KDS Middle School students help out at our Tiny Farm

Social Responsibility & ImpactGet involved. Make a difference in your community and around the world. Kent Denver has long supported service as a bedrock of student emotional and academic growth.

Our Goals

The KDS Community Service and Service Learning Programs guide students in:

Developing awareness of and taking responsibility for their social, physical and natural environments through independent and collaborative work for the benefit of others, our communities and the environment.

Understanding the local, national and international impacts of their decisions, actions and footprint.

Advocating and acting to bring about positive change.

Upper School Community Service

Kent Denver Upper School students independently participate in a wide variety of community service opportunities with non-profit organizations as part of their graduation requirement.

Upper School Program Guidelines & Requirements

A minimum of 80 hours—including at least 40 hours with a single primary organization—must be successfully completed during a student’s high school career as part of the graduation requirement. Note: Required hours are pro-rated to 20 hours/year for students who enter KDS after 9th grade.

9th-grade students can begin accumulating hours toward this requirement starting July 1 (or earlier in the summer with prior approval from the Equity & Community Engagement Associate). All service hours and documentation must be completed by spring break of senior year.

Organizations must be pre-approved by the Equity & Community Engagement Associate, and hours must be documented and tracked by students through MobileServe using their MyKDS login.

No more than 15 hours of service may be earned at Kent Denver School/Summer at KDS.

Beginning with the Class of 2027 and to encourage students to explore a variety of service opportunities, no single trip, experience or primary organization can fulfill more than 60 required hours.

Students must complete at least 10 hours each year during the 9th, 10th and 11th grades.

Community Service Opportunities

Contact the Upper School Program Coordinator

Middle School Service Learning

Throughout the school year, each Middle School grade level focuses on a specific theme tied to service learning. Woven into the academic curriculum, students learn to build empathy and collective voice, apply learning and innovation and lead their peers to act, reflect and measure positive impact in local, national or international communities.

The Middle School experience includes two Service Learning workshops each year where students are expected to engage in grade-specific experiential learning and objective setting, as well as division-wide reflection and leadership activities.

Middle School Program
Contact the Middle School Program Coordinator

Middle School Program

The Service Learning Program at Kent Denver is a researched-based, experiential approach to learning which occurs through a cycle of action and reflection as students seek to achieve real and measurable community-based objectives. This approach to service is rooted in the academic curriculum, allowing students to connect and apply their learning to real-world problems impacting the Denver metro area. 6th, 7th and 8th-grade students will work together in grade-level teams for a yearlong deep dive to investigate all aspects of a central theme.

Contact the Middle School Program Coordinator

Social Responsibility Spotlight

At Kent Denver, we recognize the importance of students giving back in ways that extend beyond school and into the greater community. Every few months, we highlight Upper School students who provide exemplary service in Colorado and beyond in our Social Responsibility Spotlight.

Amelie B. '27

Amelie serves with several organizations, including her primary organization Girls Learn International.

Past Social Responsibility Spotlights

Sofia B. '26

Combining her love of sports with a desire to positively impact the lives of those around her, Sofia was inspired to work with a family friend to help create Advantage Mozambique.