About Derryfield

Our Mission

The Derryfield School inspires bright, motivated young people to be their best and provides them with the skills and experiences needed to be valued, dynamic, confident, and purposeful members of any community.

Core Values

Aim High

Young people achieve their best in a culture of high expectations and encouragement.

Balance

We offer inspiring academic, artistic, and athletic opportunities, promoting the development of healthy habits of mind, body, and spirit, and the skill to balance creative tension.

Caring

We are a community of individuals who care for one another. We demonstrate this through kindness and nurturing relationships among all members of the Derryfield family.

Character

We actively cultivate respect, integrity, compassion, and perseverance in our community members.

Community

We seek a diverse community defined and sustained by close relationships, social interdependence, and service.

Families

We embrace the family’s role in the life of our day school, celebrating collaboration between home and school.

Individuality

We encourage young people to grow as unique individuals through the discovery of new passions and a love for learning, self-knowledge, critical inquiry, and reflection.

Guiding Principles

Head of School

Meet Andy Chappell

Mr. Chappell was appointed as The Derryfield School’s ninth Head of School in 2022, after enjoying a quarter-century career at The Roxbury Latin School in Boston, Massachusetts. Over his tenure, he served as a teacher of Latin and Greek, coach of baseball, football, and soccer, student advisor, Department Chair, Class Dean, Director of Admission, Director of Studies, Director of the Penn Fellows Program, and Assistant Head for Program.

Chappell was drawn to Derryfield because of the School’s commitment to strong core values, including making a broader impact on the community. “Derryfield is a place that’s committed to making sure that kids not only grow up to be smart and talented but even more importantly to be good citizens of this world,” he says. “It’s a place where people care about how you develop as a human being and how you treat other people.”

Mr. Chappell holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Virginia and a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies from Dartmouth College. He is married to Kate Hurlbut Chappell, a proud alumna of Derryfield’s Class of 1993. They have a son in college and a daughter who is a member of Derryfield’s Class of 2024. Mr. Chappell and his family love to be outdoors, hiking, fishing, golfing, cycling, playing racquet sports, boating, and swimming. He also enjoys reading, listening to music, playing and watching sports, traveling, and exploring museums and other cultural institutions wherever he goes.

Leadership & Memberships

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