News & Events
News From and About The World of Waldorf Education
Recent Stories
INFORM Newsletter for our School Communities. Read March 2010 issue here: [link to pdf]
Computers in Schools Could Do More Harm than Good
One of the things that makes human beings so distinct, and so brilliant, is that our brains are constantly being rewired – a phenomenon known as "plasticity" which means that we can react to and learn from our surroundings. But, as a neuroscientist, there is a question that worries me: given that the brain adapts according to its environment, and the learning environment for our children has been changing in dramatic and unprecedented ways, could that have an unprecedented impact on their development in ways that might be adverse? That certainly seems to be the message from research reported yesterday, which suggested that students are losing the ability to study properly. Read more The Telegraph February 12, 2010
Tiny High School Makes Huge Strides
At The Western Maine Class C Cross Country Regional Championships held at Twin Brook in Cumberland on Saturday, tiny Merriconeag Waldorf High School boys’ cross country team finished runner-up to Freeport High School. Freeport boasts a student enrollment of over 450. Merriconeag’s total high school enrollment? 35 students. Read more February 2010
INFORM Newsletter for our School Communities. Read February 2010 issue here: [link to pdf]
Waldorf Crisis Intervention Team in Haiti
The international Waldorf organization known as “Friends of Waldorf Education” has sent a crisis intervention team to Haiti to help traumatized children come to terms with their terrible experiences. “The Friends of Waldorf Education intend to send a crisis intervention team, consisting of educationalists, psychologists, therapists, physicians and translators, to the disaster area in mid-February to stimulate the children’s natural self-healing processes and counter possible delayed reactions,” the group said in a statement. Read more News Network Anthroposophy Limited January 28, 2010
Waldorf Alum News: ETHOS brings ethical touch to French fashion at CIFF
ETHOS, a French designer of environmentally friendly clothing, will preview its latest collections at the CIFF trade show, to be held in Copenhagen from 11 to 14 February 2010. Johanna Riplinger, ETHOS’ Stylist and Collection Manager, is a graduate of the Munich Fashion School (in Germany) and previously worked for Guy Laroche. Also in Germany, she attended a Rudolf Steiner school that helped her develop her love and knowledge of nature, which provides the inspiration for all the company’s collections. Read more Infotechfrance.com January 18, 2010
Roots of Empathy teaches students emotional literacy
Several Montréal schools, like École Rudolf Steiner, participate in a program called Roots of Empathy (Racines de l'empathie), which was created by award-winning Canadian educator Mary Gordon to teach young people “emotional literacy.” What is emotional literacy? It means being able to “read” emotions: to know and express how we are feeling, and then, to recognize and handle how others are feeling. Emotional literacy can be a powerful tool in families, schools, and society. Read more Examiner.com January 14, 2010
Waldorf Education Growing in Mexico January 2010 Read more here (pdf)
INFORM Newsletter for our School Communities. Read January 2010 issue here: [link to pdf]
Research Finds No Advantage In Learning To Read From Age Five
A University of Otago researcher has uncovered for the first time quantitative evidence that teaching children to read from age five is not likely to make that child any more successful at reading than a child who learns reading later, from age seven. Read the article here. Voxy News December 21, 2009
INFORM Newsletter for our School Communities. Read December 2009 issue here: [link to pdf]
For Forest Kindergartners, Class Is Back to Nature, Rain or Shine
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — Fat, cold droplets splashed from the sky as the students struggled into their uniforms: rain pants, boots, mittens and hats. Once buttoned and bundled, they scattered toward favorite spaces: a crab apple tree made for climbing, a cluster of bushes forming a secret nook under a willow tree, a sandbox growing muddier by the minute.
Read more New York Times November 29, 2009
Why does Waldorf Education Talk about Warmth so much?
