General Information about Keys School

Basic Facts

• Independent
• Nonsectarian
• Coeducational
• Nonprofit
• CAIS Accredited
• Lower school grades: K-4
• Middle school grades: 5-8
• Average class size: 19
• Student-to-teacher ratio: 8 to 1
• Enrollment: 176 students
• Students of color: 44%
• Established: 1973

Accreditation & Affiliations

• Accredited by the California Association of Independent Schools (CAIS)
• Member of the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS)
• Member of the Educational Records Bureau (ERB)
• Member of Common Ground
• Member of Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD)

Hours

Before-School care: 7:30 A.M.-8:30 A.M.

School day: K-4 grades: 8:30 am - 3:00 pm

                      5-8 grades: 8:30 am - 3:10 pm

After School Program and Camps

• Hours: 3:00 pm–6:00 pm
• Cost: $250 for monthly contract, daily rate of $10 until 4:30 pm, or $20 until 6:00 pm
• Philosophy: Keys School has a long tradition of providing After School care for our students. Our philosophy has remained the same over time: Keys children live fast-paced lives. They need respite, down-time, and continuity. After School is a safe place to play, have a snack, do homework, read a book, explore arts and craft materials, or just daydream, giggle with friends, and make mud pies on a wet day.
• Activities: Activities organized around weekly themes, snack, outdoor games, board games, reading, drawing, voluntary supervised homework time.
• Flexibility: Students can attend After School daily, only a few days per week, or occasionally (drop in).
• Camps: Keys provides camps on Professional Development Days, Conference Days, Winter Break, Spring Break and the 1st two weeks of summer vacation. There is an additional fee for camps.

After-School Sports

• Grades 4 through 8
• All-inclusive, no-cut sports teams
• Focus on sportsmanship, team commitment, and skill development
• Boys: soccer, baseball, flag football, basketball, track and field, swimming
• Girls: soccer, softball, volleyball, basketball, track and field, swimming
• Keys School is part of the West Bay Athletic League

What Does Keys School Offer?

• Challenging and engaging academic program that prepares students well for secondary school and beyond
• Dedicated and inspirational faculty that teaches to the whole child
• Specialty teachers in art, music, drama, physical education, Spanish, science, technology, dance, speech, self-science
• Outstanding outdoor education program (K-8)
• After-school athletics program (4-8)
• Development of each student's individual talents
• Safe, closed campus where everyone is known and respected
• A warm, inclusive, family-oriented environment
• Commitment to diversity
• Opportunities for parent education and participation
• Before and After-School care
• Extensive use of local resources for field trips and assemblies
• Technology lab with multimedia computers and Internet access
• Mobile laptop cart in Middle School
• School counselor and self-science program to develop emotional intelligence
• Commitment to community service at every grade

Other School Activities

• Chess, Science Adventures, Math Club, Fencing, Mandarin Club, Hindi Club, Spanish Club, Homework Club, Aerobics & Cardio Training

What Do We Expect of Parents?

• Partnership in educating our children
• Participation in school activities
• Personal commitment to fundraising, closing the gap between the actual costs of a Keys education and our tuition levels

Standardized Testing

Keys students from third through eighth grade take the Educational Records Bureau (ERB) test every spring. Keys School uses standardized scores for diagnostic purposes, education plans, and tracking overall student growth. We do not prep students for the ERB extensively beforehand, nor do we "teach to the test".  Keys student ERB results are consistently about the norm for national, suburban and independent school populations. Typically Keys classes average at or above the 85th - 90th percentile on national norms. If you would like to know more about ERB testing, please go to www.erbtest.org.

Class Offerings

• Language Arts: K-8
• Math: K-8
• Social studies: K-8
• Science: K-8
• Spanish: K-8
• Music: K-8
• Art: K-8
• Physical education: K-8
• Technology: K-8
• Library: K-8
• Drama: K-8
• Self-science: K-8
• Outdoor education: K-8
• Service Learning: K-8
• Study Skills: 5-8
• Dance: 7-8

Campus Resources

• Library / Technology Lab
• Mobile laptop cart
• Art studio
• Music room
• Lower and middle school science labs
• School-wide wireless network

Lunch Options

Children can bring lunch from home or have the hot lunch at school.

Cost: $5.50 per hot lunch

Our vendor, Nob Hill Catering, offers a diverse, health-conscious menu that changes every week. Students are able to choose from four different selections each day, or one which is vegetarian. A larger meal may be ordered for and additional fee.

