Hey Kingdom of Kensington,

At Kensington Elementary, we empower well-rounded, confident leaders who aspire to serve others and achieve their full potential.  Our daily mission is to create an environment that fosters safety, self-worth, and curiosity in students through interactive, enriching experiences, positive communication, and inclusiveness.

Just like we send home report cards for students every grading period, the state completes a report card for our school once a year.  This Report Card includes important information about school and student performance, class sizes, attendance, school safety, instructional resources, student discipline, and teacher quality. Report data is available for our school district and for the state’s education system as a whole.

I have enclosed with this letter a summary of our Report Card called the Report Card Snapshot. Our school’s full Report Card can be found on the NC School Report Cards’ website at http://www.ncreportcards.org. Our school district’s report is also available on the Report Card website.

Although we are proud of the data our school report card shares, these numbers only tell part of the story. We believe that our work goes beyond academics and we must educate the whole child in social and emotional development as well.  When asking post-secondary institutions and employers what skills they are seeking in candidates, they constantly point to interpersonal skills that surround how a student learns rather than what they learn.  Every Kensington classroom starts its day with a morning meeting to put content on pause and make sure teachers are checking in with the human beings in front of them.  Teachers are also encouraged to take time for lessons targeting five essential skills they will need in school and life, framing our district's Portrait of a Graduate. The focus areas are innovative leader, a resilient problem-solver, a key contributor, an effective communicator and a skilled collaborator. It prepares students for their next steps, whether it’s college, military service or employment.

Our academic focus over the last three years has been on shifting our literacy instruction toward more evidence-based practices that are backed by research and brain science.  Kensington teachers have invested many hours in learning how a student's brain works when learning to read and the strategies they can use to best teach them.  Now, we shift to pursuing the same awareness and skills with our mathematics instruction.  This year our teachers will be growing their human capacities to develop number skills and reasoning in students to produce better problem solvers.

When asking anyone what makes our school special, it always comes back to the teachers.  Our staff is second to none and they pour every ounce of effort into what they do on a daily basis.  They are surrounded by a hugely supportive community of families who constantly strive to provide for our students and staff and make learning fun at Kensington.  We hope every student looks forward to school and wants to show up every day.

We believe in open and honest communication with all of our stakeholders and are constantly seeking feedback and suggestions while we strive for continuous improvement in everything we do.  We hold monthly town hall meetings to share new information, hear new questions, and brainstorm possible solutions.  If you have any questions or ideas, please feel free to reach out to me at terry.vaughn@ucps.k12.nc.us.

We are a big school with an even bigger heart.

Respectfully Yours,

Terry Vaughn Jr., Principal