Kenneth A. Brett: A school the people of Tamworth can be proud of

By Noel DeSousa

The Tamworth community should be proud of its school. And those of us who work with the young people at the Kenneth A. Brett School owe a vote of thanks to the community for its support. There are many different and exceptional programs going on at our school that make The K. A. Brett School a very special place to be. The very first and most important aspect about which we have a great deal of pride is our children. It is because of them that we exist, and it is for their benefit that we do our work. The children that attend this school are wonderful to be around, and a delight to teach.Our school maintains relatively small class sizes throughout the grades and special subject areas. Like in any school, all students are offered instruction in the core disciplines. We also offer all students classes in art, music, physical education library media and Spanish at least weekly. Selected grade levels also benefit from guidance instruction. The alternative education program for several students identified as at-risk is working well. Teachers at the same grade level and within two-grade sequences work together and coordinate their curriculum as a team. The special education, talented and gifted (TAG), and Title I programs continue to increase their collaborations with regular education classroom teaching. A number of special programs are currently in place at the Brett School at various grade levels and deserve recognition. The Tin Mountain Conservation Center provides an environmental education program at several grade levels in the school. These programs consist of multiple classroom lessons supplemented by outdoor experiences at various locations in Tamworth and contiguous areas. The DARE Program (Drug Awareness Resistance Education) has been taught by law enforcement officials in schools around the country for many years. The program is taught at the fifth and seventh grade levels at the Brett School by our local police chief, Dan Poirier, and Lisa Remick, who is an agent with the US DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency), and a local resident and school board member. Carol County Mental Health provides Brett and other schools with a resource person and occasional classes in drug and alcohol awareness. Starting Point works with several grade levels on establishing healthy social relationships and avoiding unhealthy ones.The Remick Museum, located in Tamworth Village, collaborates at several different grade levels with classroom instruction about early American culture, which provides preparation for visits to the museum itself. The Tamworth Outing Club continues to organize the Junior Ski Program for students in grades one through eight at the King Pine Resort and at various Nordic ski areas in the vicinity. Our Tamworth Recreation Department under the direction of Parker Roberts uses the gymnasium for both adult and student basketball programs during the winter months, and our outdoor facilities for baseball, softball and tennis at other times during the year.An article about the Brett School would not be complete without some mention of the building itself and its grounds. Even though the school has been in existence for about 50 years, our school is like new. Over the years the community has supported the need for renovation and expansion, most recently just two years ago when the size of the school was just about doubled. The outside grounds are also in the finishing stages of an upgrade. We thank the Tamworth PTA for its support in raising over $40,000 for the construction of a new playground, which many staff and community volunteers constructed this past summer. The playground, along with an outdoor basketball court and new softball field make for quite a recreational complex.Our school is in session daily from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. We welcome visitors parents and community members alike. Why not stop in at the school office, get a visitors pass and see what we are up to.Noel DeSousa is the principal of the Kenneth A. Brett School in Tamworth