Admission Priorities

Woodside is an independent non-profit child care center and the staff are not Amherst College employees. However, based on the close relationship of the Center to Amherst College, Amherst College employees receive preferential treatment in admission, as follows:

  1. The siblings of already enrolled Amherst College families
  2. Full time Amherst College schedules compared to part-time
  3. The children of Amherst College employees and the children of Woodside staff
  4. The siblings of already enrolled community families
  5. New community families

Employment at Amherst College, either as faculty or staff, is not a guarantee of admission.

Wait List

Upon receiving your enrollment application all families will be placed on the waiting list if an immediate opening is not available. Families will be notified by mail or email when space becomes available. Woodside typically has a longer wait list in the infant & toddler programs as fewer spaces are available. We strongly recommend families apply for these classrooms as soon as they know they may need care.

Declining of Childcare Slot

Any family who declines an offered space for their child will be placed at the bottom of our wait list. If in the future you are interested in being considered for care, we will ask you to fill out an updated enrollment application.