KEYSTONE OAKS
SCHOOL DISTRICT
Building a Foundation of Excellence
Environmental science class transforms storage space into green classroom
When first-year environmental science teacher Madelyn Kay
discovered a green room being used as a place to store old
equipment and the remnants of science experiments, she knew
there was a tremendous opportunity to refurbish the space by
engaging her students in a hands-on project.
During the first semester of the school year, a group of nearly
one dozen students got to work. They discarded unusable
equipment, tossed out owl pellets and fish skeletons, and
threw away fish tanks. Students did some good-old-fashioned
scrubbing, painted the cabinets, and designed and built a
wooden table for the center of the room.
The space is now a functioning
laboratory where students are growing
herbs, such as basil and oregano. The
green room also houses a working
aquaponics tank, a system that
combines raising fish with cultivating
plants in water; the fish provide
nutrients and fertilizer to the plants.
“As I started teaching this class, I
realized that the students would learn
more by completing a hands-on project
than they would by listening to a lecture
and taking notes,” Kay said. “I am proud
of the way the students embraced
this project and really worked to turn
this into a functioning space for future
classes.”
The room is far from being complete.
Kay is working with Computer Assisted
Design classes to design a watering system that would allow
students to control when and how much plants are fed and
watered when they are not at school. She is also collaborating
with art and ceramics classes to liven up the space.
“I really want this to be a space for innovation and
experimentation and I want it to be a space that all students can
be proud of,” Kay added. “By working with other departments,
students will learn what it means to collaborate with others on a
project for the benefit of the district.”
District SAT Scores Ranked Among Top 20 of Schools in the Region
Keystone Oaks High School students scored an average of
1,568 on the fall 2016 SAT exam, earning them a spot in the top
20 schools in the region.
Keystone Oaks students scored an average of 535 on the math
SAT, 523 on the reading SAT and 510 on the writing SAT. This
year’s SAT score increased by more than 60 points over the fall
2015 SAT score of 1,505.
“Over the past several years, Keystone Oaks School District
has implemented new curriculum, redesigned and added new
programs, and invested significant resources in professional
28 Keystone Oaks
development to better prepare our students, not only for these
important exams, but also for post-secondary success,” said
Superintendent Dr. William Stropkaj.
“The work our teachers and professional staff throughout the
district have put in to providing more rigorous and engaging
courses and programs is having a positive impact on student
achievement,” he added.
The analysis, completed by the Pittsburgh Business Times,
compared 120 high schools in western Pennsylvania.