, even if their English wasn’t very strong, and that pushed me to think further about prejudice around accent or language.”

After spending seven years at Deerfield, Dean of Ethical and Spiritual Life Jan Flaska taught at King’s Academy through an exchange program, where he taught King’s students about Islam. “I’m a white Christian, European, American person. And I’m teaching them about their religion,” he said. “They were very patient with me, and I learned so much.” He eventually returned to Deerfield, and the name he goes by today, “Mr. Jan,” is a tribute to his time at King’s Academy, where students refer to their teachers by their first names.

Jean Meza ’26 was also a part of an exchange program between the two schools. In 2023, he went on the spring CSGC trip to Jordan and was able to visit King’s Academy for a few days during the trip. What Meza said impressed him during his stay was the incredible pride the students had in their school. “It was a great experience for me to get out of my comfort zone and get to know new people. I think that’s really the point of the trips, for whatever contexts that they’re in,” he said. “You branch out in a way that you didn’t expect to before you went on the trip.” 

Before coming to Deerfield as a sophomore, Cosi Whitely ’26 went to King’s for her ninth grade year in 2023. “I wanted to do something different and I wanted to go away from Connecticut,” she said. King’s Academy differs both in culture and religion from Deerfield; over half of Whitely’s classmates were from the Middle East and practiced Islam. “I would celebrate Ramadan with them; I would pray and fast with them,” she added. 

At King’s, Mr. Leistler said that the King of Jordan would often pay visits to the school. Not only did His Majesty often speak about why he created the school, but he would also Q&A’s where students could ask direct, uncensored questions. Mr. Leistler offered a few thoughts: “I would hope that they [Deerfield students] would go to Jordan some day and see what the land is like, and know that there is an oasis of calm there and that they’re trying to become Deerfield-like.” He added that students and faculty at King’s Academy didn’t define what being “Deerfield-like” meant but left it up to the individual to decide. In his mind, it was about the ways adults connect with students and the knowledge that being challenged is a good thing. 

Going forward, Dr. Austin hopes to maintain a strong tie between the two academies. “We’re always going to be close,” he said, and he looks forward to “maintain[ing] these exchange programs as we move into the future.” Through these students and faculty members who have sat at sit-down tables on two sides of the world, Deerfield and King’s connection continues to foster.