Understanding The Way Boys Learn

South Kent School's curriculum is intentionally designed to provide our boys with opportunities to find their intellectual passion and the skills to explore those passions deeply. While most college prep curriculums are solely content-focused, our syllabi, schedule, and teaching methods allow our graduates to have a greater definition of their interests and a wider array of skills when they matriculate. Our interdisciplinary, multifaceted curriculum values skill mastery as much as content management and retention. As a result, our students gain knowledge and know-how that distinguishes them during the college admission process and allows them to find success during and beyond their undergraduate years.

At South Kent, our primary emphasis is on Future Literacy. The Futures Literacy Program revolves around entrepreneurship, robotics, AI and STEM learning, providing a foundation for real-world problem-solving skills and tactical knowledge to complement core academic foundations.

Academics at South Kent School

The curriculum at South Kent School is designed to help students discover strengths, master concepts, and chart personal growth. Focusing on high-order skills over content and memorization, our students develop the foundation for critical thinking and analytical reasoning, essential building blocks for college and life success.

Through frequent individualized feedback, our students develop trusting relationships with their teachers, building the confidence to become life-long learners.

With the flexibility to create individualized capstone projects for every class, our students are motivated to apply their newly acquired knowledge to solve real-world problems.

Elements of Mastery Learning


1. Whole-Student Skill Development

2. Frequent Individualized Feedback

3. Real-World Problem Solving

4. A Curriculum that Extends Beyond the Classroom

5. Intrinsic Motivation & Autonomy

6. Performance-Based Transcripts

Block Scheduling

Classes at South Kent School are concentrated into 8-week courses in either Humanities (English and History), or in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math). Courses stress project-based learning with an emphasis on group work and collaboration. The school year is divided into four quarters, with students receiving a half credit for each of these block courses. Students can also take up to two additional electives per quarter. South Kent School’s block schedule emphasizes uninterrupted time in the classroom, deeper interactions with topics, individualized instruction from faculty who truly know their students, and an interdisciplinary curriculum that better reflects the world around us. 

Syracuse University Project Advance (SUPA)

South Kent School is a proud partner of Syracuse University Project Advance (SUPA), one of the nation’s leading dual enrollment programs offering college-level classes in select high schools across the country. South Kent School was the first independent boarding school to partner with SUPA over a decade ago to offer its top-level students the opportunity to deeply explore and interact with academically challenging courses that increase their college readiness and earn them college credits before finishing high school. South Kent School students who participate in SUPA learn the rigor and expectations of taking a college course in a familiar, supportive high school setting, developing the skills necessary to succeed in college and beyond.

Faculty Advisors

South Kent School understands the vital role of adult mentors in the lives of young men. Each student is assigned a faculty advisor who meets with the student regularly and assists with navigating academic and school community responsibilities. Faculty advisors help students to plan their academic programs, monitor their progress and development in and out of the classroom, and serve as a source of adult support and advice. They work in partnership with parents to help each boy achieve his personal goals.

Cum Laude Society

The Cum Laude Society is a national honor society formed in 1907. Modeled on Phi Beta Kappa, it is designed to encourage and recognize learning and sound scholarship in secondary school. Chapters of the Cum Laude Society are established only in schools of excellent academic quality. South Kent School elects as members those students in the Sixth Form year who demonstrate outstanding academic achievement and who have maintained an honors record throughout their secondary school career. Election to the Cum Laude Society is one of the highest honors South Kent bestows on its students.

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