Academic Excellence

Keystone offers a challenging accelerated curriculum that prepares students for success in college and throughout their lives.

At Keystone, students learn to ask questions, pursue knowledge, and love learning. Teachers at all grade levels utilize a teaching style that seeks to satisfy the natural curiosity and love of learning that our students possess. We believe that when given the opportunity, encouragement, and means to think more deeply and comprehensively, young people will respond with the enthusiasm and energy to go beyond the demands of a standard curriculum.

For us, the concept of an accelerated curriculum goes beyond the idea of utilizing higher-level textbooks. Beginning in kindergarten, we seek students who demonstrate a natural inquisitiveness and we develop it as they move through the Lower School.

Middle School students continue their academic and personal journeys and often tackle traditional high school work.

In our Upper School, we encourage students to maintain that child-like curiosity, teaching them how to frame questions, find answers, and think broadly. Upper School students balance a demanding course load that includes several AP classes, and many students advance to college with more than a semester’s work behind them.

The combination of strong students, superior teachers, a supportive and challenging environment and a tradition and expectation of excellence provide a place where students can do their best work — and be pushed to do even better.

A few examples of our achievement:

Seven seniors in the Class of 2019 — 18 percent — were named National Merit Finalists.0

More than a third of the Class of 2020 -- 37 percent -- achieved National Merit recognition as either Semifinalists or Commended students.0

Some 14 percent of the Class of 2021 were recognized as National Hispanic Scholars.0

  • For nearly 30 years, at least one student has earned an invitation to compete at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. For the past five years, Keystone students have won Grand Prizes at Intel ISEF.
  • Keystone’s Academic World Quest team has qualified for national competition nine years in a row and won best in the country in 2016.
  • The 2019 Scholastic Writing Awards of the Southwest-Region-at-Large honored 15 Keystone students with nine receiving Gold Key designations
  • The Scholastic Art Awards of San Antonio selected work from eight Keystone students, with three receiving Gold Key honors.
  • Keystone’s Model UN club won Best Large Delegation at the Model UN of San Antonio, and Best Small Delegation at the Central Texas Model UN conference at UT-Austin.

National Merit Statistics

Class20212020201920182017
No. of students2927373232
Finalists21752
Semifinalists21752
Commended59917
Percentage of class recognized (commended and semi-finalist)2437431928