The William Woodward, Jr. Nursery School is a private, independent nursery school on Manhattan's Upper East Side. The school is familiarly known as "Woodward."

Originally, Woodward was a cooperative school that had been formed and run by a group of parents who were affiliated with New York Hospital. It was founded as a private nursery school in 1961, when Mrs. William Woodward made an endowment to New York Hospital through The Woodward Charitable Foundation in honor of her late son.

It was Mrs. Woodward’s vision to provide a permanent space where the school could run to serve the children of the "house staff" of the New York Hospital Cornell Medical Center. This mission gradually expanded to include Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC), Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS), and the neighborhood community. In accordance with Mrs. Woodward's early mission, families affiliated with these instituions are given preference when applying to the school.

Woodward is chartered by the Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York, licensed by the New York City Department of Health and is a member of the Independent schools Admissions Association of Greater New York (ISAAGNY).