Kent School

Kent School is an independent (private) co-ed prep school in Kent, Connecticut, USA. Currently situated between the Appalachian Trail and the Housatonic River, it was established in 1906 by The Reverend Frederick Herbert Sill. In the ensuing years, Kent has been led by four headmasters: William S. Chalmers (O.H.C.), Father John O. Patterson and Sidney N. Towle '31. The fifth and current Headmaster and Rector is Richardson W. Schell. A 1969 graduate himself of Kent, Fr. Schell went on to study at Harvard (A.B. '73) and Yale (M.Div. '76) before returning to Kent as Chaplain. He was appointed Headmaster in 1981. Fr. Sill was also committed to educating students from "all walks of life." This original mission resulted in his "sliding scale tuition," in which families paid a tuition which Fr. Sill felt they could afford. Kent continues this mission today with the Parents Fund and the Financial Aid Program. Awarding more than five million dollars in the 2007 academic year, Kent's commitment to financial aid, relative to its endowment, ranks first among its peer schools. Originally an all-boys school, the campus for girls was constructed in 1960. The girls' and boys' campuses were consolidated in 1992, resulting in the current, fully integrated co-educational campus of 560 students. Currently 46% of students are female and 54% male. Students come from 35 states and 26 countries. Founded in the Episcopal tradition, as were many New England boarding schools, Kent has retained its spiritual affiliation in an era when many other institutions have relinquished theirs. Kent's diverse student body comes from a variety of religious backgrounds and secular traditions. Supported by two School Chaplains, students at Kent find an atmosphere which supports the beliefs and practices of all faiths by actively encouraging moral and spiritual understanding and growth. The whole school gathers at St. Joseph's Chapel for three weekly services, which often include a student, faculty, or guest speaker or performance. In 1995 Kent partnered with Microsoft, Toshiba and 29 other pioneer schools creating the Anytime Anywhere Learning program. This program equips Kent students with laptop computers for use in every classroom on campus. Since 2002 these have been Tablet PCs, continuing the spirit of innovation. In addition, all of the classrooms and dorm rooms, as well as the library and administrative offices, have access to the Internet and the School network. All dorm rooms are equipped with individual data and voice connections which provide phone, Internet, and intranet access for each student. All of the academic areas, dorm common rooms and many public areas provide secure wireless as well. Kent School is a member of the prestigious and highly competitive Founders League, competing in Division 1 against such schools as Avon Old Farms, Choate-Rosemary Hall, Hotchkiss, Kent, Kingswood-Oxford, Loomis Chaffee, Miss Porter’s, Taft, and Trinity-Pawling. Its mascot is the lion, and formerly, the fighting Episcopalians. Loomis Chaffee and Kent School have a long-running rivalry. The two schools take this historic enmity quite seriously, and have annual Kent vs. Loomis days in which both schools play a number of sports to compete for a spoon and a bowl. Kent graduates matriculate into the worlds finest including, Yale, Harvard, Oxford, Columbia and Cambridge.