36-567: Kent School is a private college-preparatory day and boarding school in Kent, Connecticut . Founded in 1906, it is affiliated with the Episcopal Church . It educates around 520 boys and girls in grades 9–12. Kent was one of the first schools to provide tuition discounts based on what a family could afford to pay. The school's list of notable alumni includes philosopher John Rawls , Secretary of State Cyrus Vance , and three winners of
72-430: A coordinate girls' school in 1960, over a decade before the other St. Grottlesex schools adopted co-education. However, until 1992, girls occupied a separate campus nearly five miles away. When Kent began admitting girls, it dropped the sliding-scale tuition model and shifted to a more conventional financial aid system. Richardson W. Schell '69 became headmaster in 1981 and led the school until 2020. When he arrived, Kent
108-494: A faculty member toward a 15-year-old student in 1987 and 1988. The report came on the heels of The Boston Globe ' s "Spotlight" team revealing decades of alleged sexual abuse at numerous New England prep schools and alleged retaliation for student complaints. The reporters noted faculty alleged as abusers being relocated to different schools, including Kent. College-preparatory school A college-preparatory school (usually shortened to preparatory school or prep school )
144-490: A forerunner of today's financial aid system, under which poor parents paid only what they could afford, and rich parents were asked to cover the difference. In 1927, the average tuition fee was $ 800, with parents contributing anything from $ 0 to $ 1,500. By contrast, that year, the St. Grottlesex schools all charged between $ 1,200 and $ 1,400. Under Sill, all students, rich or poor, were required to help pay their own way by working on
180-583: A large endowment, which stood at $ 87 million in 2017. He also attracted wealthy international students; at Kent, international students typically pay full tuition, although some scholarships may be awarded. Under Schell, the percentage of international students at Kent increased roughly fourfold, doubling to 15.5% by 1996 and doubling again to 30% by 2015. As of the 2023–24 school year, Kent does not disclose its percentage of international students, but it states that its students come from 30 U.S. states and 34 countries. Although Kent's increased revenues generally allowed
216-654: A letter to Sill offering his "good wishes for a successful trip" and commenting on how "the presence of a crew of American school boys will be helpful in strengthening the ties between good sportsmen of the two countries." That year, Kent won the Thames Challenge Cup. The Times in Britain wrote, "Kent School were almost certainly the best crew that ever rowed in the Thames Cup." Kent competed at Henley 32 times and won 5 times, most recently in 1972. The school
252-470: A local school district and draw from the entire district instead of the closest school zone . Some offer specialized courses or curricula that prepare students for a specific field of study. In contrast, others use the label as a promotional tool without offering programs different from a conventional high school. Preparatory schools began before the Civil War , when there were no public schools above
288-604: A strong reputation. Due to Sill's desire to limit the student body to 300 students, the school's waitlist became "unmanageably long." To meet increasing demand, Sill established South Kent School in 1923. He retired in 1941 after a paralytic stroke, and died in 1952. Following Kent's 1943 disassociation from the Order of the Holy Cross, the school retained its broader affiliation with the Episcopal Church. However, in
324-816: A student's cumulative GPA. Students in the Class of 2023 had an average SAT score of 1313 and an average ACT score of 28.1. In the 2023–24 school year, Kent charged boarding students $ 73,450 and day students $ 54,600, plus other optional and mandatory fees. 35% of students received financial aid, which covered, on average, $ 54,000. In its Internal Revenue Service filings for the 2022–23 school year, Kent reported total assets of $ 214.9 million, net assets of $ 167.4 million, investment holdings of $ 132.2 million, and cash holdings of $ 17.8 million. Kent also reported $ 38.5 million in program service expenses and $ 6.8 million in grants (primarily student financial aid ). Kent offers 22 interscholastic sports with 50 interscholastic teams from
360-404: A total enrollment of 504 students. Of these 504 students, Kent reported that 289 were white (57.3%), 134 were Asian (26.6%), 24 were black (4.8%), 24 were Hispanic (4.8%), and 33 were multiracial (6.5%); the survey did not allow Kent to classify students in two or more categories, or to distinguish between domestic and international students. Kent follows a trimester system in which a school year
396-500: A year in 2014). Some prep schools are affiliated with a particular religious denomination. Unlike parochial (Catholic) schools , independent preparatory schools are not governed by a religious organization, and students are usually not required to receive instruction in one particular religion. While independent prep schools in the United States are not subject to government oversight or regulation, many are accredited by one of
SECTION 10
