Staying Open in a Closed World

Nancy Mugele, Head of School

To say that this has been an unusual academic year is an understatement. While we know that uncertainty continues to exist related to COVID-19, we are proud to have remained open for in-person instruction since September. I am grateful to my colleagues for navigating a global health crisis and rising to the occasion with resilience, perseverance and grit.

On March 16, 2020, the day that the Kent School community was supposed to return to campus following our spring break, the faculty met on campus to plan our pivot to distance learning. While Maryland was under a stay-at-home order, we took a collective two day breath, and exhaled with a virtual and connected learning experience for two and a half months with little planning or professional development, all while being anxious about our own health and the health of our families. Our program was outstanding, but we knew that we needed some professional learning and we really wanted to offer in-person instruction.

Beginning in June, after our drive-in style Graduation for the Class of 2020, our faculty embarked upon a journey to become Google Educator Certified at Level One and dove deeper into mind, brain and education science in the virtual classroom with our partner for the past four years, the Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning (CTTL) at St. Andrew’s School in Potomac, MD.

At the same time, we convened a Return to Campus Committee including administrators, faculty, and medical professionals with input from the Kent County Health Department. The team met weekly. Decisions were made, changed, re-planned and re-thought regularly. The plan is a robust set of health and safety measures designed to allow the School to adapt to the changing conditions of the pandemic and still provide educational continuity for our students.

In 2021, celebrating the 100th Day of School was perhaps more meaningful than ever.

Enhanced Health And Safety Measures

With safety as our highest priority, Kent School invested in enhanced COVID-19 safety measures including the following:

» Face coverings for all employees and students in PK - Grade 8 » Scheduled handwashing throughout the academic day » Thermal scanners for fever detection » Plexiglass barriers and partitions in the Little School bathroom, classrooms as needed, and in the reception area » Touchless hand sanitizer stations in all classrooms and offices » Touchless sinks, antibacterial soap, and paper towel dispensers in all bathrooms » Touchless water fountains/water bottle filling stations » Hospital grade, EPA approved cleaning supplies and practices, including use of electrostatic sanitizer » Routine cleaning throughout the academic day of touch points such as door handles, etc. » Sanitizing kit in each classroom » MERV 13 air filters for the air handlers » Air purifiers in each classroom » Increased air filter cleaning and replacing » Doors and windows are open in classrooms for ventilation » Installation of washer, dryer and additional dishwasher to enhance our cleaning efforts overnight for toys, masks, etc.

In addition to these mitigation measures, we added a new Third Grade teacher to accomodate this large class which added nearly $70,000 in unbudgeted expenses to our operating budget. We are so grateful to our generous donors who have helped us close this gap.

I am proud of all of the efforts of each and every member of the Kent School community. For over six months, we have had no student to student, no student to teacher, and no teacher to student virus transmission (knocking on my wood desk!).

While I know this comes at the expense of building community in the ways we normally do each year, like cheering at athletic events, attending dances, holding social events for students and parents, etc. We have, instead, chosen to preserve our academic day with great success. For this, I am eternally grateful.