Kent Place School Explained
Kent Place School is a girls' independent college-preparatory day school (with a coeducational nursery and pre-kindergarten) serving students in preschool through twelfth grade in Summit, Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.
Kent Place School is a member of the New Jersey Association of Independent Schools.[1] In 2007, The Wall Street Journal listed Kent Place School as one of the world's top 50 schools for its success in preparing students to enter top American universities.[2]
As of the 2021–22 school year, the school had an enrollment of 636 students (plus 18 in PreK) and 90.8 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 7:1. The school's student body was 49.7% (316) White, 25.6% (163) Asian, 11.2% (71) Black, 6.8% (43) two or more races, 6.6% (42) Hispanic and 0.2% (1) American Indian / Alaska Native.[3]
Academics
The Primary, Middle, and Upper Schools each include science labs, art studios, and a computer lab. The Arts Center features a 260-seat theater, an art gallery, a dance studio, and practice rooms. Athletic facilities include a field house (gymnasium and weight room), three playing fields, and five tennis courts.
Advanced Placement Program (AP) courses offered at the school include AP Art History, AP Biology, AP Calculus AB, AP Calculus BC, AP Chemistry, AP Computer Science, AP English Language and Composition, AP English Literature and Composition, AP Environmental Science, AP European History, AP French Language, AP Latin Literature, AP Macroeconomics, AP Music Theory, AP Physics 1, AP Spanish Language, AP Spanish Literature, AP Statistics, AP Studio Art, AP United States History, AP United States Government and Politics, and AP World History. The school also offers additional advanced mathematics courses in multivariable calculus and linear algebra.
Athletics
The Kent Place School Dragons[4] compete in the Union County Interscholastic Athletic Conference, which is comprised of public and private high schools in union County and operates under the supervision of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).[5] Before the 2010 realignment, the school had participated in the Mountain Valley Conference, which consisted of public and private high schools in Essex County and Union County.[6] With 396 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2019–20 school year as Non-Public A for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 381 to 1,454 students in that grade range (equivalent to Group I for public schools).[7]
The Upper School offers varsity-level teams in cross-country, soccer, tennis, field hockey, volleyball, basketball, swimming, squash, ice hockey, fencing, indoor track, lacrosse, softball, and outdoor track. Middle School teams are available in basketball, field hockey, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track and field, and volleyball. Physical education classes are also offered in Middle and Upper School in place of a sport. Physical education is required in Primary School and grade six.
The field hockey team won the North II Group I state sectional championship in 1999.[8]
The spring track team was the Non-Public Group B state champion in 2013.[9]
The cross-country team won the Non-Public Group B state championship in 2013.[10]
The track team won the Non-Public Group B indoor track championship in 2014.[11]
The girls' tennis team won the Non-Public A state championship in 2017 and 2019, defeating Pingry School in the tournament final both years.[12] The 2017 team finished the season 21-1, including a 3-2 victory against Pingry for the Non-Public A title.[13]
Notable alumnae
- Saleemah Abdul-Ghafur (born 1971), author and activist who works with Malaria No More[14]
- Erika Amato (born 1969), actress, singer and founder of Velvet Chain[15] [16]
- Peggy Bacon (1895–1987), painter, illustrator and writer[17] [18]
- Emily Barton (born 1969), novelist[19]
- Sarah D. Bunting (Class of 1990), writer, founder of Television Without Pity[20]
- Maria Dizzia (born 1974, class of 1993), actress, 2010 Tony nominee for Best Performance by an Actress in a Play[21]
- Gina Genovese (born 1959), businesswoman and politician who has served as mayor of Long Hill Township[22]
- Alina Habba (born 1984, class of 2002), lawyer best known for representing former President of the United States Donald Trump[23]
- Chisa Hutchinson (born 1980), playwright[24]
- Natalie Enright Jerger, computer scientist[25]
- Judy Joo (born 1974), professional chef, author, and television personality[26]
- Maureen Ogden (1928–2022), politician who served seven terms in the New Jersey General Assembly, from 1982 to 1996[27]
- Shirley Paget, Marchioness of Anglesey (1924-2017), British public servant and writer[28]
- Gabrielle Stanton (born 1968), television writer and producer best known for her work on the series Grey's Anatomy and Ugly Betty[29]
- Janet Sorg Stoltzfus, (1931–2004), educator, who established the Ta'iz Cooperative School, the first non-religious school in north Yemen[30]
- Amanda Urban (born 1946/47), literary agent[27]
Notes and References
- http://www.njais.org/page.cfm?p=365 List of Member Schools
- Web site: How the Schools Stack Up. The Wall Street Journal. December 28, 2007. Staff writer. July 25, 2008.
