Parent and Community Update

Our strategic planning subcommittees began their work on January 14 addressing curriculum, instruction and assessment; student support; communications; facilities, finance, and operations; human resources and personnel; and technology.

Representatives from administration, staff, and the community spent 90 minutes together in the KHS library to begin their work with a SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) and to prioritize topics to address in their workshops. Building on the work of focus groups, surveys, and interviews that have been ongoing since August, the subcommittees will focus on critical areas addressed in the Listen, Learn, Lead Entry Plan Report as well. The goal is to ensure that all voices are heard and that the final education plan reflects the collective input of the community.

Subcommittee meetings for each of six key areas are scheduled through May 20, 2025. Insights gained from these meetings will play a central role in shaping the final Strategic Plan as well as the Comprehensive Education Plan, which is due to the Pennsylvania Department of Education by September 2025. Interested in participating? Email krizzosaunders@kcsd.org.

Next week, Kennett Consolidated School District (KCSD) is launching a survey to gather feedback on guidelines for cell phone and personal device use in the classroom. The survey, which is open through February 24, 2025, invites parents, guardians, staff, and community members to share their perspectives on how these devices impact the learning environment. District administrators and principals will also engage in conversations with students in grades 6 - 12 to capture their input.

The results will help guide the Community and External Stakeholder Advisory Group which has begun its work to develop recommendations for personal device use in KCSD classrooms. Comprised of teachers, parents, and administrators, this group will form recommendations that will be presented to the Board of School Directors in April.

This initiative follows concerns raised by parents and community members at the August 12, 2024, Board Meeting, which addressed Board Policy 815. This policy outlines acceptable use of district technology by students and staff, recognizing the instructional benefits of personal devices, including cell phones, for enhancing learning. It also allows teachers to decide, based on their judgment, when to permit or restrict device use to best support the learning environment and instructional goals.

While the revised policy passed in August, many felt that further consideration of device guidelines was necessary.

This week, a survey crafted by the Chester County Intermediate Unit will be shared to help inform the Communication Audit that has been ongoing since late 2024. Focus groups were held with KCSD board members, administrators, staff, parents and guardians, and community members to help guide the strategic planning for communication for the District. We encourage all of our staff and families to participate in the survey and share with community members. Results will be utilized by the Communication Subcommittee in their work. The survey will be open through Wednesday, February 5.

On Thursday, January 24, KHS unveiled a new way to access the 2025 - 2026 Educational Planning Guide. As part of the effort to deliver information digitally, the normally 67-page guide has been added as part of the Academics page of the newly launched high school website. The section can be read on desktop, laptop, and other mobile devices.

The content is organized under the Educational Planning Guide section and offers a step-by-step explanation on how students and their families can navigate the process. Sections include an introduction page, a planning page, and a course page where all courses currently offered in 2025 - 2026 are listed.

This section is the first of many areas of the new website that contain rich content, offering students and their families a more robust experience and a place where information will be easily accessed. While the site continues to grow (there are some sections still under construction), the District encourages families to use the Web Comment Form to share their experiences on the website and make suggestions for continuing its growth.

The Educational Planning Guide, as well as the entire website, can be instantly translated with a translation button found at the top left-hand corner of all websites, helping families who may have preferences for reading in languages other than English access all content.

Anyone who has questions or requires assistance with the Educational Planning Guide should contact their high school counselor listed on the introduction page of the planning section.

We are excited to announce that Kennett Consolidated School District, in partnership with Operation Warm, has acquired a supply of brand-new winter coats. Keeping our students warm during the winter months is essential for their health and well-being. As students grow each year, finding a properly fitting winter coat can be a challenge, and our goal is to ensure that every student has access to one.

If you are interested in your student receiving a winter coat, please complete the linked form [Coat Request Form] below.

Please note: We will fulfill requests on a first-come, first-served basis and cannot guarantee that the specific coat size your student needs will be available at the time we receive your request. If we are unable to provide your student with a coat in the requested size, we will offer the closest available size until we run out of coats. If we cannot provide a coat for your student, we will contact you directly.

Thank you for your support in helping us keep our students warm this winter!

