The Greenwood School
Putney, Vermont
Private, all-boys boarding and day school for students with learning differences | Grades 6–12

The Scoop

Nestled on 100 wooded acres with trails and a 3-acre pond in southeastern Vermont (about 2.5 hours from Boston and 4 hours from New York City), The Greenwood School is a highly specialized independent school designed exclusively for boys with diagnosed learning differences. Founded in 1978, it serves a deliberately small community of roughly 50–56 students, the large majority of whom board.

Farmhouse on main highway near Putney, Vermont, by Marion Post Wolcott, United States Office of War Information, March 1940, from the Library of Congress – master-pnp-fsa-8c11000-8c11400-8c11428a.

Greenwood is not a traditional college-prep school with add-on support. Its entire program—academics, residential life, social-emotional learning, and experiential opportunities—is built around neurodivergent learners. Diagnoses commonly include dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia, dyspraxia, ADHD, processing-speed and working-memory challenges, executive-function weaknesses, and autism. The school emphasizes closing the gap between current ability and potential while rebuilding confidence, resilience, self-advocacy, organization, and a genuine love of learning.

Signature elements include a 2:1 student-to-faculty ratio, average class size of about 4, intensive language and literacy work (drawing on approaches such as Orton-Gillingham and Lindamood-Bell), twice-weekly social-emotional learning classes, advisor meetings multiple times per week, outdoor and adventure programming, arts and woodshop, and the nationally known Gettysburg Address tradition (documented in Ken Burns’ film The Address). Head of School Sergio W. Simunovic has led the school since 2024.

Academics

The program is college-preparatory in orientation but highly individualized and diagnostic-prescriptive. Middle school emphasizes building foundational skills and confidence through targeted reading tutorials, integrated humanities and STEM blocks, creative rotations (art, music, woodshop, STEAM/robotics), and social-emotional learning. High school continues specialized support while expanding into a broader curriculum that includes English with a strong writing focus, leveled math and science (often integrated), history electives, Spanish options, creative courses, and executive-function strategies embedded across classes.

Every student receives intensive language and literacy support as needed. Optional additional services (available at extra cost) include occupational therapy, speech-language therapy, counseling, and one-on-one social-emotional coaching. Assistive technology is actively supported. College and career counseling begins in earnest in 11th grade with transitions classes, ACT preparation support, application guidance, internships/job shadows (required for seniors), and portfolio work. Recent reports note strong placement outcomes, with seniors receiving acceptances (often with merit aid) to a range of colleges and specialized programs, including places such as Beacon College, Lynn University, SUNY campuses, Vermont State University programs, and others suited to students with learning differences.

Graduation rate is reported at 100% on Niche. The school is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC), approved by the State of Vermont as a therapeutic independent school, and a member of the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS).

Campus Life & Student Experience

The rural Vermont setting is a core part of the experience: outdoor education, trails, pond activities, adventure leadership, skiing, and the CONNECT travel program (past destinations have included Ecuador, Japan, Rwanda, and Iceland) are integral. Residential life is family-style and closely supervised, with dorms designed for developmental grouping and faculty living on or near campus. Arts offerings are robust (studio art, pottery, digital art, music labs, rock band, private lessons, partnership with the Yellow Barn chamber music center). Woodshop and hands-on making are highlighted.

Student reviews and parent feedback are mixed. Positive accounts frequently praise the small classes, understanding teachers, sense of belonging, and transformative confidence gains (“For the first time, my teachers understand me and my learning style”). Critical voices (visible on Niche and other review sites) raise concerns about supervision, the intensity of the environment, or fit for particular students. Overall Niche rating sits around 3.6/5 based on a modest number of reviews. The school presents itself as a close-knit community that celebrates neurodivergence rather than pathologizing it.

Admissions

Rolling admissions with early application strongly encouraged due to limited spaces. Typical process: inquiry form → formal application, transcript, recent photo, current psychoeducational evaluation (within 3 years, including WISC-V and achievement testing in reading, language, spelling, written language, and math), optional IEP or English-proficiency testing, $75 application fee ($100 international) → interview and campus visit if a potential match → decision. Interview is required. Acceptance rate figures cited externally hover around 20%, reflecting the specialized and capacity-constrained nature of the program.

The school seeks boys in grades 6–12 with diagnosed learning differences who can benefit from its intensive, whole-student model. It is not designed as a primarily behavioral or therapeutic placement for significant emotional/behavioral disorders outside the learning-difference profile.

Tuition & Financial Aid (2025–26)

• Boarding (program + room and board): $103,480
• Day (program only): $88,500
• New-student security deposit: $3,500 (refundable)
• Mandatory laundry for boarders: ~$800+ (options available)
• Additional costs: private music lessons (~$100/hour), ski program (~$650 average), CONNECT trips (variable), optional therapies (~$100 individual / $65 group sessions), transportation fees.

Financial aid is available on a limited basis through TADS; typical awards are described as 10–15% of tuition when granted (some external sources note lower average awards and low overall participation rates). Two full scholarships are available for qualifying Indiana families. Families must reapply annually.

Bottom Line

Greenwood occupies a distinct niche: an intensive, all-boys, learning-differences-focused boarding (and limited day) school with exceptional staffing ratios, research-informed literacy and executive-function work, strong social-emotional programming, and experiential opportunities in a beautiful rural Vermont setting. It is expensive and highly specialized—best suited for families whose sons have not thrived in conventional or even many other LD-supportive environments and who are seeking a comprehensive, confidence-rebuilding experience rather than a standard prep-school path with accommodations bolted on. Outcomes emphasize self-advocacy, resilience, and appropriate postsecondary placement more than traditional prestige metrics. Prospective families should visit, review current psychoeducational data carefully with the admissions team, and speak with current parents and recent alumni about fit.