Kim Dent was a natural choice to fill the role of science teacher at ACA, bringing more than 20 years of classroom experience with her. She has taught multiple subjects in her career but has focused on natural sciences such as biology and chemistry.
Dent comes to Atlantic Collegiate Academy from the Marion School District where she has taught science at Palmetto Middle School for the last four years. Overall, she has been educating students in South Carolina classrooms for more than 20 years.
“I enjoy teaching because it provides me with an opportunity to change the lives of my students,” Dent said. “I relish exposing my students to the many areas of science, where ideas and discoveries are the catalysts to learning and improvements in academics and real-world applications.
“Science is like life in that we make purposeful or problematic observations daily of things we must resolve or improve upon. With information and data collection, we can make validate conclusions shared not only in the classroom but in society, making the world a better place to live.”
Born and raised in the Washington, D.C. area, Dent moved with her mother and two siblings to Conway when she was 12 years old. A high academic achiever herself, she graduated from Conway High, where she served as class president, at the age of 16 before attending Coastal Carolina University where she earned a Bachelor of Science with a double major in Biology and Psychology in 1995.
She went on from there to earn a Master of Education degree in Integrated Teaching Through the Arts with an emphasis in Curriculum and Instruction from Lesley University in Cambridge, Mass., in 2002.
“We are so excited to have Kim Dent on our faculty as a science teacher,” Lorenz said. “Miss Dent is going to build positive relationships with our students and will quickly become one of their favorites. She also has the experience of helping open a new school because she was at Carolina Forest High School faculty when that school opened. We are so happy she has joined the Armada.”
Dent began her post-graduate teaching career in Horry County Schools in 1997, teaching various subjects at Carolina Forest High School. During that time, she earned her certification as a Pharmacy Technician and, in 2013, she stepped away from teaching to work at the Rivertown Pharmacy full-time. Overall, she spent more than eight years in the pharmacy before hearing the call to return to the classroom.
It was that call to continue educating that attracted her to Atlantic Collegiate Academy.
“I am a firm believer that every student deserves access to a quality education,” Dent said. “My experience has taught me the value of building a learner’s confidence as well as finding ways students can demonstrate comprehension and critical thinking. I believe in student engagement and interactive learning.”
In addition to her passion for teaching, Dent is a self-confessed huge Star Wars fan who wanted to grow up to be a Jedi Knight when she was a child. She also enjoys crossword puzzles, reading science fiction novels and is also a Harry Potter fan. She is also passionate about the efforts at NASA and follows the advances in space travel.
“I am excited and honors to be joining a team that is dedicated to developing critical thinkers,” Dent said.
Dent was a member of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority when she was in college, and she has been an active member of the Conway Kiwanis Club. During her time at Carolina Forest High she served as a senior class advisor as well as an advisor to the Key Club.
Dent has one son, Timothy (23). She has one brother who lives in Conway and another who lives in Alaska.