#1732771943846432-492: Is a type of secondary school . The term refers to public , private independent or parochial schools primarily designed to prepare students for higher education . In Japan, college-prep schools are called Shingakukō ( 進学校 ) , which means a school used to progress into another school. Prep schools in Japan are usually considered prestigious and are often difficult to get into. However, there are many tiers of prep schools,
468-435: Is fall, winter, and spring terms. Classes are held from Monday to Saturday, with Wednesdays and Saturdays being half-days to accommodate athletic contests and other after-school activities. The school has announced that it intends to phase out Advanced Placement classes and to replace them with Kent-designed "Advanced Studies" classes. Kent grades students on an unweighted 4.0 GPA scale, but does not rank students or calculate
504-452: Is sometimes based on specific selection criteria , usually academic, but some schools have open enrollment. In 2017, 5.7 million students were enrolled in US private elementary or secondary schools, constituting 10% of total school enrollment. Of those, 1.4 million students were enrolled in a secular (nonsectarian) school. Public and charter college preparatory schools are typically connected to
540-652: The COVID-19 pandemic , dropping from 580 students in 2020 to 504 in 2021. Since 2022, enrollment has held steady at 520 students. The school's strategic plan states that its near-term priorities are to "move toward 50% of students on financial aid," to maintain the boarding student population at 470, and to improve the school dormitories and faculty housing. In the 2021–22 school year, Kent enrolled 80 freshmen (in school jargon, "Third Formers"), 125 sophomores ("Fourth Formers"), 149 juniors ("Fifth Formers"), and 150 seniors and post-graduate students ("Sixth Formers" and "PGs"), for
576-546: The Pulitzer Prize . Kent School was founded by Anglo-Catholic Episcopal priest Frederick Herbert Sill in 1906. It arrived at the tail end of the wave of British-style boarding schools set up at the turn of the twentieth century. Sill admired England and wanted to spread English influence within the United States. The school was originally associated with the Anglican Benedictine Order of
612-492: The grammar school or elementary level anywhere in the US. Their graduates were not ready for college study, so many colleges set up "preparatory academies" to prepare them for college study. The preparatory division could dwarf the college enrollment, as at New York Central College . There were also preparatory schools unaffiliated with colleges, especially for girls, such as the Columbia Female Academy. At
648-402: The 13–18 age range. Little financial aid other than loans is available. Prep schools can be day schools , boarding schools , or both, and may be co-educational or single-sex . Currently, day schools are more common than boarding, and since the 1970s, co-educational schools have been more common than single-sex. Unlike the public schools which are free, they charge tuition ($ 10,000 to 40,000+
684-466: The 1950s, it began allowing Catholic students to attend Sunday Mass in town. Today, attendance at Kent's Episcopal Sunday chapel service is voluntary. In 1954, Kent admitted its first African-American and Asian students. In addition, the school offered a scholarship to a black South African student in 1955. However, the apartheid -era South African government refused to grant the student a passport, causing an international incident. The school established
720-586: The 21st century, some trial cases connecting public junior and senior high schools are seen in each region, too, broadening the education for college entrance. As the Japanese government provides grant-in-aid to private schools, the tuition is 5,000–10,000 US dollars per year, even if it is a private school. In the United States , there are public , private , and charter college-preparatory schools that can be either parochial or secular . Admission
756-531: The Holy Cross , but gained its independence from the Order in 1943. Although Kent has occasionally been categorized within Saint Grottlesex , a group of boarding schools with traditionally upper-class student bodies, the school advertises itself as "an elite school, not a school for elites." Under Sill, Kent's culture was egalitarian for its day. When Kent was founded, the Gilded Age had ended, and
SECTION 20
#1732771943846792-616: The Housatonic Valley League. In the past 17 years, the team has earned seven league championships and two New England Championships. In 2021–22, the Kent Boys' squash team won its first boys national title after a 4–3 final against three-time defending champions Brunswick. Following the 1999 premiere of Seth MacFarlane '91's animated TV sitcom Family Guy , Kent headmaster Richardson Schell urged Fox Broadcasting Company 's advertisers to cancel their advertising with
828-456: The New York elite that Sill expected to fund his school were either unwilling or unable to bankroll another prep school. Sill realized that many of his students would have to come "from families of moderate means who could not afford the tuition fees at the then established boarding schools of the [Episcopal] Church." To accommodate those families, he introduced a "sliding-scale tuition model,"
864-442: The entry into which depends on the university that the school leads into. Japanese prep schools started as chūgakkō ( 中学校 ) , secondary schools for boys, which were founded after the secondary school law in 1886. Later, kōtō jogakkō ( 高等女学校 ) , secondary school for girls (1891), and jitsugyō gakkō ( 実業学校 ) , vocational schools (1924), were included among chūtōgakkō and were legally regarded as schools on
