Finding The Right Place
Applying to Woodlawn
You can apply for admission to Woodlawn School at any time. We accept transfers and new enrollments throughout the year as space is available. Placements are made on a rolling first come first serve basis so you are encouraged to apply early.
Finding the right fit
Who We Seek
Woodlawn is a mission-driven, student-centered school. We thrive upon close, positive, productive partnerships with parents who choose us because of our mission, our culture, our vision and our values.
+ We seek students who are mission appropriate and mission ready.
+ Admission to Woodlawn requires evidence of solid academic ability and sound character.
+ We seek students of average to superior levels of intelligence who demonstrate high levels of motivation and engagement.
+ We look not only achievement in schoolwork and extracurricular activities but also for maturity, independence, and a concern for the external world.
+ We enroll students who have the ability to understand, use, and appreciate the life-enriching insights and perspectives offered by our unique, integrated approach to learning.
+ We do not discriminate. Woodlawn School admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sexual orientation, or national/ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs.
+ We seek to create a gender-balanced, culturally and socioeconomically diverse student population.
+ We seek students who have an unabashed love of learning, who love to be challenged academically and are ready to learn and thrive in small settings, students who value the mutual trust and respect that are core elements of our culture.
HOW it Works
The process
Our admissions process is mission-driven and student-centered. We want you to understand and embrace our mission, vision, and culture. We want to be sure we are the best fit for your family, too.
Schedule A Tour – The best way to meet our team, learn about our unique approach to teaching, and experience joyful learning is to schedule a tour of our beautiful 61-acre wooded campus. A virtual tour can be scheduled if you are outside the area and an information packet is available.
Online Application – You can apply to Woodlawn by completing the online application by clicking here.
You may also request a packet be sent to you via postal mail. To request a packet, email us at: [email protected] or call the school at (704) 895-8653. Our tuition assistance form can be found here.
Families seeking Need-Based Financial Aid should complete the (SSS) School and Student Services form. Once completed, the Admission Team at Woodlawn will meet to discuss a determination and notify the family directly.
Assessments – After we receive your application, our team will work with you and your child to assess academic readiness using Math and Language Arts assessments based on our curriculum. We will also review transcripts and teacher recommendations. Finally, your child will have the opportunity for a day-long visit to meet teachers, experience our classrooms and make new friends.
Placement – Within seven days of completing the admission process, we will contact you regarding acceptance and placement status. Acceptance indicates that we want you to join the Woodlawn School family. Placement may be immediate or you may be placed on the priority waitlist depending on available spaces in your child’s grade level. If we are not able to offer your child a place at Woodlawn, we will meet with you, share what we know, and offer you our help finding the best fit.
Enrollment – Once you have received a placement you can sign the enrollment contract and celebrate being a part of the Woodlawn School family. Our team will provide a welcome packet, assign an ambassador family and invite you to join us for new family events.
THE WOODLAWN DIFFERENCE
Independent – Woodlawn students learn to think for themselves. They learn to navigate the world around them guided by a strong moral compass and a deep set of convictions.
Lifelong Learners – Woodlawn students never lose their natural love of learning. They learn to choose bright, positive, optimistic emotional responses to change with a healthy appreciation and respect for failures. All these things are essential to developing a growth mindset.
Contributing Members of a Diverse Global Society – Woodlawn students embrace the world in all its challenges and complexities, and they celebrate its differences.
OUR ADMISSIONS TEAM
With support from our passionate and knowledgeable Admissions Team, the process of touring, applying, and enrolling at Woodlawn School is an enjoyable process.
DIRECTOR OF ADMISSIONS
KARI MCCORMICK
HEAD OF SCHOOL
PAUL ZANOWSKI
ASSOCIATE HEAD OF SCHOOL
Holly Honeycutt
JOINING THE WOODLAWN FAMILY
Enrollment
Woodlawn requires an annual enrollment contract. This contract must be completed and returned to Woodlawn within 14 days of placement to reserve your seat. The enrollment contract must be accompanied by your tuition payment or deposit.
The admissions team will email the contract and instructions with your placement notification. The placement notification will also include any tuition assistance that has been granted.
We offer a tuition insurance option to protect your investment in the event that you need to withdraw from enrollment before or after the start of school.
