I Grew Up in Dover. Here’s What Made the Dover-Sherborn Schools So Special.

I moved to Dover in first grade and attended Chickering School. From there, I went to Caryl School for grades four through six—what is now the Dover Community Center—and eventually Dover-Sherborn Junior High and High School.

When people ask me about the Dover-Sherborn schools today, it’s easy to talk about academics and reputation.

But having actually grown up here, I think there’s a much bigger story.

What I remember most is the opportunity.

I played varsity soccer, skiing and golf. I was in the band and played saxophone, flute and oboe. I participated in chorus.

In a much larger school, I’m not sure I would have had the opportunity—or maybe even the confidence—to do all of those things.

At Dover-Sherborn, you could.

Small Schools, Surprisingly Big Experiences

Dover and Sherborn are two small towns, and even when they come together as a regional school community, there’s an intimacy to the experience.

Teachers know their students. Coaches know their players. Parents know other parents. And kids can have opportunities to try different sports, clubs, music programs and activities.

But being part of a small school didn’t mean our experiences were small.

Quite the opposite.

One of my favorite examples came through our music program.

Our choral director had connections within the Boston music scene, and somehow that led to a group of us getting an opportunity I’ll never forget:

We sang backup for Barry Manilow at Harborlights in Boston.

Think about that for a minute. We were high school kids from two tiny Massachusetts towns, and suddenly we were onstage at a major Boston concert.

There were international opportunities, too.

Our language teachers took us to Val d’Isère, France, for an incredible ski and snowboard trip.

Yes, the skiing was amazing. But the experience was much bigger than that. We were exposed to another culture, heard and used another language, experienced a different lifestyle and saw a part of the world many of us had never experienced before.

Looking back, I think that sums up a lot of what was special about the experience:

Dover-Sherborn was small enough that you could participate in almost everything, but the experiences available to us could be surprisingly big.

And Then There Was S.M.U.T.

There was another part of growing up here that kids today might have trouble understanding.

The parents were connected.

Very connected.

We even had a name for their unofficial intelligence network: S.M.U.T.—the “Sherborn Mothers’ Underground Telephone.”

Long before group texts, social media or location sharing, parents simply talked to one another.

And somehow, they always seemed to know what we were doing.

As teenagers, we weren’t exactly thrilled about it.

As a parent today, I see it a little differently.

They were looking out for us.

People knew one another. Families knew one another. There was a larger community surrounding the kids growing up here.

That sense of connection has stayed with me.

The Part a School Ranking Can't Measure

I recently attended my 30th high school reunion.

The turnout at our reunions has always been extraordinary, but what struck me this time was how quickly everyone fell back into the old relationships.

Within minutes, it felt like we had picked up where we left off 30 years ago.

That’s something no school ranking can measure.

Academics matter. Class size matters. College preparation matters.

But so do the people you grow up with, the teachers and coaches who know you, the opportunities you're given and the relationships that stay with you long after graduation.

What I Tell Families About Dover

Today, I sell real estate throughout Dover and the surrounding communities, so I regularly talk with families considering moving here.

When they ask me about the schools, I don't start with a ranking.

I tell them what it was like to grow up here.

I tell them about Chickering and Caryl.

I tell them I could play three varsity sports while also playing multiple instruments and singing in the chorus.

I tell them that somehow our high school chorus ended up singing backup for Barry Manilow.

I tell them about skiing in France with our teachers.

I even tell them about S.M.U.T.—although my teenage self probably wouldn't appreciate that part.

And I tell them about walking into my 30th reunion and realizing that these people still felt like family.

Because that's the part that's difficult to communicate through statistics.

Dover-Sherborn gave us access to an incredible education and some extraordinary opportunities. But the people and connections we made may have been the best part of all.

For families thinking about moving to Dover or Sherborn, I think that's something worth knowing.

Evan Walsh is a Dover native, Dover-Sherborn graduate and Team Leader of The Walsh Team at William Raveis Real Estate. He can be reached at 508-341-4904.