What is the Role of the Class Teacher in the Elementary School?

In all Waldorf schools a class teacher works with the same group of children for a number of years—often from first through eighth grade. Each class is also taught by other teachers who specialize in modern languages and the various arts. The class teacher monitors each child’s academic achievement and strives to help his/her students achieve their full potential. Through the years a special relationship grows between the teacher and the student. As the teacher’s knowledge of the children deepens, he/she is in an ideal position to contribute to the healthy intellectual, emotional, and social development of each child.

The class teacher also brings unity and continuity to the curriculum, linking the various disciplines. Through the challenge of teaching a new curriculum each year, the class teacher brings interest and enthusiasm to his/her work, and as students observe their teacher making the world of knowledge his own, they grow in confidence that they too can master the many subjects before them. [Back to top]

What is the School’s Policy on Media?

The passivity inherent in watching television is increasingly recognized by educators and parents as counterproductive to the process of learning and growth in the young child. Waldorf education has long been in the forefront of the movement against excessive television viewing: we are pleased that other professionals now voice the same opinion.

The fast pace and fragmented sequences of television work against the cultivation of concentration and imagination. For preschool and young elementary school children, imaginative play, such as listening to stories, watching and creating puppet shows, dressing up, baking, etc. foster in the child an active participation in the world around him or her. Because the Waldorf School aims to develop creative, fully engaged individuals, we urge parents of young children, to resist the convenience of television, and to involve their children in meaningful activities. Parents of children in the Upper School are asked to prohibit television during the school week and to limit their children’s access at other times. [Back to top]

What is a Main Lesson?

Waldorf education seeks to ensure that students will experience the curriculum as deeply and as vividly as possible. To this end, each school day begins with an hour and a half seminar called a main lesson. Academic subjects are taught in this format and concentrate on one subject for three to five weeks. Most main lessons include a lively presentation, a review and discussion, and a time for the students to work on a variety of academic projects. The main lesson also allows a class to approach a subject through the arts: through recitation, drama, music, drawing and sculpture. This multi-faceted approach engages our students’ interest in all subjects and engenders a love of learning that can last a lifetime. [Back to top]

How is the School Administered?

One of the unique features of the Rudolf Steiner School is that all members of the faculty and staff are involved in administration. Such an administration allows those most intimately connected with the education of students to make decisions regarding school policy and the long-range direction of the school.

A faculty council, known as The College of Teachers, composed of member of the faculty who carry responsibility for the school, sets school policy and decides all matters regarding the school’s administration, finances and personnel. An Administrative Committee oversees the day-to-day business of the school, and the Board of Trustees administers the school’s funds and advises The College of Teachers on legal and financial matters. [Back to top]

What is the School's Philosophy Regarding Spirituality, and Religion?

The Rudolf Steiner School actively welcomes students, faculty, and staff of all ethnicities and sexual orientations, and of all faiths and creeds. We respect and support all individuals’ spiritual beliefs and practices.

We strive to develop the mind, body, and spirit of the child, encouraging in the process, the child’s spiritual freedom and growth. As in every Waldorf School, our teaching works toward this aim by drawing on the insights into human development pioneered by Rudolf Steiner.

The Waldorf community is diverse in nature and rich in the teachings of many great religious traditions. Students develop an understanding and deep respect for the various cultures of the world through their experience in the classroom and in the celebration of seasonal festivals of the year. Drawing primarily, but not exclusively, on Christian traditions, we celebrate our common humanity, not our separateness in belief or practice. [Back to top]

What Colleges do Graduates Attend?

The Rudolf Steiner School is deeply committed to helping students gain admissions to colleges where they can pursue their educational and professional goals. The college counselor works closely with parents and students to identify the colleges that will meet a student’s personal, academic, and professional needs and helps guide students through the application process.

The school is well known to college representatives, many of whom visit our school during the year. Because our high school faculty sets high academic standards, and demands active involvement in class, our students are well prepared to meet the challenges of college coursework. All of our seniors enroll in four-year colleges and universities, and many have been National Merit Scholarship Finalists or Commended Scholars. [Back to top]

How Many Waldorf Schools Are There?

There are 277 Waldorf Schools in North America. There are nearly 900 Waldorf Schools in the World.

College Acceptances for the 2005-2006 School Year

This link will take you to another page in the Rudolf Steiner School Web site, 2005-2006 college acceptances.

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College Acceptances

This link will take you to another page in the Rudolf Steiner School Web site, 1997-2000 college acceptances.

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How is Class Work assessed?

Parents at the school receive written reports as follows:

• Nursery and Kindergarten parents receive a full report at the end of the year; this report characterizes the child and gives a picture of his or her growth and development.

• Parents of students in grades one through six receive two written reports each year. The mid-term report briefly summarizes the child’s progress; the end-of-year report includes a characterization of the child and gives a detailed picture of the child’s academic social progress.

• Parents of students in the seventh and eighth grade receive two written reports each year. These now include letter grades. The mid-term report briefly summarizes the child’s progress; the end-of-year report includes a characterization of the child and gives a detailed picture of the child’s academic and social progress.

• High School students’ work is evaluated quarterly. Grades are sent home every quarter; a narrative report accompanies the grades at the end of the second and fourth quarters. Parents are urged to attend the parent teacher conferences at the end of the first and third quarters to review and discuss their child’s progress. [Back to top]

Is There a Dress Code?

There are no uniforms required at the school. However, since a student’s appearance directly affects his or her sense of well-being and self-confidence, students are expected to present a neat, well-groomed appearance. In general, students are expected to dress modestly and in good taste. [Back to top]