Kent School Welcomes Tiffany Newport as School Counselor

Tiffany Newport joined the Kent School employee group this week to fill the newly created role of School Counselor. Tiffany comes to Kent School from The Benedictine School where she was most recently the Assistant Residential Program Administrator. Tiffany has a Master’s in Social Work from Salisbury University and a Bachelor of Science in Social Work from Frostburg University. Nancy Mugele, Head of Kent School said, “Her work counseling and advocating for students and families will be a great asset to Kent School.”

To support the creation of this new role, Tiffany will spend time with Phyllis Fagell, Kudner Leyon Visiting Writer and author of Middle School Matters: The 10 Key Skills Kids Need to Thrive in Middle School and Beyond and How Parents Can Help in late February. Phyllis is the School Counselor at Sheridan School in Washington, DC, and Tiffany will spend a day there with an inspiring professional to see the role in action. Tiffany will also spend time learning from Dr. Lisa Damour, PhD of The Laurel School and another Kent School Kudner Leyon Visiting Writer. Damour is the author of Untangled: Guiding Teenage Girls Through the Seven Transitions into Adulthood and Under Pressure: Confronting the Epidemic of Stress and Anxiety in Girls.

COVID-19 has challenged education as we know it. Nancy Mugele, wrote in a recent article for the National Association of Independent Schools, “Our very youngest learners need support and help in unexpected ways. We noticed right away during the first few days of this academic year that there was a significant increase in young students’ separation anxiety from parents. Our students expected and demanded instant gratification and were often impatient and frustrated. They were having trouble with some basic skills like sharing and waiting their turn…those of us with early childhood education programs in our schools are just beginning to understand and address the impact of COVID-19 on learners in the early years of their development ”

In December, the U.S. Surgeon General issued an advisory regarding a youth mental health crisis. This is significant both in its contents and because these advisories are very rare. Safeguarding the emotional well-being of students in these uncertain times is of paramount importance. In order to best meet the health and well-being needs of our entire student body, Kent School sought a full-time School Counselor, to provide much needed emotional and mental health support to our students in Preschool through Grade Eight.

Mugele continued, “Tiffany has experience working individually with students and we are pleased that she will now belong at Kent School. Her former supervisor shared that her planning and work with students is excellent, that she is meticulous, organized, works well with a team, and is very nimble. All characteristics that will bring her success at Kent School in her new role of School Counselor.”

Kent School, located on the bank of the Chester River in historic Chestertown is an independent school serving boys and girls in Preschool through Grade Eight. Kent School’s mission is to guide our students in realizing their potential for academic, artistic, athletic, and moral excellence while fostering the growth of honorable, responsible citizens for our country and our diverse world. For more information visit www.kentschool.org or email info@kentschool.org.

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~ Kent School