CLAYMONT — Archmere Academy is a familiar place to Dan Hickey, who is in the early days of his third stretch at the Claymont school.
His first stint at Archmere was as a student in the late 1980s. He returned as a young professional to lead the admissions office, and now he has moved up again, assuming the headmaster’s role over the summer.
“A lot has changed, a lot is different and improved, so it’s a great balance of feeling comfortable but also excited and curious about the place,” Hickey said recently. “I have been spending a ton of time just meeting with faculty and staff.”
Hickey, who graduated from Archmere in 1989, grew up in Boothwyn, Pa., just over the Pennsylvania state line, and attended St. Thomas the Apostle School in Glen Mills, Pa. He went to Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pa., where he played football, and stayed there to work in admissions after graduating. From there, he moved into admissions at American University in Washington, D.C., before taking the job at Archmere in 1998. He was at his alma mater until 2006, teaching English and coaching football in addition to directing admissions.
He has 20 years of experience as a top school administrator. Hickey was head of the upper school at Tower Hill for 11 years before moving to Upland Country Day School in Kennett Square, Pa., for the past nine. He was not looking to move on from Upland.
“I had a wonderful experience at Upland. This opportunity was probably the only thing that could have pulled me away at the time. It’s a very important place in my life,” he said.
Hickey and his wife, Jessica, were married by a Norbertine priest, and Norbertines baptized their two sons. Throughout his life, the priests who founded Archmere have been there when he has needed them, he said.
With the death earlier this year of Norbertine Father Joseph McLaughlin, there are no longer any Norbertines on the staff. Hickey said the religious complexion of the school may change, but Archmere has a great relationship with the members of the order at Daylesford Abbey in Chester County, Pa., and part of his role is to ensure that their spirituality remains an important part of Archmere.
“It’s a new time when the school is without its daily Norbertine presence,” he said.
Hickey, who lives in north Wilmington and is a member of St. Mary Magdalen Parish, is no stranger to the school’s campus, but coming back as the headmaster has led to a few surprises.
His office is on the second floor of the Patio, the former residence of the Norbertine priests and the site of so many school events. Until his return as headmaster, he had never been on that floor. He discovered during a tour that there is more that he didn’t know.
“There are crevices and cracks. There’s a third floor. There’s a pipe organ,” he said.
Hickey will do a lot of observing this year, but he has some plans in mind. He has met with representatives of the Claymont Community Center and was planning to sit down with the Claymont Renaissance Development Corp.
“I want this place to have a bigger role in the community,” he said.
Hickey said he likes to exercise and play golf when he has the chance. He is a big sports fan and said he “can get my sports fix in” through the various Archmere athletic events. He has kept in touch with many of his classmates from the school, some of whom were or are parents of current Auks.
He believes that being at a place that feels like home will help ease his transition.
“I just have a ton of fun, happy memories of this place. If I can come here and hopefully give back in a way that the school gave to me, it just seems like an ideal opportunity.”
