Kent Laboratory Academy presents student-centered model, reports gains in attendance and multilingual outcomes
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Summary
Kent Laboratory Academy’s principal and University of Washington Tacoma partners described the school's lab model, partnership with UW Tacoma, and outcomes including improved attendance and multilingual learner exit rates; students highlighted community and block scheduling benefits.
Kent Laboratory Academy (KLA) presented to the Kent School District board on Dec. 10, describing its lab-school partnership with the University of Washington Tacoma, instructional model and student outcomes.
Dr. Stephanie Knipp, founding principal, outlined KLA’s integration of block scheduling, standards-based instruction, push-in multilingual services and career/college readiness coursework. Knipp said KLA pilots district initiatives, supports differentiated instruction for multilingual learners and offers STEM and Project Lead The Way courses. She reported current enrollment at about 304 students with a program capacity of 350, and noted that KLA provides 100% push-in multilingual services — a district-unique model at this time.
Dr. Rachel Endo of the UW Tacoma School of Education praised the partnership and said the university will honor KLA as its distinguished K‑12 partner of the year in 2026. Student speakers described KLA’s small-community atmosphere, the benefits of longer class periods for hands-on projects, and opportunities such as a 99% on‑time graduation rate for the district’s CONNECT credit-recovery program.
Board members asked about practices that could scale to comprehensive schools, the mentorship program linking older and younger students, transportation logistics for out-of-district students, and credit-recovery details. Knipp and her team cited evidence-based practices (structured student talk, scaffolds for language development, vertical whiteboards) and said some structural features — like block schedules and wraparound supports — could be replicated elsewhere. KLA reported improvements in attendance and multilingual learner outcomes, and noted its use of Panorama and WIDA assessments.
What's next: Board members praised the school and students and asked administration for opportunities to observe replicable practices; the district will continue to highlight program innovations in future work sessions.