<p>During the course of our search for a private school for our son I found this forum, via a google search, and have come to appreciate the information presented. This forum provides invaluable resources for parents working to have their children attend private school. Personally, I would recommend this site to any parent help their children achieve the best education through the private schools.</p>
<p>As a setup to my questions, some basic information I will provide. Our son was accepted into The Kent School and we are in the process of trying to decide whether to send our son to this school. We have a couple of options which we are struggling to come to grips with. One of which is to send our son to a local public school, options include Lexington H.S. or Weston H.S., in Massachusetts. Both are top performing schools with students far surpassing the national average for SAT scores and college placement. My wife and I both share concerns about sending our son to The Kent School. We are looking for feedback that will provide us with information about The Kent School allowing us to make both an informed and best choice for our son.</p>
<p>Our first concern has to do with SAT scores from recent Kent School graduates. It seems that information regarding SAT scores from The Kent School are not provided by the school, which concerns both my wife and myself. We are looking specifically for the results in the areas of Mathematics, Critical Writing and Reading Comprehension. We are looking for a school that provides a strong academic environment. That being said, we both understand that no matter the environment, it is up to the individual student to put in the necessary sweat equity. Outstanding SAT scores are not handed out like candy, outstanding SAT scores are earned. We are looking for a school that provides an environment with a strong emphasis on academics, while at the same time provides a conducive environment for personal development.</p>
<p>Another concern has to do with the overall environment at The Kent School. While we are not looking for a monastery, we do not want to send our son to a school where academics is somehow secondary to the purpose of their attending school. I suppose that my reasoning comes from the fact that The Kent School is not a St. Paul's or Hotchkiss, therefore there is a sort of laid back attitude at the school, which is a real concern for both of us.</p>
<p>We appreciate and do look forward to responses to our questions and for the opportunity to pose our questions/concerns on this forum.</p>
<p>THANX(MKD).</p>
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<p>Opportunity is that which is realized an acted upon, by those seeking for that which is hidden from the view of others.</p>
<p>I would suggest you PM Italianboarder, he’s a current student and could tell you a LOT about Kent. from what i’ve heard, it’s a great school. best of luck!</p>
<p>Our child was also accepted at Kent as well as other boarding schools and we are in the process of revisits to help us make our final choice. We are big fans of Kent.</p>
<p>Re/SAT scores, Kent (and nearly all boarding schools/private schools) publishes a “school profile” which colleges see which outlines the school history, grading distributions, courses offered and results on SAT (verbal, quant, writing and SAT subject test results too) and college matriculation. It is a 4 page document and they have it in hard copy in the admissions office (it isn’t on the website). If you are going to a revisit day (highly recommended) you can get a copy at the admissions office. Otherwise, if your son has been accepted, I am sure the admissions offices can send you a copy via mail to your home.</p>
<p>Kent parent, you’ve probably already made your decision by now, but here’s my thought on great PS with high SATs vs. BS with unpublished SATs. Kent will work your kid harder and have higher expectations in the class and on test than any PS, so in that sense your son’s test taking will improve. But, BS is not a game changer–if your kid is a great test taker, he’ll be so at BS or PS. If your kid is not a great test taker, BS will improve it more than PS, but not place him/her in another league.</p>
<p>1) some current parents say that it is a sink or swim environment academically. The student’s learning is expected to take place in the classroom…period…very little extra help outside classroom given despite what school says at interviews/tours. Is this true???
2) what is the real scoop on the social scene? Is it a party school or not? Getting mixed messages on this. Also, is there a lot of monogamous dating or one night stand type of “dating” or no dating…or a little bit of everything. I had heard things are a little loose and free there…and not a ton of supervision…worries us.
If anyone can shed any light on the above that would be great! Thank you.</p>
<p>I am also interested in learning more about Kent School. Are there any current parents or students that would like to share their knowledge of the school? </p>
<p>I’d welcome input from anyone with thoughts about Kent School. Any information I have has come from the school website and I realize that doesn’t begin to tell the story of any school.</p>
<p>As a current Kent parent, I can respond to some of the questions above. I also have another child on the way to boarding school next year who’s been accepted to Choate and Kent and is leaning heavily towards Kent.</p>
<p>I think Kent has great academic support available for students. It has a wonderful – and mandatory – new student seminar for incoming students to learn the best ways to organize time, study, research, annotate and analyze texts, structure papers, etc. There’s a writing lab staffed all day and during study hall hours, and I believe a math lab too. The teachers all have office hours available for the kids to go over material, talk about assignments, work on physics or chemistry or math problems etc. I’ve been impressed with how much time they offer the kids outside of the classroom. I’ve also been impressed with how well they know my son and his academic interests and abilities. My son has thrived academically at Kent and loves his classes. </p>
<p>I don’t know much about the social scene except that I know the rules are pretty strict about visiting opposite sex dorms, lights out, and being where you need to be on time. I’ve never heard anything about it being a little loose – if anything it seems pretty supervised and structured. The kids are allowed to walk into town, but have to be back by dark. They feel like they have a little freedom in that way, but the town is tiny and bucolic and safe. </p>
<p>My son says it’s sometimes a bit too quiet on the weekends, but he’s started reading a lot, so that doesn’t bother me.</p>