2025/2026 SCHOOL YEAR
FEBRUARY ISSUE
ALUMNI ENTREPRENEURS CLUB
INVESTING SUPPORT
FEBRUARY DEEP DIVE
PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING
WHAT’S NEW
OUR SOCIAL MEDIA IS ON FIRE!
PLEASE LIKE AND SHARE!
FALL STUDENT SHOWCASE
SCENES FROM OUR LAST SHOWCASE
KEYSTONE CHRONICLE
Our Most Recent Student Showcase: December
Our student showcase is the culmination of a semester’s long approach to project-based learning focusing on student interest within one of our three magnet programs. All semester long, students engage in project-based learning, for 75 minutes a week, on a topic that is of special interest to them. At the end of this semester, students were able to present their work to the parent community during our student showcase.
The Importance of Contributing to Keystone Prep High School’s Annual Fund & Who Should Contribute
Our goal for Keystone Prep High School’s Annual Fund is
100% participation from all stakeholders, which includes
current and past Keystone Prep families, Alumni,
Keystone Prep staff, and Keystone Prep Board Members.
Additionally, all stakeholders are encouraged to engage
their own social networks to inspire them to help support
the mission of Keystone Prep High School through a
donation to our Annual Fund.
This degree of contribution is necessary as the average
cost to educate a student at Keystone Prep is
significantly higher than the tuition per student. Since we
also believe that a student who would benefit from
Keystone Prep should never be turned away for
economic reasons, this fund also provides scholarships
for all students who should be at Keystone Prep.
Deep Dive: Problem-Based Learning
Problem-Based Learning is an educational method whereby students work on a short term project oftentimes as a result of a dilemma that was uncovered as part of the educational process within an academic course. These projects can take many forms and are usually require “hands on” solutions. This is important because it allows the students to be physically engaged in their learning and creative in the design of the project.
The nature of the short-term projects can be teacher influenced or student inspired. Whether the teacher or the student determines the product may be different within the student’s daily courses and it may be different within the same course while covering a different topic. Additionally, the frequency of Problem-Based Learning exercises will fluctuate as some courses naturally lend themselves to this type of work. Science labs are a good example of a weekly Problem-Based Learning exercise.
At Keystone Prep High School Problem-Based Learning isembedded in all of our courses in an effort to engage our students more fully in their learning and to give them an opportunity to apply the things they have learned in a real-world context. Uncovering the problems of the past in World History class, applying complex mathematics to 3D printing in Engineering class, or analyzing advanced texts in American Literature class are all examples of Problem-Based Learning.
Problem-Based Learning is similar to Project-Based Learning, which we also incorporate at Keystone Prep. The main difference is that Problem-Based exercises are short-term projects, and Project-Based exercises are long-term projects. Project-Based Learning will be covered in next month’s newsletter, and will be highlighted at our Academic Showcase in December.
Increasingly, “soft-skills” are cited as the top things that Fortune 500 companies are looking for in prospective employees. Soft skills include: critical thinking, teamwork, problem solving, adaptability, leadership, organization, and time management. All of these skills are developed while students are engaged in problem-based learning as it helps build Executive Functioning skills and Emotional Intelligence.
At Keystone Prep High School we place equal emphasis on the curriculum (hard skills) that are required for graduation and the development of real-world problem solving skills (soft skills) that are required for success after graduation.
Our Social Media is on Fire
Like and Share our Posts to support Keystone Prep
Welcome Dr. Angela Houghton
New Dean of Students
Our Spring Student Showcase will be April 30, 6-8pm. Students will be showing off and presenting the research they have done during the semester. Please join us for this event to show your support for our students.
