Kent Denver School
Encyclopedia
Kent Denver School is a private
, co-educational, non-sectarian college preparatory high school
and middle school
in Cherry Hills Village, Colorado
. It traces its origin back to the 1922 founding of the Kent School for Girls, and has existed as a co-educational institution since 1974.
The Kent School for Girls was founded by Mary Austin Bogue, Mary Louise Rathvon and Mary Kent Wallace on Sherman Street in Denver
in 1922. The Denver Country Day School, an all-men's high school, was founded by Andrews D. Black and Tom Chaffee in 1953, and the two schools relocated to the spacious Blackmer Estate in Cherry Hills Village
in the 1960s. The schools operated side-by-side and with joint science classes until they merged at the behest of Andrews Black in 1974. Since then the school has been known as Kent Denver Country Day School, and its current name, Kent Denver School.
". Likewise, the upper school, grades 9 through 12, are housed in the old girls' school.
Most student life is centered on the Bogue
Common Room,a former courtyard that was walled in to create a meeting place with a cafe for the upper school. Until the recent completion of the Student Center for the Arts, most all-upper-school meetings took place here. Adjacent to the common room and the main upper school hallway is the Boettcher Foundation Library.
Science classes were held from before the merger to 2001 in the Gates Science Center, situated between the library and the middle school. A significant renovation that year connected the library with the Science Center (known to students simply as "Gates
") with new classroom, laboratory and office space. The Gates Science Center is also home to an aquarium, and three computer labs. The new building also houses a sundial
tower.
The theatre
, music
and visual arts
departments recently relocated to the Student Center for the Arts, completed in 2006, which houses the 500-seat Anschutz Family Theatre. This is intended to replace El Pomar Hall, which as a converted dining hall was inadequate as a performance space. El Pomar has been renovated, and serves as a smaller, 125-seat performing arts venue.
Kent Denver's commercial music program, in particular, has gained a considerable reputation on the local, regional, and national levels. The program's R&B Ensemble has been recognized by DownBeat Magazine four times in the past five years. In addition, the program's ensembles travel each year to learn more about the musical culture of that city. In the past, the student-musicians have traveled to Memphis, New Orleans, Miami, and New York.
Private school
Private schools, also known as independent schools or nonstate schools, are not administered by local, state or national governments; thus, they retain the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students' tuition, rather than relying on mandatory...
, co-educational, non-sectarian college preparatory high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
and middle school
Middle school
Middle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...
in Cherry Hills Village, Colorado
Cherry Hills Village, Colorado
The city of Cherry Hills Village is a Denver suburb and Home Rule Municipality located in Arapahoe County, Colorado, United States. The population was 5,958 at the 2000 census. It is one of the most affluent places in Colorado and the United States....
. It traces its origin back to the 1922 founding of the Kent School for Girls, and has existed as a co-educational institution since 1974.
The Kent School for Girls was founded by Mary Austin Bogue, Mary Louise Rathvon and Mary Kent Wallace on Sherman Street in Denver
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
in 1922. The Denver Country Day School, an all-men's high school, was founded by Andrews D. Black and Tom Chaffee in 1953, and the two schools relocated to the spacious Blackmer Estate in Cherry Hills Village
Cherry Hills Village, Colorado
The city of Cherry Hills Village is a Denver suburb and Home Rule Municipality located in Arapahoe County, Colorado, United States. The population was 5,958 at the 2000 census. It is one of the most affluent places in Colorado and the United States....
in the 1960s. The schools operated side-by-side and with joint science classes until they merged at the behest of Andrews Black in 1974. Since then the school has been known as Kent Denver Country Day School, and its current name, Kent Denver School.
