Claudia Teti ’16, Christina Chambers ’16: Michael Field Letts, V Form Dean, has recently received the highly prestigious 2015 Strictest Form Dean Award from the American Form Dean Association. Each year, the AFDA chooses one high school dean from a nationwide pool of over 100,000 applicants as the recipient of the Strictest Form Dean award. The criteria for this esteemed accolade includes implementing a large number of rules judged unfair by multiple students, countless angry emails, and “lounge-silencing” yelling.
Photo Courtesy of Claudia Teti ’16
“Letts initially caught our attention when he sent the first email regarding a messy lounge area last March,” said Carl Rogers, a representative from the AFDA’s Board of Directors. The email that Rogers is referring to was sent by Letts to the Class of 2016 students stating, “I’m done with the mess and so are the cleaning crew. Beginning tomorrow, you are not permitted to eat lunch in the lounge or any classroom on the second floor. This was a privilege granted under the premise that you would clean up after yourselves. You have failed miserably of late. This policy will continue indefinitely.” Rogers commented that this kind of email is exactly what the AFDA looks for when choosing a recipient, and the organization has kept a close eye on Letts ever since the fateful event.
Letts’s next email was sent in November of 2014 with the subject line reading “Disappointed.” “It is very rare to see these types of emails at all,” Rogers commented, “but to see more than one during the span of a year was most definitely a deal breaker, and it shot Letts right to the top of our nominee list where he remained for the rest of the year.”
From that point forward it was simply a matter of staying at the top of the list, which for Letts proved quite easy. He continued the practice of sending firm emails to students, while also enforcing productivity in free periods regularly. However, he insisted that, “My proudest moment to date was actually when the kids were in freshman year. I banned them from the lounge based on their incredibly unruly behavior.” He continued, “They stood in the hallway circling around the area that was off limits, and I really believe that it taught them a lesson about respect.”
Letts is the only Episcopal Dean to date to have received this award. When asked why he thought he was considered for the award, he put special emphasis on the fact that, “I put my heart and soul into my work and in forming these kids into strong men and women.” Letts noted, “I’d like to believe that anyone that shows legitimate perseverance in the face of teenage nonsense is more than eligible to be nominated.”
Friendly student, Wilson Smerconish ’16, attempts to speak with a moody Letts in the Junior lounge.
Photo Courtesy of Claudia Teti ’16
Finally, Letts commented on his initial reaction when he found out he received the award. In his acceptance speech, he thanked his family and beloved Class of 2016. He beamed, “It was definitely surprising. I mean, you always hope that one day it will be you, but being recognized for such a prestigious award is truly an honor.”