Kent School

Founded in 1906 by Frederick Herbert Sill of the Order of the Holy Cross, it is a coeducational Episcopal secondary school located in Kent, Connecticut. Sill envisioned the school as integral to the mission of his order and dedicated to the education of boys from families with modest financial means. He began classes at Kent in Sept. 1906 with a student body of seventeen young men. The school grew rapidly, and by 1916 it had more than 160 students. Known affectionately as “Pater,” Sill served as headmaster for almost thirty-five years. He expressed his educational philosophy in words that became the school's motto: Simplicity of Life, Directness of Purpose, and Self-Reliance. William S. Chalmers, also a member of the Order of the Holy Cross, became headmaster in 1941. Conflict with the Order, however, led to the ending of its relationship with Kent in Sept. 1943. Chalmers was dispensed from monastic vows in 1945. He was succeeded in 1949 by John O. Patterson, also a priest. Under Patterson's direction a girls' division was opened on a separate campus in 1960. The two campuses were consolidated at the present site in 1992.