900-587: The first five times, it competed for it. In 2006, Kent Boys Crew won the New England championship and became the first American crew to challenge for the recently established Prince Albert Challenge Cup at Henley. In 2010, Kent Boys Crew won the New England points trophy and placed 1st at Youth Nationals. The team traveled to Henley and were the runners-up for the Princess Elizabeth Cup, losing to Eton College . Football at Kent competes in
936-528: The new system (6-3-3) took effect in 1947. Many shingakkō are six-year schools . Many have their origins in kyūsei chūgakkō and kōtō jogakkō , or ones attached to universities. Japanese pupils who aspire to a prep school education take written examinations in sixth grade in each prep school. Unlike six-year prep schools, the top municipal senior high school (three-year schools) in each school zone and some high-ranked private senior high schools (ditto) are also regarded as shingakukō ( 進学校 ) . In
972-416: The same level as a school for boys. However, graduates from those two types of schools had more requirements for college entrance. In the modern period, many Japanese secondary schools were five-year schools, except for during a short term from 1943 to 1946. The social status of chūgakkō , or kyūsei chūgakkō ( 旧制中学校 ) , secondary schools for boys under the old system, did not disappear even after
1008-435: The school farm or doing school chores. Sill also discouraged rich students from flaunting their wealth, explaining that "we [do not] object to fur coats as such, but to see school boys sporting fur coats ... strikes us as rather ostentatious." Kent was also said to have been "more accommodating to those students who were drawn to creative pursuits than some of Kent's counterparts." Despite its humble beginnings, Kent established
1044-439: The school for 22 years, resigned in protest. In 2022 (two years after Schell's retirement) Kent awarded MacFarlane its alumni achievement award. To commemorate the occasion, the school commissioned a Kent student to create a video in which MacFarlane's friends and family recounted episodes from his childhood. In 2017, The New York Times reported on a lawsuit alleging that Kent School failed to report alleged sexual misconduct by
1080-517: The school to offer more robust financial aid to domestic students, the percentage of students on financial aid has fluctuated in recent years, shifting from 22% in 1999 to 43% in 2013, 29% in 2019, and 35% in 2023. In 2020, Michael Hirschfeld was appointed Head of School. He was previously Kent's assistant director of admissions in the 1990s, and most recently served as rector of St. Paul's School in New Hampshire. The student body shrunk during
1116-426: The show. He called its brand of humor "obnoxious" and said that some of its jokes were racist. He also questioned whether the name of the show's dysfunctional Griffin family was a personal insult to his secretary, who was also named Griffin. Reportedly, Schell helped persuade companies like Coca-Cola , Philip Morris , KFC , and Sprint to withdraw their advertising from the show. MacFarlane's mother, who had worked at
Kent School - Misplaced Pages Continue
1152-599: The thirds, Junior Varsity, and Varsity levels. More than three-quarters of the student body participates in interscholastic sport. Kent is a member of the Founders League, a competitive athletic league composed of NEPSAC schools. Its mascot is the Lion, although it once was the Fighting Episcopalian. Despite Hotchkiss School 's location in the same county, Kent's rival is The Loomis Chaffee School and
1188-529: The time, men and women did not study together at any level, and there were no women's colleges . Some of the female preparatory schools became women's colleges after the Civil War. Free high school level education for all became available in the later 19th and early 20th centuries. Since then, the surviving "prep schools" in the US are primarily private, elite institutions that have very selective admission criteria and high tuition fees , catering to students in
1224-495: The two schools have a day dedicated to competing against each other, historically called Loomis Day. Fall Winter Spring The Kent School Boat Club was begun at Kent in 1922 with the encouragement of Father Sill. Sill was the coxswain of the Columbia crew which won the first ever Poughkeepsie Regatta. Kent competed for the Thames Challenge Cup in 1933 with the support of President Franklin D. Roosevelt who sent
1260-678: Was featured twice in Life magazine, once in May 1937 and again in June 1948. Stuart Auchincloss '48 was featured on the cover of the latter publication. Kent Boys Crew also won the New England Championship Regatta 25 times since 1947. The girls team began in 1973. They won Henley in 2002 and two National Championships in 1986 and 1987. They have also won the New England Championship Regatta seven different times, including four of
1296-471: Was in a period of transition. Under Sill, the school had been reliant on tuition (and Sill's policy of simple living) to make ends meet. With the cost of education spiraling upwards, Kent ran budget deficits for much of the 1970s. In addition, Kent spent much of its financial endowment building the new girls' campus. When Schell took over, Kent's endowment stood at $ 3 million ($ 10.4 million in May 2024 dollars). Schell improved Kent's financial position by raising
#845154