Head of Primary School
Keystone Academy
Beijing, China
- Expired
- Salary:
- Competitive
- Job type:
- Full Time, Permanent
- Start date:
- July 2019
- Apply by:
- 3 September 2018
Job overview
Keystone Academy is unique. Since it opened in 2014, it has consciously set out to be a ‘new world school’, a school that is simultaneously national and international. It brings together the best in Chinese, American and international pedagogy and practice on its campus in Shunyi District, Beijing.
As Keystone starts to move beyond its founding phase, it seeks to fill this key Primary School leadership position. The position offers a wonderful opportunity for a world-class educator and leader who is fully committed to Keystone Academy’s mission and approach, who believes in the power of bilingual education, and who is attracted by the excitement and the benefits, the challenges and the tensions that come from intentionally bringing together such different cultural and pedagogical traditions.
Keystone is a bilingual school of 1,200 students from Foundation to Grade 12 (with expected growth to 1,800). It is fully residential in Grades 9-12, with boarding optional in Grades 7 and 8. The commitment to bringing together the distinctive elements of eastern, western and international education is apparent throughout the school, from the design of its campus to the language immersion programme and classroom practice, the structure of the curriculum and the range of co-curricular activities.
Keystone Academy’s first four years have been highly successful, culminating in its first High School graduation earlier in 2018. Its challenge now is to build on this success, to consolidate where appropriate, and to develop and innovate further, constantly seeking to make the concept of a new world school a reality, while also redefining the idea so that it can remain relevant. This sense of development will include the planned and phased transition of Keystone’s founding leadership. Since the Primary School has been the engine of Keystone’s growth so far, it is fitting that it will lead the school into the next stage of its journey with the appointment of a new Head (from late July 2019) and Deputy Head (from late July 2019 or earlier).
The new Head and Deputy Head of the Primary School will need to be comfortable with the idea of building on what has been achieved and refreshing the Primary School’s vision as it moves into its next stage. They will want to be in the frontline of nurturing a supportive and professional community, and will need to be able to recognize success and be excited about the opportunities of a still new school. They will require track records of success as educators and leaders, and exceptionally deep cultural sensitivity to be able to understand and balance the expectations, requirements and contexts of the human, cultural and pedagogical traditions represented in the school. It is expected that the Head of the Primary School will be bilingual in English and Chinese.
Further information can be downloaded from rsacademics.co.uk
Interested candidates are warmly invited to contact Jean Sullivan (JeanSullivan@RSAcademics.co.uk /+44 (0)7885 879887) for an initial discussion or to arrange a confidential discussion with Aaron Ashton (AaronAshton@RSAcademics.co.uk) or Keith Clark, Senior Advisor (KeithClark@RSAcademics.co.uk).
Key dates:
Closing date: 4 September 2018, 10am (BST)
Preliminary interviews: 5 - 14 September 2018
Longlist interviews: w/c 8 October 2018
Final interviews (Beijing): w/c 29 October or 5 November 2018
Keystone Academy is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. The post is subject to appropriate safeguarding checks and satisfactory references.
About Keystone Academy
Our Campus and Community
Keystone Academy is located on a beautiful 20-acre site in the Shunyi area of northeast Beijing, not far from the Beijing International Airport. The Academy consists of several iconic buildings, designed around an open grass quad by the Chinese Architecture firm Borderland, and Preston Scott Cohen, Chair of the Department of Architecture at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design. The buildings reflect Chinese and Western architectural features, both inside and out. Interior spaces and finishes for up to 1800 students, with over 93,000 square meters of academic, residential, and athletic program are designed by Centerbrook Architects and Planners of Centerbrook, CT, USA.
The main academic building accommodates three separate divisions for primary, middle, and high school students. Classroom design throughout accommodates small classes of 14-18 students, and features over 25 labs for biology, physics, chemistry, and robotics, as well as three libraries, fabulous art and design spaces, and a magnificent Performing Arts Center.
In addition to the academic centers, there are two multi-story residence halls for boarding students in the middle and high school divisions. Dorm floors feature large rooms, with private bath, housing two or three students. Many members of the teaching and administrative faculty of the school live in the school’s comfortable and furnished two- and three-bedroom apartments. Four or five residential faculty share responsibility for a single floor of approximately seventy students, and share this responsibility with several non-residential faculty assigned to each floor. All faculty, whether they be residential or day teachers, play a role in the co-curricular life of the school, and thereby contribute to the broad family atmosphere that characterizes the best boarding schools. Students and faculty enjoy meals in two dining commons, which provide a broad menu of Asian and Western cuisine.
For athletic activities, Keystone has an athletic field for football, three separate indoor gymnasia, a twenty-five meter swimming pool, several squash courts, a fitness & training center, indoor and outdoor running tracks, wushu and dance studios, and safe outdoor play spaces for children.
Beijing’s air quality has come a long way from the “airpocalypse” days of a few years ago. Indeed, Beijing doesn’t make the World Health Organization’s “top 20” list of major cities with air pollution issues. Nonetheless, Keystone Academy uses high technology water-and air-purification systems to ensure good air and water-drinking conditions on campus. In addition, the Chinese government continues to implement new measures to reduce emissions and improve quality of life.
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