Dress Code

Keys School encourages students to wear clothing that is in keeping with our wholesome, respectful learning atmosphere. All school clothing should be neat, clean, and contribute to the student's sense of self-respect and pride in being a member of the Keys community.

Student Leadership

• Student council (5-8)
• Buddy Program (K-8)
• 8th graders serve as guides for Grandparent's Day
• 7th & 8th graders help serve hot lunch to student body
• Grade 7 service at 8th Grade Banquet
• Free the Children Club
• Middle School Advisory Projects

Outdoor Education

Each year classes go on a variety of outdoor adventures that build character, enhance social development, and teach students about our planet. From the one-night kindergarten camping trip, to the eighth grade week of oceanography and snorkeling off Catalina Island, these class trips grow in length, distance from home, and complexity of issues presented as the students get older.

Where Keys Families Live / Transportation

San Mateo, Belmont, Redwood City, Atherton, Menlo Park, Portola Valley, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Palo Alto, East Palo Alto, Mountain View, Saratoga, Sunnyvale, San Jose, Fremont, Cupertino, San Carlos, Santa Clara and Milpitas.

Keys School helps families form carpools by posting a carpool page on our website. Keys also has a Van Shuttle to transport students to and from CalTrain before and after school

Keys School Alumni (2000-2008)

Attendance in Secondary Schools

• American International School- Chennai, India
• Archbishop Mitty High School
• Bellarmine Prep
• Brewster Academy (Wolfeboro, NH)
• Castilleja School
• Cate School (Carpinteria , CA)
• Crystal Springs Upland School
• Fremont High School
• Gunn High School
• Gymnasium Waldorf High School, Germany
• Harker School
• Homestead High School
• Jewish Community School, SF
• Kehillah Jewish High School
• Los Altos High School
• Menlo-Atherton High School
• Menlo School
• Mercy High School
• Mountain View High School
• Notre Dame High School
• Palo Alto High School
• Phillips Exeter Academy (Exeter, NH)
• Pinewood School
• Pioneer High School
• Sacred Heart Preparatory School
• Saint Francis High School
• Sequoia High School
• Saint Lawrence Academy
• Serra High School
• Stanford University EPGY High School
• Stevenson School (Pebble Beach, CA)
• Woodside High School
• Woodside Priory School

Recent College Acceptances

Barnard College (Columbia University) Beloit College Boston University Brown University Bryn Mawr College Cabrillo College Carleton College Claremont McKenna College Colorado Colldge Cornell University Dartmouth College Davidson College Eugene Lang College Fort Lewis College Georgetown University George Washington University Hamilton College Hampshire College Harvard University Humbolt State University Lawerence University Lewis and Clark College Northwestern University

New York University Oregon State Princeton University Pomona College Purdue University Reed College San Jose State University Santa Clara University Seattle University Stanford University SUNY-Binghamton Swarthmore College Trinity College United States Coast Guard Academy University of Chicago University of Colorado University of California (Berkeley, Los Angeles , Santa Barbara , Santa Cruz, Davis, San Diego ) University of Dallas University of Notre Dame University of Oregon University of Portland University of Puget Sound University of Redlands University of Southern California University of Virginia Vassar College Villanova University Wesleyan University Willamette University Whitman College Whittier College Worcester Polytechnic Institute Yale University

Opportunities for Parent Involvement

• In-class volunteering
• Attending field trips and outdoor education trips
• Being an active member of the Keys School Association (KSA)
• Serving on the Keys Board of Trustees
• Serving on a committee

Communication

• Wednesday Letter
• Classroom emails
• Quarterly newsletters
• Online Parent Resources
• Teacher conferences
• KSA meetings
• Parent-education meetings
• Parent support groups facilitated by school counselor
• Back-to-School Night
• High school information night

Orientation Program

Keys School has an orientation program to help new families with the process of assimilating into our community. It includes informational and welcome events, our Welcome Committee, and Student Guides. New students also have special fall lunches with their Student Guides, as well as check-in meetings with the school counselor.

Special Family Events

Back-to-School Nights Fall Picnic Dramatic Productions ( Grades K-8) Jogathon Book Fair Grandparents & Special Friends Day Winter Concert Family Ice Skating Night

Art Show Math Night 8th Grade/Staff Challenge Science Fair Field Day Spring Concert End-of-Year Picnic Graduation Auction