Editing Woodstock, Connecticut (section)

==Education==

[[File:WoodstockCT Academy.jpg|thumb|[[Woodstock Academy Classroom Building]]]]
Woodstock is served by the Woodstock School District. Woodstock Elementary School (Pre-Kindergarten through 4) and Woodstock Middle School (5–8) serve Woodstock. Dr. Francis Baran is the Superintendent. '''Woodstock Elementary School''' serves children in pre-Kindergarten through fourth grade. Enrollment exceeded 500 as of 2006.<ref name="school">[http://www.townofwoodstock.com/schools.html] "Woodstock's Public Schools" Web page on the official Town of Woodstock Web site, accessed July 30, 2006</ref> '''Woodstock Middle School,''' acquired in 1996, has an enrollment of more than 400 in Grades 5–8.<ref name=school/>

The town has an "Independent New England Academy" (a special public / private school governed by a 30-member Board of Trustees)<ref>Jay Livernois. Woodstock Academy Trustee, 1997-2007.</ref> called [[Woodstock Academy]].

From 1941 to 1980, Woodstock was home to [[Annhurst College]], a private, Catholic institution.

===Woodstock Academy===

[[Woodstock Academy]], a "New England Academy" which is a corporate school (there are two others in the State; [[Norwich Free Academy]] and [[The Gilbert School]]) and is governed by a 30-member Board of Trustees, is located in Woodstock. Founded in 1801 as a New England Academy, Woodstock Academy briefly closed twice in the 19th century, and the second time was revived by local philanthropist and Academy graduate Henry C. Bowen. After Bowen's death, his family set up an endowment fund to help keep the school running. In 1915 it became designated the town of Woodstock's public high school. In 1932 Eastford, a nearby community, also designated it as its town high school.<ref name="academy">[http://www.townofwoodstock.com/academyhist.html] "Woodstock Academy" Web page on the Town of Woodstock official Web site, accessed July 30, 2006</ref> From 1915 until 2004 the Town of Woodstock had officially designated the academy as its public high school. Since then the town's Board of Education and the Academy Trustees have been unable to come to an agreement, although Woodstock continues to send its students to the academy for its high school.<ref>Jay Livernois. Woodstock Board of Education Member, 1993-2005.</ref>

Today the school serves the towns of Woodstock, [[Eastford, Connecticut|Eastford]], [[Pomfret, Connecticut|Pomfret]], [[Union, Connecticut|Union]], [[Canterbury, Connecticut|Canterbury]], and [[Brooklyn, Connecticut|Brooklyn]] with a student population of over 1100.<ref name=academy/> The school is often described as "independent" as it is not controlled by any of the municipalities that it serves or by a regional high school board.

Presently the Woodstock Board of Education is in the process of negotiating a new contract with the school, but negotiations have been at an impasse these last two years as the Woodstock Board of Education has been trying to get more financial control over Woodstock Academy, a school which, as of 2009, is administered by itself with oversight by the state of Connecticut.