Blaire Lent
THE COMPLETE TEACHER
story by ERIN WALLACE photos by CHARLOTTE BERKELEY
More than ever before, students are facing unrealistic definitions of excellence. With bombardments from the media, these standards seem unattainable and cause immense feelings of failure for many.
According to the National Institutes of Health, nearly one in three of all adolescents ages 13 to 18 will experience an anxiety disorder. This statistic is bleak. Students are tuning out school and turning toward avoidance behaviors to cope with these feelings of inadequacy. Students fear that “the real world” is something they are unprepared to enter. And why prepare for something that the latest TikTok trends say isn’t worth it? Many of Beaufort’s young, bright students would rather hide behind a screen than face what is going on in the world, and with this feedback, who can blame them?
However, there is an incredible woman that works to shed light into the darkness of the unknown for our dear Beaufort students, and her name is Blaire Lent — a dedicated wife, mom, and educator. This woman who wears many hats is the founder of a private school called The Complete Student (TCS) that seeks to build a generation of students who are more confident, mature, and understand how to be collaborative learners. In addition to learning the middle and high school core curriculum, they learn life skills, like time management and personal responsibility, to help prepare them for a career or college. You heard that right, it is the complete package! This is everything you wished you had learned when you were in school. We’ve all faced this situation: freshly moved out of home, very young, and very confused about how to live a life outside your parents’ direction. Graduating from TCS prepares students for success inside and outside of the classroom.
It is vital to note that TCS is not an “alternative” school but instead is a school that is altering the preconceived notions of what education can be. The difference with this unique school is that the staff is aware that every child learns differently and is flexible enough to conform to the needs of each child. Their mission is to provide inclusiveness within the classroom and construct a curriculum around the child as a whole. This approach serves all types of students, including gifted students and those that learn differently.
This Beaufort-loving woman hailed from New York and made her way to Beaufort back in 2005, not long after her parents had arrived here first. While in New York, Mrs. Lent attended Fordham University and received her bachelor’s in Communications. Then, she went on to the College of New Rochelle and ended up with her master’s in both Education and Special Education. Well-educated, Blaire originally began her teaching career back in her home state as a preschool teacher. Upon arriving in the Lowcountry, she accepted a job as a Learning Specialist at Beaufort Academy (BA). After two years, Blaire left BA. As Blaire began wondering what she would do next, she had parents reaching out and asking if she would be willing to homeschool their children.
So, how exactly did The Complete Student school form? It all started in Blaire’s cozy home with a couple of students being homeschooled that later grew into 15 students over the years. Blaire Lent has a never-ending passion for seeing young kids thrive in school, no matter the setting. As students started piling into Blaire’s house, whether for homeschooling or tutoring, she never stopped supporting the development of their creativity, self-advocacy, and executive functioning skills.
In 2015, when Blaire and her students outgrew her home, they moved into the building where they still are today in Port Royal. In the beginning, Blaire relied upon an online school model for the first years of their move. She realized quickly that the online model still didn’t meet all of the unique needs of her students. As Blaire thought through her next steps, it dawned on her: She could be the one to create the new curriculum she had been dreaming about. Since then, they have added modules to meet the rapid influx of students seeking a more personalized education. The era of Blaire waiting on someone to pave the way for her was over. She would pave her own future!
Hence, the curriculum used at TCS is set apart from anything you’ve heard of in the school system. TCS utilizes lessons that draw on skills from a multitude of disciplines, all while highlighting multiple forms of intelligence. Students select projects, including student-created ones, to demonstrate mastery and align with each student’s ability, interest, motivation, and aspirations. TCS is designed through and through to fit the needs of all types of learners, and this can be accented through Blaire’s brilliant words: “We believe that all children can learn, and when educators pair students with an appropriate curriculum for their strengths, skills, and abilities, they can soar. We work to understand each student’s internal motivation and efficacy.” Well said, Blaire.
The future aspirations for TCS are to expand its buildings and to welcome more students who are looking for a different experience from traditional education. No doubt this will come to pass as TCS grows exponentially every year — including during the pandemic. It has been seven years since TCS moved into this building, but it is so much more than a building: it is a way of life, and a means to navigate life. This school is revolutionizing what education is all about, and TCS will continue to move mountains in the years to come. Blaire always celebrates the parents who are daring enough to step away from the herd. She couldn’t have started the school without them! It is only fitting to hear a couple of parents describing their children’s experiences: “He can see the light in himself that we’ve known was there all along,” and “This is an amazing environment to learn in and mimics real-life exposure to different personalities.” If you want to read what other parents of TCS students are raving about, go to their website at www.thecompletestudent.com and see the magic for yourself!
