Progress on all fronts at Kent Center School

KENT — Kent Center School’s eighth-grade class was the first in the state to implement the state-mandated Student Success Program (SSP). At the Board of Education meeting held Feb. 21, Principal Florence Budge reported that the new program was begun the first week of January. The program seminars will continue through the months of March and April, she said. In the next school year, the SSP program will be implemented in the sixth grade. SSP is a program designed to help students develop a plan of action for achieving their goals.Next year, the students’ portfolios will go digital, with the introduction of a program called Naviance. That program is already being used at Housatonic Valley Regional High School (HVRHS). It will allow teachers for grades six to eight to view the progression of students as they move through school.It was also reported that a new student data system, Power School, is being installed at KCS. Two staff members have begun attending workshops to learn how it works. All KCS teachers will be required to be familiar with the system by the beginning of the next school year.Students in grades three and four will participate in a special computerized pilot program in language arts and math, Budge reported. Questions on the test will be aligned to the Common Core State Standards being established for all schools in Connecticut.The students are also learning about culture and the world. Earlier this month, Kent Center School mother Toni Presti visited the first grade with some of her students from the Marvelwood School on Skiff Mountain. The high school students put on a presentation about Chinese new year.Seventh-grade student Alice Benjamin was selected to perform at the Northern Region Music Festival at Lewis Mills High School in Burlington, Conn., on March 1 and 2. She was chosen for her outstanding trumpet playing.At the end of January, KCS first-graders enjoyed a one-hour program called, “Wings, Bills and Other Bird Thrills,” put on by Sharon Audubon. Budge said Sharon Audubon works closely with the Region One schools to tie their programs with the Region One science curriculum.Budge said almost 30 KCS faculty members traveled by bus to the Yale Center for British Art in New Haven for a professional development day on Feb. 15. The purpose of the museum visit was to enhance instruction by implementing Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) in classrooms.VTS is supposed to help students develop visual literacy skills. VTS can be applied to all subject areas.The Kent representative to the Region One Board of Education, Jonathan Moore, reported the regional board expects to have a surplus of about $288,000 for the current fiscal year. And he said the high school’s 2013-14 budget will be based on a projected decreased enrollment, to 413 students. The cost will be approximately $23,900 per student. Chamberlain said, “While enrollment at KCS usually remains flat, enrollment at the other Region One schools is forecast to drop.” Board of Education member Rob Ober asked Chamberlain, “Are people feeling things are improving at HVRHS?” The superintendent replied, “Yes.”Chamberlain also said the central office is looking at offering college credit courses at the high school in the future.Commenting on a recent public hearing in Kent on reinstating the resident state trooper program, Chamberlain said, “A resident state trooper in Kent would be a useful resource for Kent Center School.”She also announced that, as of now, the last day of school is scheduled for June 18. But that could change if there are more snow day school closings.