Our Senior High program launched in the Fall of 2022 with our first cohort of 12th graders graduating in the Spring of 2025.
Applications for the 24-25 school are open. Schedule a tour now!
Our Senior High program launched in the Fall of 2022 with our first cohort of 12th graders graduating in the Spring of 2025.
The Homestead Senior High program builds upon the advanced studies and hands-on learning of the Junior High program. While some college courses begin for the 9th grade students at the Hurleyville campus, beginning in 10th grade students are able to attend classes at neighboring SUNY Sullivan, one of New York State’s most acclaimed community colleges. Students benefit from the close guidance and supportive community provided by the Homestead campus, while having a new world of opportunities open up to them at the SUNY campus.
Homestead Collaborative College High School gives students the opportunity to graduate high school with an Associates degree and then transfer those credits to a four year college if they desire. The entrepreneurial and world-changing spirit cultivated at the Homestead School propels students into the exploration of fields that they are passionate about and affords them the opportunity for more expansive and in-depth studies.
“Culture and education have no bounds or limits; now the person is in a phase in which she must decide for herself how far she can proceed in the culture that belongs to the whole of humanity.” – Maria Montessori
Foundational to the Senior High program is the creation of learning pathways that meet each individual student at the cusp of their potential, challenging and inspiring them to grow into fully actualized, engaged adults. Our students are fully supported in graduating with a full Associate’s degree, from a school that is recognized for its innovation and commitment to providing the educational experience essential to thriving in the 21st century.
A Homestead education is not just an investment in your child’s future, but an investment in all of our futures. With a focus on regenerative and life affirming studies and acquisition of skills, along with course offerings that are grounded in the development of personal and interpersonal understanding, we will graduate students who are ready to address the challenges of our times.
The formula:
The Homestead experience offers an unparalleled student-centered, experiential, Montessori-based education grounded in the values of environmental stewardship, humanitarian education, commitment to service, and a focus on the development of the whole person through high school and goes beyond to offer the depth, expertise, and facilities of a college campus where students are fully supported in pursuing a College Certificate with 32 credits or an Associate’s Degree with 65 credits.
The three tracks that are under development and that will be taught exclusively to CCHS students are: Environmental Studies, Health Studies, and Liberal Arts. Students, based on their inclination, and in consultation with CCHS and SUNY Sullivan counselors will have the opportunity to further specialize within a given track.
In other words, a student pursuing an Environmental Studies Associate’s Degree might begin to specialize towards studies in regenerative agriculture or local food shed logistics, or might take the route of environmental advocacy as students intern at Catskill Mountainkeeper. Health students might focus on the mind-body connection, pursuing any number of healing arts, or they might delve into the healing properties of food and focus on nutrition and herbal remedies. They might pursue nursing, or continue on toward a degree in medicine, perhaps through CCHS’s ties to the Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell. Liberal Arts majors may decide that a specialization in history or literature is the route for them, or they might focus on the visual arts.
“This news is life-changing for us! A large part of the reason we made the move to Sullivan County was the Homestead, and we weren’t sure what we would do for the high school years. Well, now we know. Your commitment not only to amazing academics but also to building community – with our children and also parents and the larger Sullivan County community – is truly remarkable. The HS experience you describe takes vision and collaboration, and we are beyond impressed that you’ve been able to create this partnership while also keeping Homestead rockin’ during a pandemic. Feeling so very lucky that we made the decision to join this community.”
– Richard Mandelbaum, RH & Gabrielle Kahn, EdD, Homestead Parents
“The CCHS has been a dream of many student and parent alumni of the Homestead School. Extending the world-class Montessori offerings to high school in partnership with SUNY Sullivan and the Center for Discovery will provide additional educational opportunities in the Catskill region that will benefit the entire community. I applaud this visionary collaborative effort of these three exceptional institutions.”
– Ramsay Adams, Executive Director, Catskill Mountainkeeper
“This is an incredible opportunity for our children. The public/private partnership between the Homestead School, SUNY Sullivan, The Center for Discovery, and the Hurleyville community shows the true potential through collaboration. This project will be a community asset and resource and will set a solid foundation for this and future generations.”
– Denise Frangipane, Homestead Parent and Executive Director, Sullivan Renaissance
“I believe this is not only the best thing that has happened to my son and our family and our future but for the entirety of Sullivan County. I think with the option of private high school, especially one with the legacy of Homestead, we will attract new families to the area who have the confidence in staying not only for weekends or for the summer but full-time knowing their children can now thrive here. With this will hopefully also come a much needed economic boost and vitalization to our county. I whole heartedly believe the impact of CCHS on Sullivan County is going to be profound, personally and civically. I know the students that have been with Shaia since pre-school that see this through until the end will in fact be a new special kind of human being with a unique and significant type of education. Hurleyville, already amazing thanks to The Center For Discovery, is about to become that much cooler and SUNY Sullivan that much more important in its outreach.”
-Hali Friehling, Homestead Parent, Co-Founder, Skilled Productions / Photo Director DV8 Magazine
“The Homestead School has long been a driving socioeconomic force for our community, giving parents a wonderful option for the early years of their children’s education. We have all become even more fortunate that this incredibly diverse, dynamic, and unique school will now be offered all the way through senior year. In short, having such a world-class school – now complete from pre-K through high school – in our own backyard elevates the entire profile of the region. Thank you Homestead!”
– Kirsten Harlow Foster, Homestead Parent, Co-Founder, Foster Supply Hospitality
“Within the first few weeks of starting our kids at the Homestead School we felt like we were part of a large family, who also happened to provide our childrens’ education. The thought that, with this expansion, we can be surrounded by this exceptional, nurturing community for as long as possible, makes us overjoyed. There are so many tenets of the Homestead School that resonate deeply with our family-a reverence for nature and environmental stewardship, a constant striving for equity and social justice, and a celebration of individuality. It makes us especially excited to have the opportunity to see our children guided by these principles as they move into young adulthood and start to figure out their own paths in the world.”
– Catie Baumer Schwalb, Homestead Parent, Co-Founder Catfish and Onion Education Initiative