The instructional calendar for the 2025 - 2026 school year was approved at the January Board of School Directors' meeting and is now posted on the Calendar page of the website. The new calendar features 182 planned student days and 190 planned teacher days including 8 teacher in-service days for professional development.

The first student day is on August 25 with the school year ending for students on June 10, 2026. Winter break will run from December 24 through January 2 with students returning on January 5. Spring break begins on March 30, 2026 and continues through April 3.

Be sure to access the PDF file at our calendar section.

Despite cold and snowy weather, our schools continue to take form! Check out the drone footage taken this month.

The 8th grade English Language Arts (ELA) students and teachers are finishing up an exciting unit on fairy tales, analyzing classic tales, exploring creative twists, and connecting the past with the present.

Reading and Analyzing Classic Tales

Students dove into well-known stories like:

• "Little Red Riding Hood"
• "Snow White"
• "Hansel and Gretel"
• "Rapunzel"
• "Cinderella"

Creative Twists

To make things more interesting, the teachers introduced a fun twist: students read a mock trial called "Wicked Witch v. Snow White." This led to an analysis of the "crime scenes" in these fairy tales.

Bringing Fiction to Reality

To help students connect these fictional stories to the real world, Officer Alvarez turned the KMS school library into a pretend crime scene and forensics lab.

This hands-on approach allowed students to understand story elements better and made learning more engaging. It's a great way to spark creativity and critical thinking while having fun with classic tales!

Kennett High School has earned the College Board AP® Computer Science Female Diversity Award for achieving outstanding female representation in AP Computer Science A (CSA). This award recognizes schools that have expanded access to AP computer science courses for female students.

In the 2023-24 school year, 1,153 schools earned the AP Computer Science Female Diversity Award for CSA, CSP, or both courses. To qualify, schools must either have achieved 50% or higher female representation in one of the AP computer science courses or have a percentage of female exam takers that matches or exceeds the school’s female population. Kennett High School was one of just 237 schools recognized for improving female representation in AP CSA.

“We are thrilled to congratulate our female AP Computer Science students and their teachers for making strides toward gender parity in computer science education,” said Principal DeAngelis. “We’re proud to receive this recognition and look forward to seeing these young women, and many others, continue to succeed in computer science education and careers."

To learn more, go to our website news section.

In honor of Martin Luther King, Jr., our kindergarten students participated in an "egg-cellent" experiment that illustrated an important lesson about diversity and equality. They compared brown and white eggs, symbolizing people of different races, and discovered that while the shells may look different, the insides are the same. This meaningful activity helped our young learners understand that although we may look different on the outside, we are all the same on the inside.

Grade five students at Bancroft Elementary have been learning about the importance of conserving fresh water as part of their science class. As a culminating activity, students created water filters to clean dirty water. The students did an excellent job with engineering and working together.

Greenwood Elementary shared its newly formed vision statement, which truly reflects the heart of their school community. This vision is grounded in their core beliefs and shapes the environment where every student is encouraged to grow, feel valued, and reach their full potential.

"At Greenwood Elementary, we foster a respectful and trusting student-centered community where communication, relationship building, and accountability empower all to grow and thrive academically, socially, and emotionally by prioritizing every learner's needs."

Parents are invited to contribute and share in the vision to work together to ensure that Greenwood students not only succeed, but flourish. A true partnership among all stakeholders (teachers, staff, parents, students, administration) of Greenwood will make a lasting impact on their students' futures.

New Garden students have school spirit! Each month, on designated Fridays, the New Garden community gathers as one family. For January, the Spirit Assembly had three goals:

• To review some of our school-wide rules
• To discuss our next school-wide incentive
• To celebrate the Philadelphia sports team that has made it to the playoffs (and now Super Bowl!)

Safety is also a topic at New Garden, and the school's grade 2 students creatively portrayed various ways to keep safe. Each student donned a construction hat to show the students how to be safe. It reminded students to:

• Keep hands and feet to oneself
• Keep quiet in the hallways
• Sit and remain seated on the bus
• Use the playground equipment appropriately
  
  

All students recognize that good behavior helps everyone stay safe, learn, and be rewarded with celebrations, including for the home team!