In the Spring of 2025, Kent School will begin the most significant campus renovation project in recent years. The Student Center and Dining Hall, which have not been updated in a long time, will be transformed into more open, collaborative spaces for all students while modernizing all the facilities under one central goal: improving student experience.
“It’s about creating better space for students,” Mr. Jeffery Cataldo explained. “Space that would be more appealing to students. Space for those who want to be together, collaborate, and connect.” The planning process has been collaborative, involving faculty, administrators, dining hall staff, and students. “We looked to the Senior Council,” Mr. Cataldo explained. “We probably had eight to ten students comment on it as part of the programming discussion. What they liked about the current dining hall, what could be improved, and what would be best for the Student Center.”
The Dining Hall project focuses heavily on improving the servery experience to reduce congestion and enhance efficiency during meal times. “We want the project to address functionality concerns, flow, and congestion,” Mr. Cataldo said. “We also want to make the space aesthetically more pleasing, more exciting, fresher and brighter.” The design will create a new central staircase in the dining hall that will connect with the student center, “so you can pass through both areas more easily,” said Mr. Cataldo.
Construction of both the Student Center and Dining Hall is scheduled to begin in March, right after students depart from campus for the Spring Break, and they hope to complete them by November 1 in the fall.
Although the dining hall will be under construction, plans are being discussed regarding how to maintain dining services within a section of the dining hall. “We are in the process of creating a temporary servery that is likely to be created in the dining hall,” as Mr. Cataldo mentioned. Formal dinners and all-school meetings will continue, though the logistics are still being considered due to reduced space.
The central facility will remain open and available to students. “We’re talking about a temporary school store, a temporary mailroom, and a temporary Snack Bar,” Mr. Cataldo explained. “The idea is to allow us to provide those services to students in a temporary fashion while creating the permanent space.”
However, challenges remained for the School. “This process, one of the bigger obstacles we’re taking away permanent spaces and creating some temporary burdens,” Mr. Cataldo said. “And, of course, projects like this require raising funds, which is always an obstacle.”
In the future, Kent is also discussing other campus renovation projects, such as expanding and upgrading the athletic facilities, expanding the St.Joseph’s Chapel to accommodate the entire student body, and relocating the Engineering Department from town to the first floor of the Schoolhouse.
As of right now, the primary focus is still on completing the Student Center and Dining Hall projects. Once everything is finalized, the community will be notified immediately. “We’re confident we can create spaces that will better serve students and strengthen the community for years to come,” Mr. Cataldo concluded.
