Engaging students in service to their community fosters a lifelong appreciation and commitment for serving others. Rudolf Steiner’s Community Engagement Program encompasses substantial, long-term collaborations with diverse institutions in New York City.
High school students can apply to serve as peer tutors to younger children, serve in our dining hall, and care for the green spaces and initiatives throughout the school among a host of other possibilities. The Steiner school has an ongoing relationship with a community garden space on Roosevelt Island, and we are looking forward to re-establishing our connections – temporarily suspended during the COVID crisis – with other social service initiatives.
A capstone of our community engagement program is the class trip to Kimberton Hills in Junior year. Steiner students spend the week working alongside the members of this Camphill Community. Camphill is a worldwide social initiative that creates communities designed to include people with and without intellectual disabilities. Having learned farming, gardening, cooking, and other practical skills over the course of previous class trips, Juniors are now able to contribute meaningfully to the work of the community while encountering human beings who experience the world very differently than they do. This trip is frequently cited by students and alumni as a life-changing experience that profoundly enriches their understanding of being human.