The Key School
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| The Key School |
|
| Established | 1958 |
| Type | Private coeducational primary & secondary |
| Head of School | Marcella M. Yedid |
| Students | 740 |
| Grades | pre k–12 |
| Location | Annapolis, Maryland USA |
| Campus | Suburban |
| Mascot | Obezag |
| Website | [1] |
The Key School is a private coeducational school, located in the neighborhood of Hillsmere Shores in Annapolis, Maryland. Known simply as "Key" by members of the community, it is recognized for maintaining a culture of independence and free thinking as well as exceptional academic rigor. Though the school is attended by all age groups, from Pre-K through 12th grade, it is extremely small, with about fifty students per grade, and about 750 students in the whole school, from Pre-K to 12th Grade.
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[edit] Pre-K and Kindergarten
The Pre-K and kindergarten is located in 2 buildings. One main large building where the normal classrooms are, and a second building for French students in Kindergarten. Also located in the Pre-K and Kindergarten building is the school nurse, and one of the Middle School science labs.
[edit] Lower School
The Lower School is compiled of grades 1-4. Grades 1-3 have all classes in the Manse (An old converted mansion which has recently been redone), while 4th Grade just recently got a new building solely dedicated to it. All students have essentially the same classes, (electives do not appear until Upper School), including French, Music, science, math, language arts (English) and computer. The lower-Schoolers are offered a complete playground for recess hours which includes a cement baskeetball court and a jungle gym (complete with monkey bars and the works.).
[edit] Middle School
The Middle School is made of grades 5-8, and is mainly located in the Barn (An old converted barn from when the lot was a farm). The students in Middle School have many buildings to walk to on the college campus-like school. The 3rd floor of the Barn is where the head of the Middle School, David Magnus, has his office, the 5th grade classrooms, and two Middle School French classrooms. The second floor holds mainly the library, the computer lab, the office, and the 6th and 7th grade classrooms. The first floor of the Barn is mainly for 7th and 8th graders. It has the central locker area and assoted upper and middle school classrooms.
[edit] Music Program
Key's music program in Lower and Middle School follows the Orff Schulwerk approach, developed by composer Carl Orff. Its teachers consist of trained musical professionals who love what they do. I addition to common music classes, which are mandatory for all students, there are other teachers whose sole job it is to teach extra-curiculat musical instruments to those who wish to learn it. These instruments include, but are not limited to, the violin, cello, viola, guitar, and base. The playing of the recorder, is also mandatory for students third grade and up. The students receive their soprano recorder in third grade and their alto at fifth. The sopranino is not mandatory, but suggested and is also available for purchase in fifth grade. The soprano and alto recorders are taught in common class.
[edit] Upper School
The Upper School is largely based in the Science and Library building, completed prior to the 2000 academic year, which houses the Upper School library & computer lab, science labs, classrooms, and the 9-12 graders lockers. The Middle School also makes use of the building. The Upper Schoolers at Key enjoy a considerable amount of personal freedom; they can go out for lunch, study outside, and are generally less tightly controlled than in most American secondary schools.
Academically, Key's fundamental approach is a humanities-intensive core curriculum. Instead of traditional English and history, students take Civilizations (or "Civ") courses during the first three years of Upper School:
9th Grade: Ancient and Medieval Civilizations; 10th Grade: European Civilization; 11th Grade: American Civilization.
These are team-taught, double-credit courses that combine the study of literature and history into one massive courseload. The required natural sciences follow a similar core structure:
9th Grade: Conceptual Physics; 10th Grade: Chemistry; 11th Grade: Biology.
Math is required to be taken for all four years, and goes as high as AP Calculus BC
In addition, Key also offers many electives, including Advanced Placement courses, fine and performing arts, and foreign languages (including an especially popular Latin program).
The annual tuition for the upper school is $19,650. However, admissions are need blind.
[edit] History
The school was founded in 1958 by tutors at St. John's College in Annapolis as a place that emphasized respect for young minds, independence of thought and perhaps most importantly, small class sizes. Key's history is often contrasted with that of Severn, Key's primary regional rival, which was founded as a prep school for the United States Naval Academy. Both schools have become considerably more mainstream since their formative years, with Key becoming wealthier, larger and ultimately less dominated by academic families. (It should be noted that the school community has always been considered politically and socially liberal despite being in largely conservative Anne Arundel County. In the last decade or so however, it has moved unmistakably more center). The founders bought the school property (4 acres not including the current beach area on the South River), then a farm with a barn and an old mansion, and transformed it into a suitable campus for students. In recent years, as the size and endowment of the school has expanded, the school has had a great deal of turnover among the faculty, and several new major buildings were built, the newest being the Multi-Purpose Building, containing offices, a student lounge and a gym.
