Dear Perspective Reader,

As we prepare to head out for the Thanksgiving holiday break, I am struck by feelings of both gratitude and excitement. While it would be easy to apply both of those sentiments solely to the prospect of having a week off of school and getting to spend it with my wife, Timiny, and our three children, it is much more than that. When I step back and consider where we are as a school, it is with tremendous gratitude and excitement that I view the Kent Denver community and the opportunities that lie ahead.

Throughout the fall, I have truly appreciated the ways our students and faculty have brought out the best in each other across all areas of school life. The collaborative nature of success at Kent Denver is constantly on display, and a prime example of this would be the performance of our volleyball team under the outstanding  leadership of coach, and science teacher, Emily Danitz. Not only did this team enjoy levels of success not previously achieved in program history—including our first ever Metro League championship—their accomplishments were rooted in hard work, commitment to one another, and the joy they derived from being a team. As a result, they maximized their talents and this experience in meaningful ways.

This type of approach to the curricular and extracurricular opportunities available to our students is core to our school’s identity. In fact, when meeting alumni and listening to them recount their experiences as students at Kent Denver, they almost always speak of those transformative moments when they were fully immersed in a class or activity that was particularly meaningful to them. This has always been at the heart of the Kent Denver experience, and I am beyond grateful that I get to witness this type of engagement on a daily basis across our campus.

Building on the positive momentum of the fall, I am truly excited about what the rest of the school year holds. Based on the Strategic Vision shared with the community last year, we will continue to make strides in pursuit of the aspirational goals we have established as a school. For example, we are looking at how to further enhance the experiences of our students through a review of our daily schedule and the articulation of the core educational competencies that are central to our overall program. In doing so, we are motivated by the desire to take what is, and has always been, great about Kent Denver and to make it even better.

I hope you share a similar sense of gratitude and excitement when it comes to our school and this community, and I look forward to continuing to partner with you for the good of Kent Denver.

Sincerely,

David J. Braemer
Head of School

 

 

Photo by Carol MacKay from a snowy football sideline in early November, when Mr. Braemer was one of several volunteers periodically shoveling the yard lines as the Sun Devils took on Englewood High School. KDS won that contest 47-0 to finish an undefeated regular season.