Keystone Academy

Middle School: ¥300,000

The Keystone Academy (Keystone, Chinese: 北京鼎石学校) is a non-profit international co-educational school in Beijing, China. The school was founded in 2014. Keystone Academy accepts students from Grade K to Grade 12. Keystone academy offers International Baccalaureate Middle Year Program (MYP) in Grade 6 to Grade 10, and Diploma Program (DP) in Grade 11 and 12^[1]. Keystone Academy is recognized by the Beijing Education Commission (BEC) as a private school. Keystone Academy offers both day school and boarding program.

In May 2011, renowned architect Jerry Zhao was invited to provide the conceptual design for the school buildings that features typical New England Boarding school elements such as a courtyard, an archway, and the red brick exterior. Harvard Professor of Architecture, Preston Scott Cohen was invited to design the Performing Arts Center. In March 2012, a founding memorandum of understanding was signed by the school sponsors that specified the purpose and nature of Keystone Academy as a non-profit K-12 school. Throughout 2013 to 2014, a team of 15 founding leaders started a full year of preparatory work in a temporary office in the China World Trade Center. Keystone Academy was officially opened in September 2014, with 90 leaders, teachers and learning assistants, 63 supporting staff, and 290 students matriculated from Foundation Year to Grade 9. School year 2014-2015 was the first year of Keystone Academy in operation, with former Hotchkiss principal Malcom Mckenzie as the founding Head of School.

On October 2017, Keystone Academy held the opening ceremony for its High School Library, which was designed by British designer Luke Hughes. On May 2018, Keystone held a graduation ceremony for its first cohort of 47 graduates, the Class of 2018. During the summer of 2019, the renovation of two lecture halls and building of the new Primary School "Hutong Theatre" were completed, all designed by Luke Hughes. The lecture hall project was funded by Keystone parents. In 2020, Keystone Academy is inevitably impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic as the school adapted online learning during February through May. The school went online for a few times up to November 2022 due to regulation of COVID-19 in China. In 2024, Keystone Academy finished it's renovation of the Performing Arts Centre, featuring an outdoor pavilion stage, classrooms, and practice rooms. On May 11th, 2024, the 10th Anniversary Charity Gala of Keystone Academy was hosted in Beijing Yanqi Lake International Convention Center, celebrating it's first decade since establishment.

Founding Head of School Malcom Mckenzie left Keystone Academy at the end of the school year 2021-2022. He was then named as the Honorary Trustee of the academy. After leaving Keystone, Malcom Mckenzie served as Interim Headmaster of UWC ISAK Japan until July 2024. Current Head of School and former principal of Punahou School Dr. Emily McCarren succeeded his place.

By 2024, Keystone has already set of 7 cohorts into collegiate education, and have received offers including Yale University, Princeton University, Stanford University, Dartmouth College, Johns Hopkins University, Northwestern University and etc. in the US, and University of Oxford, University of Cambridge and etc. in the UK^[3]. as of all the graduated cohorts, 76% of students chose to pursue education in the United States of America, 10% to the United Kingdom, 8% to Canada^[4].

Keystone Academy is founded and performs it's education with mission of "blending distinctive traditions in eastern, western, and global education, creating a new world school with a liberal arts program that is academically outstanding." Education in Keystone Academy is guided by it's aims named three 'Keystones'^[5]:

Bilingual immersion in Chinese and English

Building character and community throughout our residential setting

Promoting Chinese culture and identity in a world context

Keystone Academy's shared values are based on Five Constant Virtues of Confucianism, namely Compassion, Justice, Respect, Wisdom and Honesty (Chinese: 仁、义、礼、智、信)^[5].

"Umuntu Ngumuntu Ngabantu" A person is a person because of people.

The 'Schoolwide Strategic Action Plan' of Keystone Academy, which began in 2019, claims to 'expounds on the phased goals that Keystone is committed to achieving within five years and makes clear the long-term development strategy'. Keystone is committed to this action plan for year 2019 to 2024. Their plans, respectively, are:

1. Infusing environmentalism and sustainability.
2. Enhancing academic challenges.
3. Extending community service.
4. Developing a Teaching & Learning Center.^[6]

Keystone Academy has three libraries, science and information technology laboratories, art spaces, a makerspace, a soccer field, three indoor gymnasiums, a 25-meter lap pool, indoor and outdoor running tracks, and outdoor playgrounds for elementary school students. Moreover, Keystone Academy has two dormitory buildings, a performing arts center, a performance hall for a capacity of 700 people, a black box theater, music classrooms and rehearsal room.

In addition, Keystone Academy has installed an air refreshing system to ensure indoor air quality throughout the campus; and every student in grades 6-12 is provided with a MacBook for learning^[1].

Keystone Academy is accredited, authorized, or a member of the following organizations:^[7]

• The International Baccalaureate Middle Year Program (IBMYP)
• The International Baccalaureate Diploma Program (IBDP)
• Round Square, an international network of schools.
• Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), a K-12 Accreditation.
• Principals' Training Center for International School (PTC).
• Association of China and Mongolia International Schools (ACAMIS).
• International Schools Athletic Conference (ISAC), a Beijing/Tianjin international schools league.
• East Asia Regional Council of Schools (EARCOS)

• Keystone Academy