CORE Community School Buys Farm To Offer New Student Programs

WOODSTOCK, GA — CORE Community School, a school for students in grades 2 to 12 with a range of social, emotional, and learning challenges as well as for neurotypical students with highly defined challenges (such as dyslexia and general anxiety), recently bought a farm to further educate the students.

The school is currently housed in a two-story brick building in Woodstock, and was established in 2015 with two teachers and two students. After three years in the current building, the school has embarked on the purchase of a nearby, 52-acre property, seven miles from the school at 818 Arnold Mill Road. Known as Lakeview Farm, the area has existing structures including barns and a large main home, as well as four ponds, grassed fields, a swimming pool, and an on-site horse and stable operation. The horse program will be run independently from the school, but will be offered to students.

CORE will not move the school to the property, but will use the property as an extension of the current campus, instead using the property as an environmental, social, academic, and outdoor learning retreat.

Seeking out this type of property by the school’s co-founders, to use in this way, has been a passionate goal since before the school began.

The property has been under contract as of October 2020. CORE Community School closed on the property on Jan. 28, and in February the school leaders and staff began renovations of various spaces and buildings, as well as the building of new maker spaces for high school vocational program and other special school programs.

With the ownership of this property, CORE will also be building associations with various other youth, therapeutic, and educationally-related organizations to benefit and serve the school’s students and families while on the property, such as

• Goshen Valley Ranch
• Department of Family and Child Services
• Families First
• As well as various Atlanta area therapists and counselors, as well as vocational instructors in trades and other work/life areas.
• Local environmental advocates, sustainability experts; clubs, and other groups

With the expertise of the staff and leadership of CORE Community School, along with these associations, CORE Community Farm at Lakeview will also offer the metropolitan community through the coming months and years a hugely beneficial variety of child, youth, and adult educational events in the form of classes, seminars and retreats.