CHESTERTOWN — With more than $2 million in gifts and pledges in hand and $300,000 remaining to be raised to meet the $2.3 million Together We Soar fundraising campaign goal, the Kent School board of trustees has authorized construction to begin on the middle school expansion project.
The new innovation center is under roof and on schedule to be ready for the start of the next academic year, according to Head of School Nancy Mugele.
It is being built on a 1,600-square foot concrete foundation that was poured in 2012 as a placeholder.
“The Board recognizes that our fundraising efforts to complete the campaign have good momentum as we continue to reach out to alumni, parents, friends, corporations and foundations to help put us over the top,” Mugele said in a news release dated Sept. 15.
Since 2009, the Kent School campus master plan has guided the design for the library addition, the administration building renovation and new front façade, as well as the new innovation center and middle school renovation projects, according to Albert W. Rubeling Jr., architect for the project.
He said the plan “is designed to maintain the school’s relevancy, sustain its mission and reinforce its commitment to enhancing the quality of life for the students, faculty, staff and parents.”
Mugele said the new innovation center will help Kent School’s students “take thoughtful risks, engage in experiential learning, solve complex problems, think critically, embrace collaboration and work through the creative process.”
The new center will include the middle school science lab, middle school math classrooms and visual arts classrooms – including a Maker Space and both a 2C art studio and a 3D art studio for all students.
According to Mugele, the new science lab will include state-of-the-art equipment focusing on giving students core understandings of key principles in Earth science, life science and physical science integrated with environmental science and Chesapeake Bay studies.
While the new innovation center will be located in the middle school, every Kent School student — even the Little Schoolers — will benefit from the facility.
The Together We Soar campaign is the most ambitious fundraising ever undertaken by Kent School, an independent day school located on Wilkins Lane outside of Chestertown that serves girls and boys from preschool through grade 8. Established in 1967, the school serves students from Delaware and the Upper and Mid-Shore of Maryland.
When completed, according to the news release, the Together We Soar campaign will add $1 million to the school’s endowment and 2,000 square feet of new classrooms.
