Kent Elementary School

Kent Elementary school is one of three elementary schools in the Carmel Central School  District.  KES serves a student population of approximately 520 students, kindergarten through fourth grade. Our school works to provide an enriching and challenging environment that fosters success for all learners.  KES joins all of the Carmel Central Schools in their commitment to prepare our students for a productive and meaningful life and work in the 21st century.

 Here, at Kent Elementary School we are growing in our capacity to be a caring, accepting educational community where adults and children are valued as learners and as people. We seek to build a school environment in which it is safe to take risks, to make mistakes, and to grow. From the principal to the youngest child, everyone practices the skills needed to respectfully interact with each other and takes responsibility for their learning and behavior. We seek ways to ensure that KES students exemplify integrity, academic accomplishment, and the joy of learning. There is a collective focus upon improving the academic achievement of all students.

 As a result of their experience at Kent Elementary School, we want our students to be able to possess and demonstrate:

• The ability to apply a strong foundation of knowledge and communication skills to become productive citizens in a rapidly changing world
• Strategies which enable them to operate as resourceful and responsible creators and problem solvers, both independently and cooperatively
• Tolerance, respect and celebration of the diversity of our society and the differences in others
• A strong character: appropriate standards of conduct, courtesy, honesty, caring, and responsibility. Our students are well behaved, talented, and highly capable. They are the foundation of our success and we are very, very proud of their accomplishments academically, artistically, and athletically. We are continually impressed with their achievements.

Every adult in our school recognizes his or her role in promoting and supporting such achievement. Each adult in our school acts as a model and teacher. Here at KES we understand that our success depends on people working with, each other. We understand very well that this cooperation is the key to the success of our students

 Faculty members at KES are committed to their own continuous learning and professional growth. They are reflective about their practice and seek to improve instruction for their students. Throughout the year, teachers engage in collaborative inquiry, working within Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) grade level teams, departmental teams, and district wide councils using information culled from student assessments and student performance, to continuously hone their instruction, share instructional strategies and review and refine units/lessons . Teachers seek out ways to sharpen their instruction by adjusting and differentiating their teaching to meet the myriad needs of their diverse learners, they continue to explore many and various ways to add to their repertoire of materials and strategies to support each child.

 Our support staff, which includes, special education teachers, reading ,specialists, para- professionals, school psychologist and speech/language pathologist, work in collaboration with the general education classroom teachers to meet the needs of our students.

 We believe that we are most successful when we work collaboratively with parents. A strong relationship between the school and the families is a critical component to student success .The school is generously supported by an active PTO.

The PTO works in partnership with the faculty and staff. This dedicated group of parents/guardians provides support for enrichment programs. They also sponsor numerous events and activities for our students throughout the year. Parent volunteers are welcomed and are frequently assisting at special events

 As a result of the cooperative efforts and collective talents of a dedicated faculty and staff, involved parents and families, and students who come to school every day eager and ready to learn we continue to move down the path of school improvement we remind ourselves that schools and school programs are constructed of people, and that to improve our school is to endeavor to improve ourselves

Deborah Weisel