What Is The Greenwood School Known For? Academics, Boarding Life, and the Gettysburg Address
The Greenwood School is best known as a highly specialized independent boarding and day school for boys with learning differences. Located on a 100-acre campus in Putney, Vermont, Greenwood serves students in grades 6–12 and has developed a distinctive educational model that combines intensive academic remediation, very small classes, residential life, outdoor education, and leadership development.
Founded in 1978, Greenwood is designed for students who may have struggled in traditional school environments because of dyslexia, ADHD, dyscalculia, dysgraphia, language-based learning differences, executive-function challenges, processing-speed difficulties, and related learning profiles.
The school has approximately 55 students and maintains an unusually low student-to-faculty ratio of about 2:1. Average class size is approximately four students, allowing teachers to tailor instruction closely to individual students.
Greenwood Is Known for Specializing in Learning Differences
The central focus of The Greenwood School is educating students who learn differently.
Rather than operating as a conventional college-preparatory boarding school with learning-support services added to the curriculum, Greenwood builds its academic program around specialized instruction. Students receive individualized teaching based on their particular strengths and areas of difficulty.
Reading and language remediation are especially important. Greenwood uses structured literacy approaches, including Orton-Gillingham-based methodologies and other specialized programs, to address areas such as phonological awareness, decoding, spelling, fluency, comprehension, and written expression.
Mathematics is also taught at multiple instructional levels, allowing students to work at a pace appropriate to their current skills rather than simply being placed according to chronological grade.
Greenwood Is Known for Its Extremely Small Classes
One of Greenwood’s most notable characteristics is its scale.
With approximately 55 students and an average class size of around four, Greenwood provides considerably more individualized attention than is typical at most boarding schools.
The approximately 2:1 student-to-faculty ratio is particularly significant because Greenwood’s students often require frequent feedback, repetition, individualized instruction, and direct coaching.
The school’s approach extends beyond academic subjects. Students work on organization, time management, study strategies, self-advocacy, and executive functioning as part of their overall educational experience.
Greenwood Is Famous for the Gettysburg Address
The school’s most recognizable tradition may be its annual Gettysburg Address recitation.
Greenwood students memorize Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address and deliver it publicly. The exercise is demanding, requiring students to memorize a historically important speech and then present it before an audience.
The tradition became nationally recognized through Ken Burns’s documentary film The Address, which followed Greenwood students preparing for the annual recitation.
The Gettysburg Address has consequently become closely associated with Greenwood’s philosophy. Students who may have arrived at school with years of academic frustration are challenged to master something difficult and demonstrate their abilities publicly.
The tradition also reinforces skills in memory, perseverance, public speaking, confidence, and preparation.
Greenwood Is Known as a Specialized Boarding School
Greenwood is an all-boys boarding and day school. The residential program is an important part of the school’s educational philosophy.
Boarding students live on the school’s rural Vermont campus and receive support not only in the classroom but also in developing the practical skills required for greater independence.
Residential life can provide opportunities to practice organization, scheduling, personal responsibility, communication, and social skills. Faculty and staff are closely involved with students’ daily lives.
For families considering a boarding school because their child has struggled in a conventional environment, this integration of academic and residential support can be particularly important.
Greenwood Is Known for Outdoor Education
The school’s 100-acre Vermont campus is another defining feature.
Students have access to wooded trails and a pond, with activities including hiking, mountain biking, canoeing, fishing, skiing, snowboarding, climbing, and other outdoor pursuits.
Greenwood’s philosophy extends beyond traditional classroom instruction. Outdoor activities can give students opportunities to develop teamwork, leadership, problem-solving, perseverance, and confidence in settings that are very different from an academic classroom.
The Vermont setting also gives Greenwood a distinctly traditional New England boarding-school atmosphere, despite its highly specialized academic mission.
Greenwood Is Known for Experiential Travel
Greenwood’s CONNECT Travel Program provides another unusual component of the school’s curriculum.
Students have participated in international trips involving destinations such as Ecuador, Japan, Rwanda, Iceland, and Costa Rica. Programs have incorporated cultural immersion, community service, outdoor adventure, and academic exploration.
These trips are intended to provide students with experiences that require independence and adaptability while exposing them to cultures and environments outside the classroom.
For a school focused on helping students become more confident and independent, experiential travel fits naturally into the broader Greenwood educational model.
Greenwood Is Known for College and Career Preparation
Although Greenwood is highly specialized, its high-school program is designed to prepare students for life after graduation.
Older students receive college and career counseling and can participate in internships and job-shadowing opportunities. These experiences can help students identify interests, understand workplace expectations, and develop practical skills before leaving school.
Greenwood also emphasizes transition planning and self-advocacy. The goal is for students to understand not only what they need academically, but also how to communicate those needs as they move into college, employment, or other postsecondary environments.
How Much Does Greenwood School Cost?
Greenwood is a private specialized school, and tuition reflects its unusually intensive staffing and programming.
For the 2025–26 academic year, Greenwood lists tuition of approximately $103,480 for boarding students, including room and board, and approximately $88,500 for day students.
Financial aid is available on a limited basis, with awards dependent on family circumstances and available school resources.
The relatively high tuition is consistent with Greenwood’s small classes, low student-to-faculty ratio, specialized academic instruction, residential program, and additional support services.
What Makes The Greenwood School Different?
The Greenwood School occupies a relatively unusual position in American education. It is not simply a traditional boarding school with a learning-support department.
Its entire program is designed around students with learning differences.
That philosophy can be seen in virtually every part of the school: four-student classes, specialized literacy instruction, individualized mathematics, executive-function coaching, residential support, outdoor education, international travel, internships, and the famous Gettysburg Address tradition.
For students who have experienced repeated frustration in larger or more conventional schools, Greenwood offers an environment where specialized instruction is not an exception but the foundation of the school.
The Greenwood School: Key Facts
| Category | Greenwood School |
|---|---|
| Location | Putney, Vermont |
| Founded | 1978 |
| Grades | 6–12 |
| Students | Approximately 55 |
| Student-faculty ratio | Approximately 2:1 |
| Average class size | Approximately 4 students |
| School type | Boys’ boarding and day school |
| Campus | Approximately 100 acres |
| Primary specialty | Learning differences |
| Boarding tuition, 2025–26 | $103,480 |
| Day tuition, 2025–26 | $88,500 |
| Famous tradition | Gettysburg Address recitation |
| Notable documentary | Ken Burns’ The Address |
| Experiential program | CONNECT Travel Program |
The Bottom Line
What is The Greenwood School known for?
Above all, Greenwood is known for its specialized education of boys with learning differences. Its exceptionally small classes and highly individualized academic program distinguish it from conventional boarding schools, while its residential life, outdoor education, international travel, and college and career preparation create a broader educational experience.
Its annual Gettysburg Address recitation has given Greenwood national recognition, but the school’s deeper distinction is its philosophy that students who learn differently can thrive when instruction, expectations, and support are carefully matched to the way they learn.
For families searching for a Vermont boarding school specifically designed for boys with dyslexia, ADHD, language-based learning differences, or executive-function challenges, The Greenwood School represents one of the country’s most specialized independent-school models.
