When school opens this year, KES will welcome about 135 students through our doors. Given our small class size, instruction at KES will continue to be personalized and tailored to meet students’ individual needs. Similar to the other elementary schools in SAU #16, we are shifting towards a Competency Learning Model to ensure our students are able to demonstrate their knowledge and utilize the critical skills and dispositions needed to be successful in this ever-changing world. While academic achievement is important, the teachers and staff at KES are committed to supporting the whole child. This was evidenced in our Competency Education visioning work when the Kensington community identified the following qualities and characteristics as being of utmost importance for our KES students: confident, self-driven, empathetic, kind, and academically competent. Our staff embraces the curious young learners in their classrooms and they utilize the tenets of the Open Circle Program to support and grow our students’ social and emotional development. Learning is about inspiring students - the teachers at KES do that every day!