History

Mrs. Sally Campbell Woodhall and Dr. Jonathan A. Woodhall were lifelong educators who had comprehensive teaching and administrative experience in independent education at the secondary and collegiate level. In 1982, they and a group of friends and colleagues conceived an idea for a school for young men who represented a paradox: they were bright, yet they had not found success.

Reflecting the life experience and classical Jesuit education of the Woodhalls, the philosophy of the school was both unique and familiar. Grounded in the humanist tradition, The Woodhall School recognized that the education of a young man who was struggling represented not only an intellectual and physical process but also a moral and spiritual imperative. From the beginning, the school embraced a young man whose potential was unrealized.

In September of 1983, The Woodhall School, incorporated as a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, opened with five students and five teachers who lived and worked in two farmhouses and a scattering of modular buildings. Mrs. Woodhall served as the Founding Head of School from 1983 - 2008. Under her leadership for 25 years, the school's campus and program became more articulated.

Over the years, Woodhall honed its individualized approach in and out of the classroom, focusing on the process of how a student learns within small group classes (3 - 5 students), improving his scholastic skills, habits, and confidence in a rigorous yet supportive college preparatory curriculum.

Within five years of the school's founding, the Communications Program was introduced. To this day, the school's hallmark program supports each student's social, emotional, and personal development, strengthening his interpersonal and intrapersonal awareness, his social understanding skills, and his capacity to relate to and respect the perspective of others.

Athletic offerings increased with interscholastic soccer, cross-country, basketball, and lacrosse, and a comprehensive outdoor education program. By 1999, the school settled on a maximum enrollment of 42 students.

From its modest beginnings, the campus grew to include the dining hall (Velge Hall 1985), two dormitories (Tower Dorm, 1987 and French Hall, 1999), the academic and administrative buildings (Founders Hall, 1987 and 2000) and the Athletic and Performing Arts Center (2003 and 2006) and the Student Activity Barn (2008).

In 2008, Matthew C. Woodhall became the second Head of School. During his tenure, The Woodhall School has strengthened professional development for faculty, articulated the school leadership team, solidified the school’s restorative practices, and created an institutional endowment. In addition, the school has expanded its academic offerings and added drama and wrestling as part of its co-curricular and athletics program. The physical plant also has seen significant improvements with the completion of the Poole Art Gallery, a campus beautification program, including the renovation of Phoenix Field, construction of new faculty housing, construction of the greenhouse, renovation of the Velge Hall and Founders Hall, integration of technology throughout the campus, and construction of the mathematics wing and S.T.E.A.M. Lab.