About Kent School

Kent School is an independent college preparatory boarding school serving grades 9-12 located in Kent, CT. We are guided by our motto — Simplicity of Life, Directness of Purpose, Self-Reliance — to educate our students intellectually, socially, ethically, and spiritually so that they will be prepared to contribute to the common good in the world beyond Kent School.

Kent School

Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity

Echoing the Episcopal Church's ethos of radical welcome, Kent values the dignity of every human being and the rich array of backgrounds, beliefs, life experiences, and perspectives that enrich our community.

Kent School students engaged in a Zoom call

Kent School is committed to creating an environment that embraces equity, inclusion, and diversity in all realms of our shared life. We identify injustice in order to make our community more just and loving so that our students will do the same in the communities to which they will belong in the future. The deepest learning at Kent occurs not from books or online resources, but with one another. This kind of learning inspires our empathy and prompts our action.

Kent School Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity Action Plan

Students

At Kent, there are four key intentions for the lived experience of each student:

Ensure every student feels they belong;
Guide students in acquiring the skills to understand different cultures and perspectives;
Support students and ensure they feel safe in expressing their stories;
Make certain students can see themselves in the curriculum and in the Kent School community.

Teaching, Learning, and Culture

Kent faculty seek to teach through an EID lens. Each year, the curriculum is audited to identify opportunities to better incorporate these values into Kent’s programs, curricula, and policies.

Additionally, Kent has prioritized ongoing professional development to address equitable teaching practices, cultural competency training, and representation of diversity in the curriculum.

The Community Conduct Council (CCC), composed of faculty and staff, investigates issues of racism, sexism, or any other form of harassment among students, faculty, and staff. The CCC's charge is to promote through education, mediation, and communication a school community that is free of harassment, retaliation, bullying, hazing, discrimination, and assault.

Admissions

While the responsibility of maintaining a community that exhibits radical welcome is shared by all, the Admissions Office embraces a key role in this effort. Kent’s admissions goals include matching the diversity of domestic students with the diversity of the United States, continuing to diversify the School's population of international students, and enhancing the financial aid budget to support more students and account for the total cost of a Kent education including travel, gear, and other extras.

Faculty, Staff, and Administration

Kent is committed to the goal of hiring faculty and staff who mirror the gender, racial, and ethnic backgrounds of our students. Kent’s hiring practices include cultivation of non-traditional sources of teachers from non-education backgrounds, engaging the alumni base in that process, interviewing at least one candidate of color for every opening, and inviting promising candidates to campus even if there is not an opening.