As executive director of Kent Forward, I write to update the community on our projects and goals and to clarify our role. Fall has been an exciting time for the schools, and it has been a pleasure to work with the principals and the Office of Student Services on our first benchmark, attendance.
The Kent Forward initiative was created by the three largest employers in the county (Dixon, Washington College and UM Shore Medical Center at Chestertown) to focus attention on our public schools and to rally community resources in ways that support their mission. Kent Forward’s mission is to help the Kent County School District reach the Top Five in Five, referencing an ambitious but reachable goal of becoming one of the top ranked school systems in Maryland within five years.
The new superintendent of schools for the County, Dr. Karen Couch, has impressed us all with her energy, professionalism, decisiveness and judgment. It is clear that Kent County Schools are in very capable hands and that Dr. Couch and her crew of principals, administrators, and teachers are working hard to ensure every student in Kent County receives a sound education. By working with her office, we aim to provide community volunteers and resources where they can be most helpful and effective.
After the schools identified absenteeism as one of the chief roadblocks to learning for many students throughout the County, we developed several projects to support this effort. First, we created quarterly employee-awareness campaigns and trainings; sharing data about the detriments of missing instruction and offering tips to help parents make school attendance a priority. This information was shared with the employees at Dixon, Washington College and UM Shore Medical Center at Chestertown– and made available to other businesses and organizations. Subsequent campaigns have focused on both attendance and the importance of reading.
We partnered with the Office of Student Services to create a poster competition in grades K-12. The students came up with some colorful and persuasive arguments for showing up every day, on time, and ready to learn. (The most popular reason, according to the posters: School is Cool.) Area businesses supported the campaign by providing more than 26 prizes for the winners and by exhibiting the winning posters in 17 storefronts during the October First Friday event in downtown Chestertown.
As Kent Forward continues to adjust our efforts to better align with the specific goals of district leadership, it is important to restate that Kent Forward is not an adversary. We are not the watchdog for the Superintendent’s office or the teachers, but rather a ready partner looking for ways to serve and connect the community with the schools and provide additional resources to enrich their programs.
As I talk to residents of Kent County, there is a real excitement about the changes and new energy in our schools. We look forward to more collaboration with the Kent County Schools in ways that can help them move our children forward, into the Top Five in Five!
Linda Dawson
Executive Director
Kent Forward
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