The Keystone Oaks School District congratulates four individuals who are retiring at the end of the first semester - this Friday, January 16, 2026 - as well as one individual who is retiring in mid-March. Together, they served Keystone Oaks students, staff, families, and the community for a combined total of nearly 150 years!

The District recognized these individuals this week both at the Board of School Directors’ meeting and at a luncheon, where they celebrated with family, their supervisors, and District administrators. 

Thank you for your dedication! We wish you the best in retirement! 

The College Board recently announced that Keystone Oaks High School has been named to the 2025 Advanced Placement Program School Honor Roll, earning a Bronze distinction.

The AP School Honor Roll recognizes schools whose AP programs are delivering results for students while broadening participation. Schools can earn this recognition annually based on criteria that reflect a commitment to increasing college-going culture, providing opportunities for students to earn college credit, and maximizing college readiness.

Keystone Oaks currently offers 16 AP courses. During the 2024-2025 school year, 40% of Keystone Oaks seniors took an AP exam, 30% of seniors scored a 3 or higher on at least one AP Exam, and 4% of seniors took five or more AP Exams. 

“AP gives students an opportunity to engage with college-level work, earn college credit and placement, and build professional career skills they can use no matter what path they choose after high school,” said Trevor Packer, head of the AP program. “Congratulations to this year’s AP School Honor Roll recipients for proving it’s possible to expand participation in these rigorous courses and still drive strong performance.”

In early December, senior Casey Rich and freshman Connor Maloney delivered a presentation at the Reimagining the High School Experience Workshop at the Carnegie Science Center. They discussed Golden Oaks Designs, Keystone Oaks High School’s student-run business, their process for making and selling products, and the skills that students are learning along the way. 

Students shared their experience with educators from throughout the region and state, including Dr. Carrie Rowe, Secretary for the Pennsylvania Department of Education. 

This workshop was part of the Future-Driven Schools cohort, which includes 47 local school districts that are working to reimagine education in the Pittsburgh area. This year, Keystone Oaks High School principal, Michael Linnert, Ed.D., is leading a cohort of high school teachers who are focused on redesigning and reimagining students’ high school experience.

Five Keystone Oaks High School seniors have been inducted into the newly-established chapter of the Keystone Oaks Computer Science Honors Society, based on their academic coursework, leadership, character and commitment to the core values of equity, service and excellence:

Congratulations!

On December 5, Keystone Oaks Middle School students had the opportunity to learn from more than two dozen local professionals, representing fields ranging from advertising to veterinary medicine. 

For the event, which was organized by Middle School counselors Mrs. Shatten and Mrs. Crimmins, students were given about 30 minutes to visit professionals from career areas that interested them. Students asked questions and earned stamps in their “Career Day Passport” for each table that they visited. The careers that were represented were based on feedback from a student survey, and they included: 

Common Sense, the national nonprofit organization dedicated to helping kids and families thrive in a world of media and technology, has recognized Fred L. Aiken Elementary School as a Common Sense School.

Aiken Elementary School has demonstrated its commitment to a whole-community approach in preparing students to think critically and use technology responsibly. By teaching students to learn, create, and participate safely, the school prepares them to navigate online challenges such as plagiarism, privacy loss, and cyberbullying. With the right support, students can take ownership of their digital lives, engage with real issues, and change their communities for the better. This recognition acknowledges our school's dedication to creating a culture of digital citizenship.

Aiken Elementary School has been using Common Sense Education's innovative and research-based digital citizenship resources, which were created in collaboration with researchers from Project Zero, led by Howard Gardner at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and are grounded in the real issues students and teachers face. The resources teach students, educators, and parents tangible skills related to internet safety, protecting online reputations and personal privacy, media balance, managing online relationships, and media literacy. The free K–12 curriculum is used in classrooms across all 50 states, in more than 80,000 schools by more than 1 million educators.

This year, nearly 50 Keystone Oaks families, representing 91 students, received support through the 6th Annual Golden Elves Holiday Giving program. This year’s program was made possible by:

We are thrilled to announce that tickets for our elementary production of The Wizard of Oz Youth Edition are officially on sale!

Come support our talented young performers as they bring Dorothy, Toto, and all their friends to life in this timeless adventure. It’s going to be a magical experience for the whole family! 

Performances will be held on the following days and times:

Tickets are $5 and are available for purchase online or at the door. Tickets purchased through Ludus include a card processing fee. However, tickets will also be available for cash purchase (no card processing fee) at the door.

Each performance offers two ticket options:

There is accessible seating in both the reserved and general admission sections.

Please view the cast list online so you can see if your favorite cast member is performing at that show.