Campus
Kent Denver is located on the historic Blackmer Estate at Colorado Boulevard and Quincy Avenue in Cherry Hills Village. The 200 acre (0.809372 km²) campus is centered on two lakes and bordered by the Highline Canal. The campus houses 43 classrooms in four main building complexes. The old boys' school is now the middle school, housing grades 6 through 8 at the bottom of what is simply known as "The HillThe Hill
The Hill may refer to:* The Hill , a 1905 school novel by Horace Annesley Vachell* The Hill , a 1965 war film starring Sean Connery* The Hill * The Hill , a daily newspaper covering the U.S...
". Likewise, the upper school, grades 9 through 12, are housed in the old girls' school.
Most student life is centered on the Bogue
Bogue
Bogue may refer to:Places* Bogue, Dumfries and Galloway in Scotland* Bogue, Kansas, United States* Bogué, Mauritania* Bogue, North Carolina, United States* Bocca Tigris or the Bogue, a narrow strait in the Pearl River outside Guangzhou, ChinaPeople...
Common Room,a former courtyard that was walled in to create a meeting place with a cafe for the upper school. Until the recent completion of the Student Center for the Arts, most all-upper-school meetings took place here. Adjacent to the common room and the main upper school hallway is the Boettcher Foundation Library.
Science classes were held from before the merger to 2001 in the Gates Science Center, situated between the library and the middle school. A significant renovation that year connected the library with the Science Center (known to students simply as "Gates
Gates
-Places:*Gates, British Columbia, a rural community in British Columbia, Canada**Gates River, a river in British Columbia, Canada**Gates Valley, a valley in British Columbia, Canada*Gates, New York, a US town in Monroe County, New York...
") with new classroom, laboratory and office space. The Gates Science Center is also home to an aquarium, and three computer labs. The new building also houses a sundial
Sundial
A sundial is a device that measures time by the position of the Sun. In common designs such as the horizontal sundial, the sun casts a shadow from its style onto a surface marked with lines indicating the hours of the day. The style is the time-telling edge of the gnomon, often a thin rod or a...
tower.
The theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
, music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
and visual arts
Visual arts
The visual arts are art forms that create works which are primarily visual in nature, such as ceramics, drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, design, crafts, and often modern visual arts and architecture...
departments recently relocated to the Student Center for the Arts, completed in 2006, which houses the 500-seat Anschutz Family Theatre. This is intended to replace El Pomar Hall, which as a converted dining hall was inadequate as a performance space. El Pomar has been renovated, and serves as a smaller, 125-seat performing arts venue.
Kent Denver's commercial music program, in particular, has gained a considerable reputation on the local, regional, and national levels. The program's R&B Ensemble has been recognized by DownBeat Magazine four times in the past five years. In addition, the program's ensembles travel each year to learn more about the musical culture of that city. In the past, the student-musicians have traveled to Memphis, New Orleans, Miami, and New York.
Notable alumni
- Madeleine AlbrightMadeleine AlbrightMadeleine Korbelová Albright is the first woman to become a United States Secretary of State. She was appointed by U.S. President Bill Clinton on December 5, 1996, and was unanimously confirmed by a U.S. Senate vote of 99–0...
– Former US Secretary of State - Senator C. Thomas Blickensderfer – Former Majority Leader of the Colorado State Senate
- Lara Merriken – Creator of LarabarLarabarLärabar is a brand of energy bar produced by General Mills. The bars are made with unprocessed ingredients. They were first introduced to be sold to the public April 14, 2003. International sales commenced summer 2004. The original Lärabar flavors that started it all were; Cherry Pie, Apple Pie,...
- L. E. Modesitt, Jr.L. E. Modesitt, Jr.L. E. Modesitt, Jr. is an author of 56 science fiction and fantasy novels. He is best known for the fantasy series The Saga of Recluce....
– Author - Kevin StadlerKevin StadlerKevin Stadler is an American professional golfer.Stadler was born in Reno, Nevada, and is the son of former Masters champion and 13-time winner on the PGA Tour, Craig Stadler. He moved with his family to Denver, Colorado, where he attended Kent Denver School, excelling on the school's golf team...
– PGA Golfer