Skip to content
Join us for STEAMfest 2023! Pre-register now!
  • Explore
    • Explore Woodlawn
    • Why Woodlawn
    • Mission & Values
    • Our Campus
    • Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
    • Our Team
    • Board of Trustees
    • Career Opportunities
    • Tour Woodlawn
    • Contact
    • Map & Directions
    • In The News
  • Academics
    • Overview
    • Early Childhood
    • Lower School
      • Overview
      • Curriculum
      • Distinctive Elements
      • FAQ
    • Middle School
      • Overview
      • Curriculum
      • Distinctive Elements
      • National History Day
      • FAQ
    • Upper School
      • Overview
      • Curriculum
      • Distinctive Elements
      • Senior Capstone
      • FAQ
      • Commencement Awards
      • AP Courses
      • National Merit Awards
    • College Counseling
      • Overview
      • College Profile
      • Matriculations
      • Merit Scholarships
  • Admission
    • Overview
    • Who We Seek
    • The Process
    • Enrollment
    • Onboarding
    • Schedule A Tour
    • Request Information
    • Calendar
    • PBL Day
    • Discovery Days
    • Tuition / Assistance
  • Beyond The Classroom
    • Arts
    • Athletics
    • Outdoor Learning
    • Life Skills
    • Sustainability
    • Culture & Traditions
    • Service Learning
    • STEAMfest
    • Sharing PBL
    • Travel Abroad
    • Diversity
    • Exchange Students
    • International Students
  • Get Involved
    • Overview
    • Parent Connection
    • STEAMfest
    • Woodlawn Mentors
    • Donate
  • Giving
  • Families
  • Alumni
  • Back To School
WOODLAWN SCHOOL
  • THE GREEN & WHITE GALA
  • Summer Camp 2023
  • Families
  • Alumni
  • Giving
Menu
  • THE GREEN & WHITE GALA
  • Summer Camp 2023
  • Families
  • Alumni
  • Giving
  • Explore

    Explore

    About

    Why Woodlawn
    Mission & Values
    Our Campus & Story
    Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

    People

    Our Team
    Board of Trustees
    Alumni
    Career Opportunities

    Connect

    Schedule A Tour
    Contact
    Map & Directions
    In The News
  • Academics

    Academics

    Early Childhood

    Lower School

    Curriculum
    Distinctive Elements
    FAQ

    Middle School

    Curriculum
    Distinctive Elements
    National History Day
    FAQ

    Upper School

    Curriculum
    Distinctive Elements
    Senior Capstone
    FAQ
    AP Courses & Honors
    National Merit Awards
    Commencement Awards

    College Counseling

    College Profile
    Matriculations
    Merit Scholarships
  • Admission

    Admissions

    Overview

    Who We Seek
    The Process
    Enrollment
    Onboarding

    More Info

    Admissions Calendar
    PBL Day
    Discovery Days
    Tuition / Assistance

    Get Started

    Schedule A Tour
    Schedule Virtual Visit
  • Beyond The Classroom

    Beyond The Classroom

    At Our School

    Athletics
    Arts
    Outdoor Learning
    Life Skills
    Sustainability
    Culture & Traditions

    In The Community

    Service Learning
    STEAMfest
    Sharing PBL

    Summer Camps

    Around The World

    Travel Abroad
    Diversity
    Exchange Students
    International Students
  • Get Involved

    Get Involved

    Volunteer

    Parent Connection
    STEAMfest
    In The Community

    Donate

    Blazer Fund
    Annual Report

    Mentor

    Learn More

OUR MISSION + VALUES

COME SEE THE DIFFERENCE

the woodlawn experience

OUR MISSION

To produce independent lifelong learners who are responsible contributing members of a diverse global society.

OUR GOAL FOR YOUR CHILD

INDEPENDENT LIFELONG LEARNERS

What does being an independent lifelong learner mean for your child?

  • Woodlawn students master “learn how to learn” skills in Language Arts, Math, and Science.
  • Our students learn to become critical thinkers, skilled in evaluating facts, analyzing data, understanding the heart of the issue, and making decisions for themselves. 
  • Our approach – hands-on, integrated, Project Based Learning – fosters team-building skills, social and emotional intelligence, and the growth mindset that sets the stage for success in a dynamic, ever-changing world. 

 

What does being a responsible contributing member of a diverse global society mean for your child:

  • Woodlawn students learn and appreciate that diversity is a source of strength.
  • Woodlawn’s Life Skills curriculum teaches students how to thrive in group work. How to live and work in ways that bring out the best in others. 
  • Woodlawn’s Responsive Classroom, Honor System, and culture fosters self-discipline, integrity, and respect for others. 

