MYP Design (tentative)

Requirements for Teaching Staff at Keystone Academy

Keystone Academy is a new model of education in China. It blends distinctive traditions in eastern, western, and international education, creating a “new world school” that is academically outstanding. At Keystone, we embrace a world that is dynamic and ever-changing. We learn from and we learn for this enterprising, global community.

Our keystones are:

• bilingual immersion in Chinese and English;
• building character and community in a residential setting; • promoting Chinese culture and identity in a world context.

We are re-imagining the global preparedness needed to enable young people to become the leaders and trailblazers of their generation. Specifically, Keystone graduates will have:

• Linguistic proficiency in both English and Chinese
• Academic mastery in specific subject areas, and an understanding of connections and intersections across subjects
• Confidence and achievement in creative expression
• Ability to successfully navigate and excel in the changing technological landscape
• Skill in inquiry, collaboration, and active learning
• Holistic personal development
• Intercultural communication and global competency
• Keystone will prepare graduates for top universities around the world and in China. Ultimately, a Keystone education will equip them to take their place as significant participants on a global stage.

General expectations of living and working at Keystone Academy

We often say at Keystone that the Academy is about learning. This is true for all the people who live and work in this educational community. It is also a statement that goes far beyond the classroom. Learning at Keystone takes place in our dormitories, our hallways, on the playing fields and dining halls, and encompasses social and emotional goals as well as the purely academic. We are as much about developing character, as expressed in Keystone’s statement of Shared Values, as we are about academic rigor. Indeed, to suggest that there is a hard and fast distinction “between” areas of head and heart is to attempt to make simple what we know to be a much more complex and dynamic relationship. Consequently, in our work as teachers and administrators at Keystone, we commit ourselves to a vision of education that extends the experience of teaching and learning into all areas of campus life: we all teach, we all contribute to the curriculum beyond the classroom, we all embrace the residential program and the notion of living in community within our areas of responsibility. We are not a community that relentlessly counts “hours” or constructs exhaustive lists of responsibilities. Keystone expects that its staff members respond positively and with a high sense of professionalism to the needs of the school, the students, the parents, and their colleagues.

• While avoiding “bean counting,” a broad outline of a teaching position is possible.
• A full-time teacher at Keystone, regardless of division, is expected to Teach 24 class meetings a week.
• Participate fully in curricular and other planning meetings, collaborating with colleagues in the development of the Academy’s curriculum and programs.
• Offer one KAP (Keystone Activities Program) per KAP semester; KAPs meet once a week for 1 hour; there are two KAP semesters of approx. 12 weeks respectively each year.
• Communicate in a professional manner with families, students, and colleagues.
• Engage in a variety of duties (e.g., Library supervision, taking students to a movie on a Sunday afternoon, dorm affiliate duty, lunch room supervision, recess duty, etc.) necessary to the care of the students and the smooth functioning of the institution.
• Actively participate in the professional growth program of the school.
• Advise and mentor students in a formal way, either as a Homeroom Teacher in the Primary or within the advising system of the Upper School. Homeroom Teachers and advisors act as the primary point of connection between families and the school.

For Upper School teachers at the discretion of the school, staff live in the campus residences, providing pastoral care for students at the direction of the Dean of Students and Dean of Residential Life.

For teachers who live on corridor with students, Keystone provides a stipend to recognize the additional responsibility that this position requires.

Residential Life at Keystone Academy

Central to the character development of Keystone students is their life on campus during the high school years. Secondary school teachers have their own two or three bedroom accommodation provided by the school, and those apartments are located within the residence complex on a student floor. “Dorm parents” make sure that students are well cared for and thriving in the residence halls. Adults serve as role models and provide genuine affirmation and guidance to the students. They also work to cultivate a wholesome living environment and a home-away-from home.

Four dorm parents and their families live on each floor, and provide supervision and counsel. They are available for emergencies and after-hours supervision. Additional “affiliated” teachers monitor the dorms and campus spaces during evenings and weekends. The standard residential duty is one evening or weekday duty per week. Duties may include breakfast check-in, evening library supervision, afternoon open gym, or supervising study hours. When you are not on duty, you may certainly explore Beijing, have friends over for a dinner party, or just enjoy your own space. Your home at Keystone is your home.

Weekends at Keystone are a time for relaxation, community bonding, and exploration. Together with their on-duty teachers, students may elect to attend a weekend hiking trip to the Great Wall, perform service work along with their advisors, or stay on campus to enjoy a swim in the pool, a game of table tennis, or a campus movie night. All campus facilities are open and supervised on the weekends for the enjoyment of both the students and resident teachers and their families and friends.

The standard expectation for faculty weekend duty is one “half-weekend “per month (Friday night-Saturday day; or Saturday evening-Sunday day), and we encourage teachers and faculty partners to be a presence and to plan evening and weekend activities even when not on duty. The relationships formed on a boarding school campus are transformative and lasting for adults and students alike. We are truly an inclusive community of teachers and learners.