Community Reflects on the Academy’s Evolution Over Time

By  CHLOÉ LIND, V MURDAYA, ANNIKA NYSTEDT, and MELIA THIBAULT

Since its founding in 1781, Exeter has been constantly changing and adapting its ways to evolve with the times. On a large scale, Exeter has become coed, grown to educate a larger student body size, become more diverse, and increased its competitiveness against other schools. On a smaller scale, Exeter has changed everything from dress codes to schedules. 

Despite these changes, one thing about Exeter has remained constant: Exeter has always been a place where students go to challenge themselves and learn valuable lessons that serve them for the rest of their lives. 

One alumnus, Edings Thibault, who was a member of the class of ‘91, reflected on the skills he learned at the Academy. “I think the skills you gain around the Harkness table [are] the single most important characteristics of success you’ll have in a business or any professional setting. The ability to constructively exchange ideas, lobby for your own ideas, or engage with others in a respectful fashion is really critical to your future success.”

Exeter breeds a hard work ethic due to the daily pressure on students. Alumni remark that it was no different in their Exeter years and that the challenging environment caused them to grow the most. 

Tina Hernandez ‘20 reflects this sentiment. “The biggest way Exeter changed me was by inculcating a really strong work ethic. I came from a public school in Florida and then before that I had been in a really small school in Puerto Rico, like my entire life. I was never used to being around so many, like literally geniuses and so many brilliant people that were so driven and smart.” 

The general consensus is that Exeter puts a lot of pressure on its students, and this pressure has only increased over the years. Instructor of Math Eric Bergofsky said, “There’s always been pressure on students here because they want to go to a select college. And there’s a lot of pressure on them to do well here in order to do that. I think the pressure is probably even greater now than it used to be.” 

Bergofsky also commented on the pressure to pursue the courses with the greatest rigor. “It’s not good to just take calculus anymore in high school. Now we have to take multivariable calculus. It’s not good enough anymore to just take advanced French, but I have to take super advanced French and go to an abroad program…There’s just more pressure on kids to be a standout in whatever they do.” 

Hernandez discussed the irony of high-school-age students taking on such hefty responsibilities. “You’re giving a lot of responsibility. You’re living alone, but you’re still a kid. You’re challenged to really think for yourself.”

A chief reason for this increase in academic pressure could be a rise in the competitiveness of the college admissions process. As the application pool of students strengthens, so do the students of Exeter. This often comes in the form of higher class rigor and a wider array of extracurricular activities. The standards for a “good grade” have also been elevated over time. Instructor of Biology, Mr. Chris Matlack, compares these elevated grade standards: “I would say that they’re certainly more focused on getting A’s. That was not the case when I first started here in 1984. I saw my first report card for my advisees and it was B’s and C’s, and I was shocked. Then my dorm head said, ‘welcome to Exeter. Those were good grades’.” 

Throughout Exeter’s history, the student body has also undergone a significant shift. Firstly, there was a change in the gender and cultural environment of the school. Exeter’s notoriety as a prestigious and academically rigorous institution, along with its reputation as a ‘feeder school,’ has increased in the past decades, causing a greater number of students from around the world to apply. 

This change in the student body is mentioned by Mr. Bergofsky. “We’re a much more diverse student body than we were 50 years ago, 40 years ago, 30 years ago. You just have to walk into a dining hall and just look around. Huge diversity, strength of the school, economically, geographically, ethnically, nationally, very diverse.” 

Exeter has also encouraged the application of students of differing economic backgrounds, shunning away from the old wealth barriers. Instead, the school now operates on a need-blind basis, where a student’s income and financial status do not have to be disclosed, and the school would be willing to help aid the child’s education in the school if necessary. 

Bergofsky adds, “We wanted to increase our ethnic diversity, our scholarship program, and financial aid. There’s always been a push to increase the amount of money we can offer in financial aid so that we can become economically diverse, and potentially bring in students from any background, from any place we wanted.” 

One of the biggest things that has shaped Exeter in recent years is the evolution of technology. Between the creation of the iPhone and the evolution of computers this has completely reshaped how students, teachers, and families communicate on campus. Bergofsky talked about how this shaped the way he taught. “Technology has changed things. I use a document camera now when we present problems and that wasn’t available 20 years ago. Kids put the problems on the board, and what’s on my computer and having Desmos was not available. So, I’ve learned from new colleagues who’ve come in and, you know, tried different things and said, ‘Oh, that’s an interesting way to try that.’”

Another thing that was noted among many was the way in which technology has changed social interactions on campus. Bergofsky said, “In the old days when you had free time and you wanted to, you didn’t email people, you went to their classroom and talked to them, or you went to the department room and talked to them. Now, you send an email or a text. So I miss that. I think there’s less human contact than there used to be, and I think you see it in the student body as well. Kids are on their phones doing their own thing a lot of times rather than socializing with each other. So I think that’s something that we’ve lost.” 

Thibault added to this. “There are positives and negatives to the way we communicate with one another. I think technology allows you to communicate with more people, but it perhaps comes at a little bit of the expense of having to communicate much more with those around you.” Even now, the school is still trying to figure out how to adapt to the increased usage of cell phones and the best ways to manage them among students.

Throughout the outbreak of the Covid pandemic in 2020, Exeter made multiple changes in a short period of time as the school tried to keep its strong values. Prominently, there was the addition of masks and social distancing once students returned in the fall of 2020. Many of these changes to students’ daily lives were taken away as pandemic restrictions lessened. 

Covid also changed the school’s dress code. Kaitlyin Flowers ‘22 observed that “[the dress code] got more relaxed throughout my three years there. I think that’s kind of a result of Covid.” 

Flowers further elaborates on Covid’s impact on the student body, saying that it had somewhat of a positive impact on the students: “I think the community grew a lot stronger during Covid just because it was a challenging time. And so naturally I think us all living together and sort of experiencing some of the same things at that time made us closer and more understanding and empathetic of each other’s situations.”

Exeter has changed a lot in its more than two hundred years of existence. Despite all these changes, many aspects of the Exeter experience have stayed the same, and plan on staying the same for the school’s future.