From Dr. Mary Boswell-McComas, Superintendent of Kent County Public Schools, as given at the Kent County Board of Education meeting Monday, Oct. 14:
Discover, Embrace, Elevate
KCPS: Think Again
What have you discovered lately about Kent County Public Schools?
I’m pleased to report our overall student attendance for the month of September was 95.8% which was very high and exceeded the state goal of 94%.
I especially want to recognize our middle school whose attendance was the highest at 97.23% for the month of September. This is extraordinary for middle school aged students.
This so clearly reflects our Kent County parents' commitment to educating our students consistently.
While attendance data may seem mundane, it is a vital sign as a community and an early indicator of academic engagement on the rigorous road of achievement. Kent County parents consistently send their children to school and are proud of their children’s accomplishments.
I continue to discover how extraordinarily Kent County community members support our students.
Shortly in our agenda this evening, we will celebrate the robust support network our students experience. We recognize an entire KCPS team that goes above and beyond to serve and support students year-round in our Golden Anchor awards. We will recognize a generous donation supporting music education. We will recognize apprenticeship partners who provide authentic career experiences for our young adults.
Furthermore, our sixth-grade students recently engaged in an immersive outdoor environmental education at Echo Hill examining the presence of microplastics, collecting evidence, graphing data and formulating innovative solutions thereby growing in our Kent County, a competitive advantage for their generation in leading environmental preservation, conservation and innovation living our Kent County values.
I continue to discover the deep desire of our Kent County residents to uplift our students and school system.
To that end, I will begin to host a series of Community Conversations starting this Wednesday, Oct. 16 at Galena Elementary School, in which I am personally inviting everyone in Kent County to participate.
Our Community Conversations will actively engage you in dialogues with other community members round the following topics: strategic planning, facilities planning and budget planning. We will use the World Cafe dialogue process to ensure your wisdom, insights and aspirations are incorporated into our action plans for moving forward.
The Community Conversations will be held at each of our five schools between now and Thanksgiving. Come one, come all, every voice matters in designing the future of KCPS.
Let’s discover the future of KCPS together!