- https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/pss/privateschoolsearch/school_detail.asp?Search=1&ID=00869149 School data for Kent Place School
- https://www.njsiaa.org/schools/kent-place-school Kent Place School
- https://www.njsiaa.org/sites/default/files/documents/2020-10/2020-2021-lc-officers-schools.pdf League & Conference Officers/Affiliated Schools 2020-2021
- https://web.archive.org/web/20110202222035/http://mountainvalleyconference.com/ Home Page
- https://www.njsiaa.org/sites/default/files/documents/2020-11/general-classifications-2018-2020.pdf NJSIAA General Public School Classifications 2019–2020
- https://www.njsiaa.org/sites/default/files/documents/2021-12/21-girls-field-hockey_0.pdf History of NJSIAA Field Hockey Championships
- https://www.njsiaa.org/sites/default/files/documents/2021-08/21-spring-track-group-history.pdf NJSIAA Girls Spring Track Summary of Group Titles
- https://www.njsiaa.org/sites/default/files/documents/2021-12/21-xc-group-team-champions.pdf NJSIAA Girls Cross Country State Group Champions
- https://www.njsiaa.org/sites/default/files/documents/2024-01/Girls%20Indoor%20Track%20%26%20Field.pdf Girls Winter Track and Field Championship History: 1922-2023
- https://www.njsiaa.org/sites/default/files/documents/2023-10/Girls%20Tennis.pdf Girls Tennis Championship History: 1971–2023
- Nalwasky, Chris. "Mike Manna of Kent Place is the NJ.com girls tennis state Coach of the Year for 2017", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, November 20, 2017, updated August 23, 2019. Accessed January 18, 2021. "The 2017 season for the Kent Place varsity girls tennis team was a magical one. Kent Place accomplished more than it ever had in the history of its program. The Dragons won their first ever Non-Public A title as they defeated Pingry, 3-2, in the group final. They finished 21-1, reaching the 20-win plateau for the first time as well as winning the Prep A Tournament and Moorestown Classic for the first time as well."
- https://www.kentplace.org/weekend-wisdom?pk=1232255 Weekend Wisdom: Saleemah Abdul-Ghafur '92
- http://www.velvetchain.com/erikabio.html Erika Amato - Biography
- Haas, Pia. "Meet Erika Amato as Lela Rogers in Backwards In High Heels.", Westchester Broadway Theatre, August 18, 2015. Accessed September 21, 2015. "I grew up in Mountainside, NJ and went to the all-girls Kent Place School, in Summit."
- https://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/interviews/oral-history-interview-peggy-bacon-12376 "Oral history interview with Peggy Bacon, 1973 May 8"
- McQuiston, John T. "Peggy Bacon, 91, Illustrator And Author Of Gentle Satires", The New York Times, January 7, 1987. Accessed September 12, 2013. "She graduated from the Kent Place School, in Summit, N.J., in 1913, and studied at the Art Students League of New York, where she was an instructor in painting, drawing and composition from 1935 to 1936 and 1948 to 1952."
- Staff. "Award-winning author Emily Barton visits her alma mater, Kent Place School", Courier News, March 7, 2007. Accessed April 27, 2012. "Emily Barton, former resident of Westfield, and now an accomplished author of two award-winning novels, visited Kent Place School for a book signing event."
- https://issuu.com/kentplace/docs/keepingpace/67 "Class Noted"
- [Maria Dizzia|Dizzia, Maria]
- Magyar, Mark J. "Profile: The Woman Who Wants to End NJ's 'Multiple Municipal Madness'", NJ Spotlight, April 30, 2014. Accessed July 11, 2017. "After graduating from the Kent Place School in Summit, she played professional tennis for two years, playing on the Women's Tennis Association Circuit and attaining a world ranking of 115th in 1980."
- https://www.newspapers.com/clip/117012385/kent-place-school-class-of-2002/ "Kent Place School Class of 2002"
- https://www.audible.com/about/newsroom/playwright-chisa-hutchinson-on-newark-and-giving-voice-to-the-working-class "Playwright Chisa Hutchinson on Newark and Giving Voice to the Working Class"
- https://www.kentplace.org/weekend-wisdom?pk=1232292 Weekend Wisdom; Natalie Enright Jerger '98
- Levin, Eric. "A Cuisine in Ferment; Judy Joo, the studious, Jersey-raised daughter of Korean refugees, left Wall Street to bring the bracing food of Korea to TV and now a cookbook.", New Jersey Monthly, July 14, 2016. Accessed July 11, 2017. "At the exclusive Kent Place School in Summit, Joo and her older sister, Sonya, were the only Asians."
- Horner, Shirley. "About Books", The New York Times, September 4, 1994. Accessed October 25, 2019. "Its noted graduates include Assemblywoman Maureen Ogden, Republican of Millburn; Deborah Wiley, vice chairwoman of John Wiley & Sons, and Amanda Urban, a powerful literary agent."
- https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-dowager-marchioness-of-anglesey-grbnvldz8 "The Dowager Marchioness of Anglesey Formidable head of the Women’s Institute who would later chair the Broadcasting Complaints Commission"
- Staff. "Gabrielle G. Stanton Is Married in England", The New York Times, July 14, 1991. Accessed September 12, 2013. "The bride, 24 years old, was until recently the national publicity coordinator in New York for the Public Broadcasting Service. She is a graduate of the Kent Place School and Barnard College."
- https://www.towntopics.com/mar1004/obits.html#obit4 "Obituary: Janet S. Stoltzfus"
