Learn while living

The importance of a high-quality education cannot be overstated. It fosters critical thinking, promotes intellectual growth, and equips students with the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in school, their careers and life.

Despite the critical role education plays in a child’s life, traditional schooling—both in schedules and the format of the typical classroom environment—don’t work for all students. Some families require more flexibility, particularly when it comes to academic calendars and school days.

This is why The Keystone School is so important, as it provides K-12 students with access to accredited education and certified teachers without locking them into a rigid learning schedule. The school provides families with the options of either an online or print program of coursework, allowing students to move at their own pace.

“Our motto at Keystone is live while learning. So we put education in the control of the family and the student. Students can live anywhere. They don’t even need to have internet. We have a robust print program, which is kind of an old school textbook and printed assignments. This allows families to go live life and do what needs to be done,” says Morgan Decoteau, M. Ed, the school’s lead school counselor.

Students are able to begin their school years at any time and work at their own pace. As The Keystone School is part of the Stride K-12 family of schools, it similarly offers the same great education, flexibility and ease of access.

However, while course work in both schools is overall the same, unlike the K-12 Private Academy, The Keystone School gives students more independence and is available at a different tuition price point.

“The courses are all instructionally designed for a student with a trusted adult in the home as the learning coach for any immediate need. They’re designed so the student is learning as they go through the coursework and submit those assignments,” says Decoteau.

In addition to this, Keystone also allows students to enroll at any time, without having to wait for the beginning of a spring or fall semester.

This is vital as it gives students with grueling athletic and performance schedules, complex medical needs, jobs or other obligations the ability to create an academic routine that fits their individual needs. It also helps ease the burden for parents whose careers may require them to work unconventional hours.

Decoteau says that some of their students are on the U.S. rodeo circuit, others have parents who work as physicians for Doctors Without Borders and there are those who have medical complexities like long COVID-19 that make it challenging—or impossible—to consider in-person learning.

“Life doesn’t always follow a school calendar, and education shouldn’t have to wait. Many of our students come to Keystone because of an unexpected life event—a family relocation, medical diagnosis, military deployment, professional athletic opportunity, performing arts commitment or another circumstance that makes a traditional school schedule difficult,” says Erica Rhone, head of school.

Keystone recently celebrated 50 years in operation and has students in all 50 states and across 30 different countries. The school graduates between 700 and 950 students per year and has had about 17,000 total in the five decades since they first opened.

“The Keystone School has been helping students achieve their educational goals for more than 50 years, making us one of the pioneers in flexible distance education. While our instructional methods have evolved alongside advances in technology, our mission has remained remarkably consistent: to provide students with a high-quality, personalized education that meets them where they are and prepares them for wherever they want to go,” says Rhone.

The school also provides support from certified teachers and counseling staff that are available to give each student personalized feedback and guidance when needed.

The flexibility and ease of access, while offering support to students when needed sets Keystone apart from other schools, both traditional and online.

“One of the greatest compliments we receive from alumni is that Keystone prepared them for life—not just graduation. The independence our students develop, along with skills like time management, self-discipline, perseverance and personal responsibility, often becomes some of their greatest strengths long after they leave our classrooms,” Rhone says.