The benefit: Woodlawn students are joyful learners who choose a bright, optimistic, positive emotional response to change. They are unafraid to learn new things. They have a healthy understanding that failure is essential to success. They have the self-knowledge and confidence to effectively navigate a complex and turbulent world. 

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

WHAT IS PROJECT BASED LEARNING?

What Is Project Based Learning? Why Is It So Different from Traditional Teaching? Why Is It So Effective?

Project Based Learning is a process that is driven by essential questions, real world problems, and integrates all facets of the curriculum into a hands-on, learner-driven project built on these seven pillars:

  1. A challenging question or problem directly connected to the real world.
  1. Sustained Inquiry. How and Why questions that go beyond getting an answer for a standardized test.
  2. Authenticity. Relevant, meaningful connections of curriculum to problem-solving, and to life.
  3. Student Voice and Choice. Learner-driven. Student-centered. Teachers who are coaches and partners, not the “sage on the stage” or taskmaster of traditional schools. 
  4. Reflection. Learning how to step back and measure progress in mastering essential skills and in self-knowledge of personal growth and development. 
  5. Critique and Revision. Learning how to think critically, give and receive constructive feedback and criticism in ways that are positive, productive, and improve teamwork. 
  6. Public Product – Master the art of effective communication and presentation using a variety of media and methods. The culminating event of Project Based Learning, the Project Share, is centered on students teaching parents and teachers what they learned, how they learned it, and what it means to them. This leads to mastery beyond what any test can teach. 

WHY DON'T ALL SCHOOLS USE PROJECT BASED LEARNING?

Why don’t all schools use Project Based Learning?

They should – it is the way we are naturally meant to learn, and the way the real world works! Very few schools can provide PBL’s essential ingredients:

  • Specially trained, superior teachers. All Woodlawn teachers benefit from the school’s partnership with the Buck Institute for Education PBL Works at our Summer PBL Institute. Woodlawn teachers embrace and model lifelong, joyful learning and demonstrate strong, positive growth mindsets. 
 
  • Small class sizes. Average class sizes of 14 and a 7-to-1 student : teacher ratio enable teams of gifted, skilled, mentor teachers to know and value every child and partner with parents to help every child achieve their full potential.
 
  • Empowered teachers who integrate curriculum. Teams of teachers plan every project to ensure that it supports every academic discipline and skill set. Our teachers meet at least once each week to ensure that every student is mastering the curriculum, the project is aligned and integrated with core academic standards, and each student’s social and emotional learning needs are being met
will

“I am grateful for various things, but Woodlawn’s ability to shape me into who I am today is what I am most thankful for. Woodlawn grew right alongside me for all of those years. In second grade, I was taking my math class in Stinson. When I graduated, I was finishing the 100m dash across our brand new track facility. The growth from both of us seemed so small at the time. When looking back, the evolution is outstanding.”

– Will H. ’18
Founder + CEO, Speek

20 YEARS AND COUNTING

OUR FOUNDING

Founded in 2002, Woodlawn first began with just seven students and two small buildings and opened its doors for the first time in the fall of that year. Just two years later, 70 students were enrolled and Woodlawn had already established a reputation as a place where high academic standards led to independent, lifelong learning.

OUR STORY

WE WORK TOGETHER

OUR LEADERSHIP

Woodlawn School is home to an award-winning team of purpose driven and passionate individuals. Our faculty and staff have a passion for teaching and thinking outside of the box to provide our students with the best possible education and experience that will prepare them for their bright futures.

MEET OUR TEAM

LOWER
SCHOOL

EXPLORE LOWER SCHOOL

MIDDLE
SCHOOL

EXPLORE MIDDLE SCHOOL

UPPER
SCHOOL

EXPLORE UPPER SCHOOL

COLLEGE
COUNSELING

BE PREPARED

BACK TO SCHOOL
FAMILIES
ALUMNI
GIVING
CAREERS

EXPLORE
ACADEMICS
ADMISSION
BEYOND THE CLASSROOM
GET INVOLVED
TOUR WOODLAWN

BACK TO SCHOOL
FAMILIES
ALUMNI
GIVING
CAREERS

LET’S CONNECT

Facebook Icon-instagram1 Youtube Twitter Linkedin

135 Woodlawn school loop, mooresville, nc 28115
704.895.8653

THE WOODLAWN EXPERIENCE

Get an inside look at the Woodlawn Way and our
Project Based Learning approach.

Woodlawn is a private school providing a project based learning curriculum for early explorers preschool, lower, middle, and upper school academics. Our historic 61-acre campus is located just north of Charlotte, NC in beautiful Mooresville, and within driving distance of Davidson, Cornelius, Huntersville, North Mecklenburg, and Concord.

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.

© Woodlawn School 2023

Privacy Policy

Add Your Heading Text Here