Weekly Message from Head of School 2023/09/24-2023/09/30

Dear Keystonians, 

I hope this finds you well and looking forward to a restful holiday week.   

This week I want to send a special thank you to all of Keystone’s teachers and other employees for a wonderful start to our school year! As we celebrate the abundance of the full moon, let’s also reflect on one of the most important gifts at Keystone— our extraordinary faculty and staff whose daily actions are woven together to create our “New World School” for our students.  

At Keystone, this extraordinary commitment to our students goes well beyond what people think of when they imagine the life and work of a teacher. Teachers’ commitment and dedication has been on vibrant display, especially the past two weeks as our students in grades 4-11 have been off campus traveling on their OEPs or (for the 11th graders) their ELP.  This is an extraordinary feat that involves efforts from nearly every department on campus and is expertly coordinated by our Experiential Learning team, Ms. Uma and Mr. Chris Cartwright.  

At Keystone, teachers don’t just work in classrooms, they work on trails, from kayaks, from the back of a bus on a winding mountain road, on the edges of cool streams and in the corridors of our dorms and dining halls. We see teachers caring for children at all hours of the day and night, comforting them when they miss their parents, or felt a little sick, challenging them to try something they thought they couldn’t do, and reminding them of what our shared values look like in action.  

Keystone teachers are an extraordinary breed of educators. We are so fortunate to be able to select the best teachers in the world who are singularly devoted to the learning and growth of young people. To earn a teaching role at Keystone, it isn’t enough to be an excellent classroom teacher— that is necessary, but not sufficient— our teachers and leaders have to be learners, flexible and humble, willing to push our own comfort zones to model the passion for life-long learning and growth that we seek to inculcate in our students. This is both grueling and deeply rewarding work.  

This year’s crop of new teachers was selected from one of the most competitive hiring years we have had yet as Keystone enjoyed its highest levels ever of teacher retention for the current 23-24 school year. Our 20 new faculty members have an average of over 12 years of teaching experience and have taught at 75 different excellent schools from around the world and 65% of them have advanced degrees at the master's and doctoral level. And while this school year has just begun, we have already started our recruiting process for the 24-25 school year to ensure that we are investing in getting the world’s most extraordinary teachers to come to Keystone.  

I extend my deepest admiration and gratitude to each of Keystone’s teachers. To each of you who stayed up late at night encouraging our students let their excitement of being together fade into a good night’s sleep, shushing from a neighbor tent, or who coached a team to the victory of learning that goes along with team pursuit of excellence, and the countless ways you have made this school a beautiful place to live and learn, thank you! As we bask in the soft glow of the full moon on Friday night and celebrate time and adventures with family and friends, please know that you, our teachers, are a great gift that Keystone celebrates, this week and always.  

And to each of you and your families, I wish you a meaningful and peaceful mid-autumn festival.   

Yours, Emily