Cardigan Mountain School A junior boarding and day school for boys in grades 6—9

John D’Entremont: Does the Perfect School Exist?

John D’Entremont
 

For over two decades, John D’Entremont ’94 has dedicated his professional career to educating others. And for two decades he hasn’t stopped trying to emulate the teachers who came before him and encouraged his development into a lifelong learner.


I meet John D’Entremont in the Cardigan Commons and we set ourselves up in front of a gigantic box fan, attempting to combat the fierce mid-morning heat that has been gripping New England for the past two weeks and seems to have no intention of departing. John has taken the day off and has graciously agreed to meet with me; a lesser man would have found a cold lake in a remote location and stayed there. But John’s love for Cardigan, his passion for teaching, and his generous nature have him here, talking to me on one of the hottest days of the year.

As our conversation meanders from the current state of education in the U.S. to his Cardigan mentors and then on to his experiences in both private and public education, he greets the Cardigan employees he still knows; his wife Brooke is a longtime Summer Session faculty member, so he knows not only some of the regular academic year employees but many longtime Summer Session teachers as well. Development Database Manager Barb Frazier P’88,’95,’00 stops long enough to say hello and reminisce about the times when John was still teaching at Cardigan and Barb and Associate Director of Development Tricia Butterfield used to stand outside his classroom, hoping to catch a few minutes of his history lessons. 

“He was always talking about really interesting things,” recalls Barb. “I always just wanted to sneak into the back row of his class and listen.”

John remembers being equally engaged, not just in what he was teaching his students but in what they were teaching him. As a self-described lifelong learner, John recalls with delight the times when his students have shared with him something he didn’t already know. It’s a growth mindset that has punctuated his career in education and has given him the energy to keep going.

“I genuinely believe that educators want to help; they want what is best for their students. Most people don’t realize how hard that job has become.”

John D’Entremont ’94

John says he has known since he was in high school that he wanted to teach. After graduating from Cardigan and Avon Old Farms School, he chose to attend Union College where he could graduate with a master’s in teaching after five years. “At all levels of my education, there were teachers who took a genuine interest in me and made an effort to get to know me,” he says. “I admired that and it seemed like the right fit for me.”

After Union, John returned to Cardigan, where he taught social studies, coached, advised, lived in a dorm, and even stuck around in July and August to teach Summer Session. By 2007, John was serving as the director of studies, a position he held until 2012 when he–along with his wife and two daughters–moved south to work at the Tower School. There he took on the titles of assistant head of lower school, director of summer programs, and director of auxiliary programs.

Before long, however, John and his family were drawn back to the Upper Valley, and he and his wife both took positions at Lebanon Middle School. Within two years, he had returned to leadership, serving as the school’s assistant principal and then principal for five years. He is currently the principal of the Lyme School.

John D’Entremont in the classroom

John D’Entremont ’94 at the Lyme School in Lyme, New Hampshire. John says he still remembers with gratitude the care his Cardigan teachers had for him and his peers and values the confidence, independence, and self-advocacy that he developed as a student.

While John enjoys the opportunities his administrative positions have given him to think about the bigger picture and to impact education in the Upper Valley, he misses the connections he was able to make with students when he was a classroom teacher. “As an administrator, it’s much harder to connect with and know the students,” he says. “I have to be intentional about getting to know them.” His solution is to be in front of the school at the start of every day, ready to welcome kids when they arrive. John also serves as an advisor, visits classrooms regularly to ask students what they are learning, and attends games and other after-school events. “All those iconic teachers who I still remember knew how to build relationships,” he says. “Everyday I try to do the same; I see it as my job to help every student find success, and I can’t do that without knowing them.”

But just getting to know kids doesn’t solve the problems that John sees in education as an administrator. The influx of dollars that came with the world-wide pandemic are now ending, teachers’ salaries remain comparatively low, there is a lack of young people seeking careers in education, and politics increasingly make the jobs of educators difficult. “Educational institutions have taken on an increasing number of services–athletics, free and reduced meals, social work, mental health,” says John. “All these additional services, and the demands that are consequently put on teachers, have come at a cost.”

John also sees a lack of trust in educators that troubles him: “Many people think because they went to school, they know what’s going on in their children’s classrooms. The only people who know are the people who are there everyday experiencing it. I genuinely believe that educators want to help; they want what is best for their students. Most people don’t realize how hard that job has become.”

But despite all this, John remains optimistic. “As educators, I think we also have to be learners,” he says. “The educational system in our country was established over four centuries ago, and it doesn’t serve our current needs. We have to be willing to adapt; we can’t be afraid of change”--change not just in the tools that are now used by teachers but also in the research that informs new classroom pedagogy and best practices. 

“Research into the ways we learn best is relatively new, so it’s still evolving,” says John. “But, we are getting closer to finding some concrete answers. We now know that learning has to be exploratory, relevant, and engaging; but at the same time, there’s no one model, no one-size-fits-all school. It will always be changing and will look different for different regions and cultures and communities.” Good educators, he says, look at the contents of a lesson, keep in mind the students present in their classroom, and then choose a methodology that fits, not the other way around.

“At all levels of my education, there were teachers who took a genuine interest in me and made an effort to get to know me. I admired that and it seemed like the right fit for me.”

John D’Entremont ’94

What are his hopes for the future? With more involvement and transparency, John hopes for more common ground, a willingness by the public not to judge but to engage in respectful dialogue and renew their trust in educators. It will continue to take the hard work of dedicated educators and the growth mindset of lifelong learners, but John still believes it is worth the effort: “I don’t think the perfect school exists, but that doesn’t stop me from trying to find it.”

As we finish our interview, Summer Session students are arriving in the Commons for lunch. John looks for his daughters–Genevieve (12) and Grace (15)–who are both on campus as students. As the dining hall fills with chatter and laughter, John does what he does best, engages students–and faculty–in conversation and gets to know the latest group of Summer Session Cougars.

 

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