Starting next academic year, deans will no longer be assigned based on gender for all freshmen and sophomores. Rather, students will be randomly assigned a dean. The changes to the dean assignment process will not apply to the rising fifth and sixth formers, who have already spent at least a year getting to know their assigned deans.
Choate is unique amongst its peer schools similar in size and caliber because it possesses a form dean system that distinguishes between genders. The rationale behind this change was that the current dean assignment process did not reflect life in the real world. Ms. Nancy Miller, current fourth form girls’ dean, commented, “The school felt that life is not divided by gender, and the time had come that the deans became less polarized.” She added, “I think that all of us are interested in an institution that recognizes gender issues.” Many deans said that they would like to work with students of all genders, not specifically their own.
As emphasized by Mr. James Stanley, Dean of Students, “We are in a moment in time where the national conversation about gender-expansive, non-binary individuals is quickly developing, and we want to make sure that every student feels comfortable being who they are.” He added, “The sentiment has largely been, ‘This is different. Why haven’t we done this before? There’s no reason not to do it, and there are a lot of good reasons to do it.’”
The school had started talking about this idea at the 2015 Deans’ Retreat, and the idea was discussed in greater depth at the 2016 Deans’ Retreat. While the final decision was made by the senior administrators, including Headmaster Dr. Alex Curtis, Associate Headmaster Ms. Kathleen Wallace, Dean of Faculty Ms. Katie Levesque, and Mr. Stanley, the decision was also largely influenced by the form deans, many of whom would be the first members of the community to test this new dean assignment process.
There are advantages and disadvantages to this amendment. First, some parents and students may raise concerns about working with a dean of the opposite gender. In order to combat this concern, the Deans’ Office will accommodate students who would like to speak with a dean of the same gender by simply allowing them to request such a conversation. As Ms. Miller stated, the Deans’ Office recognizes that “there are clearly issues that are gender-specific.”
Another complication that may arise involves logistics, particularly those in the housing lottery system. With the current system, all female students go to their respective female deans for the housing lottery, and similarly, all male students go to their respective male deans. However, if the dean assignment process is independent of gender, centralizing all of the students’ wishes for housing next year may prove unwieldy. In addition, when a teacher needs to reach out to a student’s dean to report any concerns regarding the student, the student’s dean will not be identified as quickly. However, as Mr. Stanley commented, “Now, there’s going to be a two-second lag. That’s not a big deal.”
As Mr. Samuel Doak, the current sixth form boys’ dean, noted, the school will probably have to resolve some issues during the transition period. However, the form deans that were interviewed feel that this change will dismantle current gender stereotypes and mirror Choate’s views on gender equality, proving very beneficial in the long run.
The biggest advantage to implementing the new dean assignment system is that it allows for discussion to span beyond individuals of the same gender. Mr. Doak remarked, “Having a dean system divided by gender was perpetuating the notion that ‘girls will be girls’ and ‘boys will be boys.’”
Third formers heard of this new change to their dean assignment process at the final form meeting of the year, and so far, the response has been largely positive. Will Eichhorn ’19 said, “I didn’t even know until halfway in the school year that there was a girl’s dean for the girls and a guy’s dean for the guys. I think all that matters is the dean having a connection with you, and I don’t think gender has an effect on that.”
Alexandra Santiago ’19 also viewed the change positively. She commented, “I don’t really think that you need to have a female dean if you’re a girl and vice versa because sometimes you might be more comfortable talking to someone of the opposite gender.”
Other students who will not be undergoing the switch have expressed their opinions as well. Katie Overstrum ’16 remarked, “Over the course of my time at Choate, I’ve had male and female advisers; both have been really great to interact with and they all do the same job. So I don’t think it really matters what gender you are or how you identify, as long as you have the support you need.”
