What started more than 30 years ago in the living room of Kents Hill School teacher Janet Dunn became the centerpiece of the school’s campus this week with the opening of the leading-edge Akin Learning Center. This culminating project of a 10 million dollar ...read more

What started more than 30 years ago in the living room of Kents Hill School teacher Janet Dunn became the centerpiece of the school’s campus this week with the opening of the leading-edge Akin Learning Center. This culminating project of a 10 million dollar capital campaign by the school was finished early and under its budget of 2.4 million dollars. The campaign was started in 2007 and began with the Harold Alfond Athletics Fields, which opened in 2008. Created with input from students, faculty, and alumni, the 10,000 square-foot building, is designed to be a warm and intimate space with amenities that include a library, a conference room, nine tutoring classrooms with adjacent offices, two study rooms, a kitchen and a living room complete with fireplace. The lower level will include a TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) testing center for the international student population of Kents Hill, and a climate controlled room to house the school’s extensive archives. “The Akin Learning Center speaks to all that we do here at Kents Hill School,” said Head of School Jeremy LaCasse. “Kents Hill has long been a leader among independent schools for recognizing that each student has a unique learning style. We help students discover the best way that they learn and to advocate for themselves.” Mrs. Dunn, the Center’s Director agrees, noting that the new space “provides a welcoming, safe environment for our students and its central location makes it easier for them to use the Center.” The Learning Center is named for the President of the Kents Hill Board of Trustees, Steven P. Akin, his wife Jane, and their daughter Susan ’03, a student of Mrs. Dunn’s for three years. The Akins’ generosity has supported numerous projects at the school, including the Learning Center, Alfond Athletics Center, Reed Hall, the Center for Performing Arts at Newton Hall, and the Alfond Fields. The project was supported by a 2.3 million dollar grant from the Harold Alfond Foundation. More than 40 years since the Alfond’s first gift, Kents Hill is once again the recipient of their generosity. Harold Alfond’s first gift to Kents Hill School was in 1964—the year his son Ted graduated from Kents Hill. That building, the 2,100 square-foot Girls Field House, went through several incarnations until it was incorporated and re-purposed into the construction of the new Learning Center. From a simple brick structure, to the expansive Athletics Center and Fields, the Alfond family’s commitment to Kents Hill School has come full circle. Beyond its beginnings in Mrs. Dunn’s living room, the Learning Center found a home in the school’s library and was most recently housed in a white clapboard building across Route 17 from the campus’ main buildings. Architect Stephen Blatt said the central location and Shaker-inspired architecture were deliberate choices in the design. “It took more than ten years to find the right spot,” he said. “It is at the base of the quad among the major academic buildings. Its location integrates the Learning Center with the rest of the campus as opposed to being across the street. Now it is a core building.” Students agree and were happy to be in the new space. "I don't know what I would do without the Learning Center, it has been such a great resource,” said Lindsay Brandes ’14. “The teachers are so accessible and accommodating. They devote all of their time and energy to the students here to ensure that we succeed at school. This fabulous new space will help more students succeed by being right in the middle of all our classes." ...hide