Used to love this school. Bought into the physical beauty
at every turn. Great early education program. Caring staff. Young HS
program w/potential. Fun festivals & community through
volunteering. Reasonable tuition too. After this last year ~ no more.
Community evolved into the secret society of those "committed" to
Waldorf Education & the rest who weren't Steiner's diehard
followers. Administration became $$ driven instead of human-centered.
Teachers became much more into Steiner's anthroposophy to the point of
question. Tuition no longer affordable, many families were forced to
leave, or to choose which children stayed at the school or had to go
somewhere else. No extra help for kids w/special learning needs because
it's not recognized in anthroposophy. So now we're one of those
former Waldorf families...healing. If the biggest lesson learned from
this, we should've researched Steiner's anthroposophy BEFORE enrolling.
It's a HUGE commitment of $ & resources not to understand the
philosophy & its implications on you & your children. If we
knew what we now know about anthroposophy, our children would've never
been enrolled in the school in the 1st place.
Waldorf education is the best you can want for your
child. Unfortunately this is unobtainable for poor kids. With a bunch
of upfront fees, like registration, enrollment, supplies etc. you can
easily spend $500 up front. Tuition assistance is up to 50% off for the
first child which leaves you still with at least $400 per mo. Which
parent with a minimum wage job can afford that? Let alone a parent with
more than one child? The exclusion of children for that reason is not
in line with the purpose Waldorf was started: for the kids of blue
collar workers!
I was initially impressed with their reputation and preschool curriculum.
Upon visiting the campus I enjoyed how the elementary students are not
pressured to read and therefore do so much later than their public
school peers. After taking a music workshop with them I was much less
impressed with the lack of quality presented, and was turned off by not
being allowed to observe a closed session with young students.
We've had some real issues. But we're hoping that a change in teachers will help.
