Keystone School, generally called Keystone, is a co-educational independent private school for students from pre-kindergarten to twelfth grade, located in the Monte Vista Historic District in Midtown San Antonio, Texas, USA. The greater Keystone School consists of the Little School of Keystone, serving PK-3 and PK-4 students, Lower School, serving kindergarten through fourth-grade students, the Middle School, serving fifth- through eighth-grade students, and the Upper School, consisting of the ninth through twelfth grades. Keystone is regarded as one of the most academically competitive schools in the United States and has been acclaimed for its academic performance. It has been placed as one of the best private high schools in America by the Washington Post multiple times and ranked #1 in 2015.
History
The School was established as the Keystone School and Guidance Center in June 1948 with the personal funds of its founders, John H. Eargle and William B Greet. In June 1953, the school moved to its present location at 119 East Craig Place in San Antonio's renowned Monte Vista Historical District. By 1954, Edwin Eargle had added an Upper School to serve students in the ninth through twelfth grades. Accreditation was granted by the Texas Education Agency in the summer of 1957. It is also accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Southwest. The school has undergone considerable expansion over the past half century, particularly in the last fifteen years.
The Keystone School offers flexible education programs for high school, middle school and elementary students that help each student achieve their unique dreams and goals. Whether the student wants to study full-time or just needs individual classes, they offer more than 170 courses from credit recovery to world languages.
Campus
Keystone's start of the 20th century Victorian and classical-revival campus occupies nearly a full city block of restored mansions and carriage houses between McCullough, North Main, and Woodlawn Avenues.
The following buildings and facilities can be found on the campus: Founders Hall, often referred to as the Main Building, was the first building to be occupied by the school on its present campus. It houses much of Keystone's administrative offices in addition to classrooms, the Dining Hall, and a theatre and dance studio. The building has three floors, the top floor once being occupied by one of the founders of the school. E.M.Stevens Hall, located immediately to the east of Founders' Hall on East Craig Place, is another restored mansion. It houses a number of classrooms in addition to the majority of the school's lockers. The building is used primarily by the Upper School. North Hall is a restored apartment building that mainly houses classrooms for grades 5–8. The Carriage House, built in 1904, is home to the music classroom and a "study-area" for high-schoolers. It was originally used as a stables for what is now Founders' Hall. Efforts to demolish the building in 2002 in order to replace it with a more modern and space-efficient facility were thwarted by the Monte Vista Historic Board. West Hall, a restored mansion adorned with large Doric columns on its southern facade, houses the majority of the Lower School's classrooms and facilities, including its library. An electrical fire in April 2006 caused over $100,000 in damages, but the building has since been restored to its original form in the wake of a remarkable community outpouring. The Edwin Eargle Library, an old mansion on Woodlawn Avenue, was purchased and restored by Keystone in the 1990s. It had fallen into significant disrepair at the time of the school's purchase of the building, but now houses the Upper School library and computer facilities. The Lloyd Jary Performing Arts Center, named for its architect, is immediately to the east of the Eargle Library. The two buildings are connected to one another. The facility was completed in 2000, and is built to resemble an old house as per the requirements of the Monte Vista Historic Board. As a result, the windows on its eastern facade are false. The Shadfan Science and Creativity Center, which completed construction in 2014. The building contains updated science labs, technology classrooms, and various other classrooms.
Admission
Admission to Keystone is selective and limited, and is particularly competitive for prospective students rising into pre-kindergarten and the first and ninth grades. By its own description, the school offers admission "to qualified students without regard to ethnic, racial, or religious backgrounds[...]" and, according to its own records, counts 55% of its student body as being "non-Anglo".