Northwood School Northwood School 92 Northwood Rd. Lake Placid, NY 12946 p: 518.523.3357 f: 518.523.3405 CEEB: 332760
Gino K. Riffle Head of School Noël Carmichael Dean of Faculty and Academic Affairs F. David McCauley Jr. Director of College Counseling mccauleyd@northwoodschool.org Tel: 518.302.5119
Student:Faculty Ratio 5:1 with an average class size of 10 Financial Aid Approximately 66% of students receive financial aid. For the 2025-26 school year, $4,250,000 in financial aid was awarded.
school profile 2025-26 Andrea Farrell College Counselor farrella@northwoodschool.org Tel: 518.523.3357
Justin Felhaber ’16 College Counselor felhaberj@northwoodschool.org Tel: 518.523.3357
Simon Shergold College Counselor shergolds@northwoodschool.org Tel: 518.523.3357
Sandra Baker Executive Assistant bakers@northwoodschool.org Tel: 518.302.5111
Northwood School is accredited by the New York State Association of Independent Schools (NYSAIS) and chartered by the NYS Board of Regents. Northwood School abides by NACAC’s Code of Ethics. Northwood reports all student disciplinary violations where students are separated from campus. All student violations including, but not limited to Honor Code violations that occur during the application and college matriculation processes, will first be reported to colleges by students and 14 days hence, by the College Office.
MISSION STATEMENT
Northwood School fosters growth in young people so that they may engage their world and lead lives of consequence. THE SCHOOL
Northwood School, founded in 1905, is an independent, coeducational, boarding and day school located in Lake Placid, NY offering a semester-based college preparatory curriculum for students in grades 9 through 12, plus a post-graduate year. By design, the Northwood educational experience is integrated with the Greater Lake Placid Region and the Adirondack Park. Northwood’s student body is comprised of 192 students representing 23 US states and 23 countries. Collectively, students speak more than 40 languages at Northwood. Traditionally 80% of students live on campus with the remainder coming from local communities in the Adirondack Park. The Class of 2026 has 73 seniors including 7 post-graduates. ACADEMIC PROGRAM
Our academic curriculum is based on the traditional, college-prep curriculum, but has intentionally morphed to unique academic options dedicated to place-based educational offerings and Northwood signature programs that align with the school mission to provide student agency and match AP or undergraduate research level of rigor. The Innovation Hub on Main Street in Lake Placid, a 2020 addition to Northwood, is the home to Innovation & Design, Entrepreneurial Studies, Advanced STEM Research, Robotics, and Engineering courses. Remote courses are allowed to complement students’ curricular options and are mainly taken through APEX, Johns Hopkins CTY and UC Scout. The Peak Pathways Program is a rigorous, year-long independent study emphasizing applied learning and student-driven inquiry. Through personalized projects and mentorship, students connect their passions to real-world contexts, gaining the independence and skills to thrive in college and beyond. Within select individual courses, students will have the opportunity to take on additional work throughout the year to earn honors credit for the course through the Challenge for Honors (CFH). The additional work will cover both the breadth and depth of the subject area. Northwood Signature Classes Northwood School’s commitment to excellence in academic programming includes Adirondack Sciences: Rocks, Rivers and Erosive Forces, Integrated Humanities for 9th and 10th grade, Adirondack Living Experience and Wilderness Education and Living Skills. DUAL ENROLLMENT PROGRAM
Beginning in the 2023-24 academic year, the following are dual enrollment classes between Northwood/Paul Smith’s College carrying a .5 weight: Advanced Biology, Advanced Humanities Research, Advanced Physics: Principles of Engineering, Advanced Psychology and Advanced STEM Research. ACADEMIC CALENDAR
The school year is divided into two semesters. First semester grades are available January 15th, and mid-terms for the second semester are typically available for the 14th of February. Final grades are available June 15. Until 2022, Northwood used a trimester schedule. Note that students are allowed to take classes during the summer and before the start of the next school year and still receive academic credits for the closing year.