KELLS ACADEMY IS ONCE AGAIN EXPANDING

With plans for a middle school in the works for 2017, Kells Academy is once again expanding

Continued increases in registration were the impetus behind the recent acquisition of a third building by Kells Academy in N.D.G. While the school has always been able to provide students in Grades 7 and 8 with exceptional resources, staff is now excitedly looking forward to housing a middle school in the added space. As a result, they’ll be able to accommodate a greater number of students as well as expanding upon those core values that put an emphasis on academic goals, arts and sports programs, and the popular Flex program.

“With our expansion, we are setting up a separate middle school so we can use that time and space to better prepare kids for high school,” explained Irene Woods, the director of Kells Academy. “It’s such a crucial time in a child’s development, cognitively and non-cognitively, and it really makes a big difference in high school and beyond to give special attention to these students.

“We’re going to continue with some of the programs that we use at the elementary level, including strong arts and sports programs, and we will continue to have lots of choices in terms of kids’ particular interests. We’re especially proud of our Flex program, where students are free to choose from a myriad of options, from robotics, accounting and chess, to sports, martial arts, yoga, dance, and foreign languages. It turned out to be a popular part of the curriculum, so we’re continuing that in our middle school. And we will also have after-school homework programs and tutorials.”

“The needs of a Grade 7 student are not exactly the same as that of a Grade 9 student, and we were always aware that it would be nice to have a unique model for our middle schoolers with separate goals,” she said. “We want to focus more on their needs, such as their social and emotional development. We want to be able to spend time on developing academic skills that are missing, and we will have a learning specialist who is able to take more time with these students so that they can develop independent learning skills, which is what they really need at this stage.”

“It’s a nice way to bridge the gap from elementary into high school,” added Emily Marosi, director of communications at Kells. “It’s a secure learning environment with a lot of support, just as we have in the elementary and high schools.”

The expansion will also allow Kells Academy to house international students, as the second floor of the newly-acquired building for the middle school will be used as a residence. It opens in September and is already starting to receive some of the students from abroad, who make up a significant part of the student body.

What started as a tutoring service in 1978, housed in rented commercial space on Victoria Ave., has grown to be a highly-regarded private school. Comprised of three buildings, all within four blocks along de Maisonneuve Blvd., Kells will, in a year’s time, encompass separate elementary, middle and high schools, as well as a residence for international students. It’s come a long way!