Several payment plans are available to suit your budget planning.
To learn more about tuition, tuition insurance, payment plans, and tuition assistance please visit the Tuition & Assistance page.
Early Decision – Woodlawn School offers early decisions on applications for the coming school year when we have existing space in the grade; when the applicant is a sibling to a currently enrolled student, or when the applicant’s family is making a decision regarding relocation to our service area. Beginning January 1st, when a student is offered an early decision placement, the family has seven calendar days to accept the offer and submit the required deposit.
TUITION ASSISTANCE
AFFORDABILITY
Optionally, you may choose to apply for tuition assistance. Woodlawn offers need-based financial aid to eligible families using a confidential third-party system.
CONGRATULATIONS
WELCOME TO THE WOODLAWN FAMILY
Congratulations and welcome to the Woodlawn School family.Â
We’re excited to have your family join us on an amazing journey of learning and discovery.Â
Our admissions team is not finished when you sign your enrollment contract. In fact we’re just getting started!
After enrollment, you will be sent a a welcome package with essential information and new family t-shirts! An “Ambassador Family” will be assigned from your grade level to help get you acclimated and settled into the community. And you’ll be invited to new family cookouts and other events were you can meet our other families.Â
All The details
Welcome Package
Your Welcome Packet will include essential information including school schedule, class and teacher assignments, book lists, dress code, student handbook, access to the BlazerNet online portal, and more.
We’ll also send New Family t-shirts for everybody in your family!
Meet Your Guide
Ambassador Family
Each new family is assigned an “ambassador family” from the same grade level. Your ambassador family will welcome you to the school and be your child’s first new friend at Woodlawn.Â
Your ambassador family is here to answer any questions about your child’s classroom and the who, what, when, where and whys when joining their new classroom.
Meet The Community
New Family Events
Each summer, and throughout the school year, we hold multiple events to welcome new families to the community including a cookout, popsicles on the playground, service opportunities and more.Â
These events are a great chance for your child to meet the other students in their class and make new friends before school starts.
OUR ALUMNI
Tori Rinker ’12, was a big contributor to the dramatic arts program at Woodlawn (she directed and produced a play) in addition to participating on the boys’ varsity golf team (the only girl in Woodlawn history to do so). On top of that, she found quite a bit of academic success – she was named a National AP Scholar and a National Merit Commended Scholar. But the biggest takeaways from her time at Woodlawn were the knowledge that she can continuously reinvent herself and the confidence to make it happen. As a result, she is now leading a marketing team for a New York City startup that provides geopolitical risk assessments!
– Tori Rinker ’12
Princeton University ’16 | Chief of Staff at FiscalNote, New York, NY
IMPORTANT DATES
Admissions Calendar
You can apply for admission to Woodlawn School at any time. We accept transfers and new enrollments throughout the year as space is available. Placements are made on a rolling first come first serve basis so you are encouraged to apply early. We hold three annual open house events to celebrate and share our campus and approach to learning. Learn more about our upcoming events to discover the Woodlawn Experience.
November 18, 2022
CELEBRATING
Project Based Learning Day
At Woodlawn, we know how valuable it is to explore a school and get a feel for the educational environment on campus. We are excited to offer our Project-Based Learning Day experience! This allows you the opportunity to attend live project shares by our Woodlawn students and see Project Based Learning in action across all grade levels. There is no better way to understand the Woodlawn Way! Learn more.
DECEMBER 7, 2022
DISCOVERY DAY
KINDERGARTEN
Experience our Kindergarten Classroom
Ready or Not Kindergarten, Here We Come! Woodlawn is excited to offer our Kindergarten Discovery Day! This is an opportunity for your rising Kindergartener to spend time in our Kindergarten classroom and get a feel for what school is like here at Woodlawn. Learn more.
JANUARY 11, 2023
DISCOVERY DAY EARLY EXPLORERS (PRE-K)
Experience our Explorers Early Childhood Program
Woodlawn invites you to come and experience the magic that is happening in our Early Childhood classrooms. This Discovery Day gives you the opportunity to spend time in a truly child-centered classroom that recognizes the importance of play, space, and time. Learn more.
DISCOVER WOODLAWN
We look forward to getting to know your family.
