CAMPUS NEWS
J E F F H O L L WAY NAMED NEW AD The nationwide search for a new Athletic Director concluded in December with the appointment of Jeff Hollway as Kent Denver’s new AD. Mr. Hollway will succeed Scott Yates, who retires as AD in June. Currently Associate Director of Athletics and Co-Curricular Activities and head varsity football coach at The Hill School in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, Mr. Hollway brings 16 years of coaching and athletic department leadership and a long-standing commitment to diversity and inclusivity to his new role. “When I first talked with the Search Committee at Kent Denver, I was sold on the mission of the school. The passion for teaching the whole child works in perfect harmony with my beliefs,” Mr. Hollway says. “My main focus as Athletic Director at Kent Denver is to create the most positive, holistic educational atmosphere through athletics and wellness.” In his role at The Hill, Mr. Hollway oversees all aspects of the Athletics department. This includes hiring, mentoring and evaluating faculty, facility and coaching staff, as well as managing schedules, transportation and budget. Additionally, he manages the school’s robust afternoon activities program which includes afternoon arts, debate, community service, strength and conditioning, and a number of other offerings. “I come from a long line of athletic directors and coaches,” Mr. Hollway notes. “My great-grandfather, Lou, was a head football coach and AD at Pioneer High School in Ann Arbor, Michigan. My grandfather, Bob, coached at both the collegiate and professional levels, including serving as head coach of the St. Louis Cardinals. My father, Mike, was Assistant Director of athletics and head football coach at Ohio Wesleyan for 25 years and holds the record for most wins in school history. You can say this line of work is truly in my blood.” Nonetheless, Mr. Hollway admits to feeling awed when meeting legendary AD Scott Yates. “Meeting with Coach Yates was an exceptional experience for me,” he says. “I would like to first congratulate him on such an amazing career at Kent Denver—his legacy will live on forever! I plan to continue to build on all the great work that Coach Yates and the entire outstanding Kent Denver athletic department is doing.” Coach Yates expressed similar admiration for the school’s incoming AD. “I believe Jeff Hollway’s enthusiasm and energy will make him a good fit and fine addition to the Kent Denver community,” he says.
Photo: Emily Danitz
Photo Courtesy J. Holloway
TRADITION
When the COVID-19 crisis required Kent Denver to pivot to remote learning in March 2020, many aspects of school life saw dramatic changes. Sports seasons were put on hold by CHSAA, classes and advisory meetings moved online, spring and summer trips were called off, and students, teachers, administrators and parents found new ways to work and live in a time of social distancing. What quickly became apparent, however, is that the tradition of Kent Denver Spirit did not fade. During the second week of remote learning, student leadership created a Virtual Spirit Week, with themes like Mammal Monday (bring your pet to advisory), Together Tuesday (set your Zoom background to your favorite place on campus) and Thankful Thursday (send appreciation emails to members of the KDS community). Students are also keeping school spirit strong with a weekly newsletter—The Kent Denver Daily—offering suggestions for having fun during the time of social distancing and a nightly online student/faculty talk show called Zoomed In. As of this writing, Zoomed In has featured family trivia competitions, music performances, funny videos, wellness tips, a schoolwide “March Madness” bracket and an interview with American Idol contestant Perrin York ‘15.
Photo: Epic Fales Photography
KENT DENVER SPIRIT
PA R E NT E DU CATI O N PR O GR A M EX CELS Providing parents and guardians with timely, relevant and helpful information is one of the defining characteristics of Kent Denver’s learning community, and this year brought more wellness resources to campus than ever before, thanks to hard work by the KDS Wellness Team and KDPA Affinity Groups. Events included visits from outstanding researcher-writers Thomas Kersting, author of Disconnected and Catherine Steiner-Adair, author of The Big Disconnect, data-sharing from recent Challenge Success and parent surveys and information sessions from partners such as Freedom From Chemical Dependency (FCD) and the University of Colorado Depression Center. The school’s education program received positive marks in the 2020 parent and guardian survey, with almost 90% of respondents saying the program was good/excellent. See more results on the following page. SPRING 2020
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