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Kent School District commits to one-day ‘extended’ fifth-grade camp and launches fundraising after state cuts; parents press for overnight program
Summary
After the state reduced support for outdoor education, the Kent School District approved an extended one-day fifth-grade camp funded in the budget and pledged to partner with the Kent Schools Foundation for ongoing fundraising to restore multi-day overnight experiences; a board motion to pause the presentation and hear public comments passed 3–2.
Superintendent Bella and teaching-and-learning staff presented the district’s Outdoor Education Overview for 2025–26 and explained the curricular and social-emotional rationale for fifth-grade outdoor education. Presenters and partners described the learning objectives and cited two-year participation data: about 25–28 schools and roughly 1,100–1,153 fifth graders (about 58–60% of fifth graders) participated in a three-day program in recent years.
Staff said the state had previously funded approximately $800,000 per year toward the program; that funding was not available for 25–26, leaving the district to budget $338,000 in the adopted appropriation for a one-day extended…
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