The Key School
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The Key School |
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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 |
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 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.
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[edit] Pre-K and Kindergarten
The Pre-K and Kindergarten classes are located in 2 buildings. There is one main building where the normal classrooms are, and then a second building for French students in Kindergarten. The main Pre-K and Kindergarten building also houses the school nurse and one of the Middle School science labs.
[edit] Lower School
The Lower School consists 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 has a dedicated building, just recently constructed. Since electives do not appear until Upper School, Lower School students have essentially the same classes. These include French, Music, Science, Math, Language Arts (English) and Computer Studies. The Lower-Schoolers are offered a complete playground for recess hours which includes a cement basketball court and a jungle gym (complete with monkey bars).
[edit] Middle School
The Middle School consists of grades 5-8, and is mainly located in the Barn (which actually is a converted barn). Unlike the Lower School, Middle School classes are not concentrated in a single location, and students walk from class to class, much like a college. The 3rd floor of the Barn is where the head of the Middle School, David Magnus, has his office. The 3rd floor also has some 5th grade classrooms and two Middle School French classrooms. The second floor holds the library, the computer lab, the office, and some 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 assorted Upper and Middle School classrooms.
[edit] Upper School
The Upper School is largely based in the Science and Library building, completed prior to the 2000 academic year. This building houses the Upper School library & computer lab, science labs, classrooms, and the 9-12 grade 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, which reflects its connection with nearby St. John's College. 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 also follow a core structure:
9th Grade: Conceptual Physics
10th Grade: Chemistry
11th Grade: Biology
It should be noted that this is the reverse of the normal high school science progression. This is due to the Key philosophy that physics underpins chemistry, which underpins biology; they are thus taught in that order and each class builds on the previous year's work.
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] Music Program
Key's music program in Lower and Middle School follows the Orff Schulwerk approach, developed by composer Carl Orff.
[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. The school is named after Francis Scott Key, a graduate of St. John's College. 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). 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 have been built. The newest is the Multi-Purpose Building, which contains offices, a student lounge, and a gym.