By unanimous vote, the Kent County Board of Education has selected the site for a new middle school. The Board, acting on the recommendation of then Superintendent Dr. Karen Couch, voted Monday, Oct. 9, 2023 to build on the Chestertown campus of the current Kent County Middle School at 402 E. Campus Ave.

The decision was the culmination of a multi-year planning and study process to replace the aging Kent County Middle School with a new state-of-the-art facility expected to serve students in grades five through eight. A feasibility study was completed in 2023 to aid in the site-selection process. The study reviewed five options for a new middle school, including the current Chestertown campus and Kent County Public Schools' Worton campus, home of the high school.

Community input has been an integral part of the planning process for a new middle school. Community listening sessions have been held and online surveys were shared. The site selection is an important, but early, step in the process of planning, financing and building a new middle school. Funding was allocated in fiscal year 2025 for architecture and engineering.

Learn more about the Kent County Middle School project and the ongoing planning and construction process below. A copy of the 2024 Kent County Public Schools Educational Facilities Master Plan is available for download at the bottom of the page.

A committee comprising Kent County Public Schools administrators, educators, state officials, school construction experts and parents held meetings starting in 2021 to explore possible plans for renovating or replacing Kent County Middle School in Chestertown.

 

The Kent County Middle School Education Specifications (or Ed Specs) Committee narrowed down more than a dozen scenarios to three options under consideration by the Kent County Board of Education.

 

Following additional community input sessions, a feasibility study was completed in 2023 on five different options.

The Board's review process reduced that first to four options, then down to two.

The leading options considered for Kent County Middle School's future were:

 

• Building a new Kent County Middle School on the Chestertown campus.

• Placing a new Kent County Middle School on a portion of the KCPS campus in Worton.

 

Adding fifth grade back to the middle school grade-band configuration also is being considered. Prior to consolidating to a single building more than a decade ago, the three KCPS middle schools served fifth through eighth graders.

A pair of discussions on the two options was held in September 2023. Reports from the those meetings are available for download below.

Community input has been an integral part of the planning process for a new middle school.

Online surveys were shared with the community on options for the middle school and multiple series of listening and community input sessions have been held.

Kent County Public Schools held its latest pair of community meetings in June 2023 on plans for a new middle school.

 

The those community meetings were held: 

 

Tuesday, June 20 at 6 p.m.

Kent County Middle School media center,

402 E. Campus Ave., Chestertown

 

Wednesday, June 28 at 6 p.m.

Kent County High School auditorium

25301 Lambs Meadow Road, Worton

 

The June 28 meeting was livestreamed and recorded. The video is available at https://tinyurl.com/2p8e22zr.

 

Questions and comments on the project may be sent to [email protected].

In 2018, the Kent County Board of Education accepted and published a Six-Year Facilities Strategic Plan.

 

This was prepared by the Strategic Planning Committee. Members included Superintendent Dr. Karen Couch, additional KCPS administrators and educators, education and school construction experts, county officials and community members.

 

"The Six-Year Facilities Strategic Plan initiates a process that will bring the public school facilities of Kent County into the educational and performance standards of the 21st century," the plan states. "For a teacher to be effective in the classroom, a wide range of supports must be in place: a visionary and ambitious school administration, teaching materials, information technologies, training, and equally as important, instructional spaces that facilitate and enhance every form of learning."

 

Long-term planning projects included the formation of an Ed Specs Committee to consider the renovation or relocation of Kent County Middle School, as the aging building has physical plant issues. The committee also was tasked with reviewing the adequacy of the building's instruction spaces.

 

"The major decision will likely be whether to retain and renovate the existing facility, or to relocate the middle school to another site," the Facilities Strategic Plan states about Kent County Middle School's future.

 

A copy of the Six-Year Facilities Strategic Plan is available for download below.