Dear Kent Middle School Families,

Recent Power Outage at Kent - After the start of school on Monday, February 27 we experienced an unexpected power outage at Kent due to complications from rain and wind that morning. We were hopeful that power would swiftly be restored at our school, as it had been following another outage the night before. Unfortunately, power was not able to be restored until close to the end of the school day, at 3:10 p.m.

Due to previous district planning for Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS), we have a protocol to employ to keep school open without power, yet these strategies had not yet been implemented in real time. The decision was made to keep school open through the conclusion of the school day, and we attempted to run our typical school schedule following the procedures finalized through the PSPS planning. We quickly learned that these protocols lacked critical considerations. You have our commitment to address these gaps and to refine our safety plans going forward. The experience of working through this challenging day plus valuable community feedback provides us with crucial lessons to integrate into our Safety Plan.

• Weather Conditions - When determining if to keep school open without power, the district must consider weather conditions. Operating a school without heat during cold weather creates uncomfortable conditions for our students and staff.
• Communication Tools - When the power is out, communication tools like school clocks, the school bell, classroom telephones, the school loudspeaker, and teacher email do not function. We utilized walkie-talkies to communicate transition times to each classroom, yet learned these tools are insufficient for our communication needs during an uncertain time.
• Communication to Families - We neglected to provide timely communication to students’ families about the conditions at school. The lack of timely communications about the outage and irregular release of students created understandable confusion and concern amongst our community.
• Use of Personal Devices - Many students chose to contact families with their personal devices from school, asking to be checked out of school. This contributed to the communication challenges and the haphazard conditions around the school office in the afternoon.

At Kent, we take pride in the safe, orderly, and predictable school environment that we work to create for our students each day. On Monday, February 27 we were unable to meet the standards we have set for ourselves, and the expectations that our students and community hold for us. Our school and district administration sincerely apologize for the missteps that led to confusion and concern last Monday. We are committed to learning from this situation and adapting our safety protocols for improved communications and release procedures. Kent parents should use this link to provide feedback and recommendations related to the February 27 incident. We will engage in conversation and reflection with our students about their experiences at school this day as a part of our advisory class this Wednesday.

Judy Heumann - Many of you will recall the Kent All School Read text Rolling Warrior from our school-wide read and author visit with Judy Heumann in October 2022. Sadly, on Saturday we learned that ability rights advocate Judy Heumann passed away at age 75 due to complications with her breathing. Those of us that got to know and love Judy Heumann through reading her book and through her author visit to Kent in October are devastated by this news, and we know that many of you will be saddened as well. We are so thankful to have read her book together and to have experienced a wonderful day of learning and reflection by her side earlier this school year. Thank you, Judy Heumann, for your lasting legacy at our school and in our world.

Readathon - We are thrilled to announce our upcoming KSPTA Readathon, and the many ways we will be celebrating reading and our PTA at Kent! During the week of March 20th, we will run a special schedule that supports daily reading for pleasure for all students and staff. On Wednesday, March 22 we welcome world-renowned author Matt de la Pena for two author visits at our school. Many Kent Falcons have read his books, and many have participated in reading challenges last month and this month to read even more! Our Readathon schedule will include daily activities in the library including bookmark designing, book trivia, book chats, trivia Kahoot, and much much more! Thank you for your participation in the Kent Readathon and our KSPTA through your donation through 99Pledges. More information about how to get involved can be found on the Kentfield Schools Readathon Website. Much appreciation goes to our KSPTA for organizing this fun week of reading at our school!

Let’s have a positive and productive week ahead at Kent!