Knowledge Empowers You for Success
Welcome to our new KEYS Academy Website! We hope that this site will give you a glimpse into our guiding principles of teaching and learning through Safety, Dignity, and Direction, and the commitment that our talented staff makes as they create and maintain environments in which students are available for learning. If there is any information that you cannot locate on our site, please let us know through the Contact Us link.
KEYS Academy schools are private, day, coeducational special education schools licensed by the Commonwealth of Virginia to serve special education students in grades K-12 who have classifications of Emotional Disability(ED), Autism, Other Health Impairment (OHI), and/or Specific Learning Disability (SLD). KEYS Academy is committed to providing a quality education to students within their home community, and preparing students, when possible and appropriate, to return successfully to their home schools.
Important School Health Guidelines
All four of our KEYS Academy schools are excited to welcome back our students and families for the 2022-23 school year. Our schools are open for in-person learning 5 days a week, like last year. Virtual learning schedules are also available if requested by the parent and approved by the referring public school and IEP team, or when the student needs to quarantine. Our school day will be from 8:30-2:30 for both in person and remote learning.
All KEYS Academy schools will continue to strictly follow all COVID procedures to ensure that your student has a safe and secure environment to access the curriculum and focus on their social/emotional well-being. We will start the 2022-23 school year with staff, students and all visitors in the buildings wearing masks, and will notify parents in writing when we are able to ease our masking policy.
We also ask each parent to go through the student daily health screening checklists before sending your child to school each morning, and calling the Director immediately if there are any health concerns with your student or in your home.
Our KEYS Academy schools remain committed to providing relevant learning opportunities via our blended instructional model. As always, we will continue supporting our students in effectively maintaining their well-being through our unique KEYS for a Big Life and Social Thinking curriculum.
Please refer to your specific school’s page for more information.
Core Curriculum
- Blended learning using digital curriculum tiered to meet individual learning needs (APEX, Edgenuity, Hybridge, Reflex Math, Wilson Reading System, Lexia, and Study Island)
- Whole group, small group, and individual learning settings
- Social Thinking (developed by Michelle Garcia Winner)
- KEYS Curriculum (developed by Sally Twentey and Deborah Moore)
Social/Emotional
- Optimize learning opportunities
- Demonstrate self determination
- Demonstrate understanding of safety, dignity, and direction
- IEP goal progress
- BIK goal progress
- Return to LEAs
Implicit and unique communication instruction allows student and staff relationships to grow in Safety, Dignity, and Direction.
Outcomes
Academic gains through- Reading and math level gains
- Course progress
- Course credits
- Passing SOLs
- Verified credits and LVC
- Modified Standard Diplomas (historically)
- Standard diplomas
- Return to LEAs
- Transition to work, trade school, or college
