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We'd love that. Community partnerships will be at the heart of Woodstock Community Charter School.

There are many ways an organization can get involved, including:

• Hosting students for visits, workshops, performances, or field experiences
• Coming into classrooms to share your work, skills, or stories
• Co-creating projects that connect your mission with student learning (arts, environment, social justice, local history, etc.)
• Providing mentors or teaching artists to work with small groups or clubs
• Partnering on events such as festivals, exhibitions, community service days, or fundraisers

As we move through the planning phase, we'll be building a list of interested partners and specific ways to collaborate. The best way to start is to reach out through our website contact form or email us with a short note about who you are, what you do, and how you imagine working with students. We'll follow up to explore how WCCS and your organization can support each other.

We’re thrilled you’re interested!

• In the planning and pre-opening phase, we’ll share updates, interest forms, and specific volunteer needs via our website, mailing list, and community meetings.
• As we move closer to opening, we will post job descriptions for teaching, support, and administrative roles, as well as structured volunteer opportunities for families and community members.

For now, the best first step is to join our email list, follow our updates, and indicate your interest in working or volunteering, so we can reach out as needs and roles become clearer.

Our plan is to start small and grow thoughtfully:

• Opening year: Grades K–2
• Each year after opening: Add one grade level, eventually becoming a full K–5 program

This gradual growth will help us build a strong school culture and maintain quality as we expand.

No. You do not need to live in the town of Woodstock to apply. Students from other towns in Onteora Central School District, or even from other school districts may also apply.

If there are more applicants than there are available seats, we will be required to hold a random public lottery and create a waitlist. Enrollment will then be offered in lottery order, following New York State charter school rules and any legally required preferences (such as returning students, siblings, and students who live in the school district where the charter school is located).

We will share clear eligibility and lottery details once our charter is approved and we begin formal enrollment.

As a public charter school, Woodstock Community Charter School will be:

• Tuition-free
• Open to all eligible students from any school district, including students with disabilities and multilingual learners

Because charter schools do not limit admission by academics or "first come, first served," if more students apply than we have seats, we will be required to hold a random public lottery and create a waitlist. Enrollment will then be offered in lottery order, following New York State charter school rules and any legally required preferences (such as returning students, siblings, and students who live in the school district where the charter school is located).

Charter schools are public schools. When a student chooses a charter school:

• A portion of the public funding associated with that student follows them to the charter school, since the charter is now providing their education.
• The funding does not increase your tax bill specifically because of a charter; it is part of the existing public education funding structure.

We recognize that funding and enrollment are real concerns for local families. Our goal is to collaborate, not compete. We want to be a strong public option that will keep families in our community and in the public system (rather than leaving for private school or homeschooling) and to be transparent and responsible in how we use public dollars.

Charter schools in New York are funded with public dollars, not private tuition.

• For each enrolled student, the student’s home school district pays a per-pupil amount (set by the state’s funding formula) to the charter school.
• We may also seek grants and donations to support special programs, but the core funding is public education funding, just like district schools receive.

Families do not pay tuition to attend.

In New York State, charter schools can be authorized by:

• The SUNY Charter Schools Institute
• The New York State Board of Regents

Our intention is to seek authorization through SUNY, which will review our full application, set performance expectations, and decide whether to approve and renew our charter.

Yes. Charter schools are highly accountable. We will be required to:

• Meet New York State learning standards
• Administer required state assessments
• Report on student achievement, attendance, and other outcomes
• Undergo regular oversight visits and audits by our authorizer

If a charter school does not meet academic, operational, and financial performance goals, its charter can be revoked or not renewed. In other words, we will only continue to exist as a school if we are providing a high-quality education and meeting our obligations to students and families.

A charter school is a public school that operates under a performance “contract” (a charter) with a state-approved authorizer. Charter schools are:

• Tuition-free
• Open to all students from any school district, including students with disabilities and multilingual learners
• Publicly funded
• Held to state academic standards and accountability requirements, just like district schools

Charter schools have more flexibility in how they design their programs (for example, arts- and nature-integrated learning), in exchange for strong accountability for results.

We are actively exploring facility options and will share clear, up-to-date information with the community as soon as we have something concrete to announce.

Woodstock Community Charter School will still be a public, tuition-free school, but with some important differences in design:

• Program focus: Arts and nature will be woven into every subject through project-based, place-based learning, amplified by involvement from dozens of local community organizations.
• Community partnerships: Local artists, musicians, naturalists, farmers, and organizations will be intentionally built into the curriculum.
• Whole-child approach: Daily movement, social-emotional learning, and time outdoors will be core parts of the school day.
• School governance: We will be governed by an independent, nonprofit charter board under a charter contract, rather than by the Onteora CSD Board of Education.

Academically, we will follow New York State learning standards and our students will participate in required state assessments, but the day-to-day experience will feel more like "learning in and with the community" than a traditional model.

When Woodstock Elementary School closes at the end of the 2027–2028 school year, Woodstock will lose its only local public elementary school. For many families, this is part of a larger regional pattern: across Onteora, Kingston, and Saugerties, neighborhood elementary options have become fewer, farther apart, or harder to access.

WCCS is being designed as a tuition-free public school that could help meet this regional need. Within an approximately 8-mile radius of the current WES site — roughly 200 square miles — many families will be living in what could reasonably be described as a public school desert, without a comparably local, community-rooted public elementary option.

Our goal is to create a school that serves families across this affected region who are looking for a close, connected, public elementary school experience. We believe Woodstock is uniquely positioned to accommodate a K–5 charter school that can:

• Maintain a local, tuition-free public option for families who want their children educated close to where they live.
• Offer a small, community-rooted school that weaves arts, nature, and local partnerships into every child’s education.
• Keep more families within the public system, rather than leaving them to feel pushed toward long bus rides, private schools, or homeschooling because there is no nearby public school option.

WCCS would add a high-quality, innovative public choice that helps keep children connected to their town, their community, and the natural world around them.