This article by Adam Blanning M.D. discusses how warmth works throughout the entire spectrum of human experience: physical warmth, emotional warmth—the warmth of love, of generosity, of true morality—and all of these “warmths” pour over and merge with each other, and why it's especially important to pay attention to warmth for young children. November 2009 [link to pdf]
INFORM Newsletter for our School Communities. Read November 2009 issue here: [link to pdf]
Carey Mulligan's in a Class of Her Own
Waldorf graduate Carey Mulligan received rave reviews for her role in An Education. Next up is Wall Street 2 for Oliver Stone, and Jim Sheridan's Brothers. James Mottram talks to Britain's fastest-rising star. Read more The Independent November 6, 2009
The Merger of two Venerable Canadian Educational Associations has Created a new National Voice in Independent Education The membership of both the Canadian Educational Standards Institute (CESI) and the Canadian Association of Independent Schools (CAIS), has voted to dissolve their respective associations and to endorse the creation of a new organization that would combine the strengths of both founding groups. Read more ... October 28, 2009
"Today's Golf benefit was a wonderful success on every level! Hooray for Duffy Waldorf and his family! Hooray for Orange County and Highland Hall! Hooray for AWSNA and the Board members who helped in golfing us to success!" Read more here... October 27, 2009
"Reclaiming the Link Between Independence and the Essence of American Education," an article by Patrice Maynard, has just been published in Independent Schools Magazine. In it she writes: “If we can identify for our culture the unique opportunity available in America, a national treasure of freedom in education, with rigorous debate between independent schools and government-provided schools, we can protect the variegated landscape of ideas and methods available to us into the future. If we can build a platform for discussion about education that transcends special interests (industries, unions, politics, ideologies) and squarely debates the needs of our nation’s youth, we can lead the world in forging true excellence in education.”
Read the complete article here…
INFORM Newsletter for our School Communities. Read the October 2009 issue here: [link to pdf]
Stage Shy Songstress
Michaela Kuzia prefers to be heard and not seen. The 27-year-old Great Barrington native, who now lives in Boston, says she's still stage shy. But the Berklee College of Music graduate has recently released her second CD: "Never Gonna Look Back." She recently was interviewed by Berkshire Eagle reporter Jenn Smith, who asked her about her musical career and what she's been up to since she graduated from Great Barrington Rudolf Steiner School.
Read more The Berkshire Eagle October 15, 2009
Farm to school: Boulder Waldorf kindergarten lets children learn from the ground up
A new kindergarten, located on a biodynamic farm in North Boulder is focused on creating an environment where children experience learning. "We are trying to save chilldhood from extinction." Read more Daily Camera October 14, 2009
Lessons in Life at the Forest School
Thousands of pupils in Denmark learn tree climbing not times tables. But this carefree life for the under-7s is under threat.
It’s a chilly, breezy afternoon in Klampenborg, an affluent suburb just north of Copenhagen. Two dozen children are playing in woodland that lies off the busy main road that leads into the city. Some are clustered around a teacher playing his guitar, others are running in and out of the oak trees in some made-up game. Empty lunch boxes are stacked by a tree and mats are strewn across the grass, evidence of a recent picnic, although it is not quite picnic weather. The children are well wrapped up in fleeces, jumpers and wellies. It looks as if it is an afternoon outing for the local children, a break from the classroom and a chance for a little fresh air. But something quite different is going on here. The wood is the classroom for these children who are pupils at the Klampenborg Skovbo, a forest school. From 8am to 4pm, five days a week, the 25 or so children come to school here, rain, hail or shine. Read more ... The Times October 6, 2009
During the last week of September, Patrice Maynard, AWSNA leader for development and outreach, spent two days in Washington, D.C. with the CAPE (Council for American Private Education) Board and one day at the Private School Leadership meeting hosted by the Office of Non-Public Education in the Office of Innovation. Here is her report... October 2009
Dragon Boy Wins Best First Book
Congratulations! Dragon Boy, Book 1, written by Donald Samson, has been awarded First Place (Gold) in the Moonbeam Best First Books category. The Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards are intended to bring increased recognition to exemplary children’s books and their creators, and to support childhood literacy and life-long reading. Read more September 2009
AWSNA’s fourth annual golf tournament – Winning with Waldorf IV
AWSNA’s fourth annual golf tournament – Winning with Waldorf IV – will be held on Monday, October 26. Hosted by the Waldorf School of Orange County in Costa Mesa, CA, the tournament will take place at the beautiful Oak Creek Golf Club, in Irvine. For the fourth event, PGA Touring Golf Professional, Duffy Waldorf will once again be there to tee off to success.
Read more September 18, 2009
Waldorf, Montessori Programs are about Teaching Children how to Think
Both approaches were crafted early in the past century. Adherents say they have stood the test of time, laying strong foundations
for young students in a more thorough, 'whole brain' way. Read more Globe and Mail September 16, 2009
Background television bad for your child
Background television could harm the development of your child, claim scientists who found that it reduces the amount that families talk to each other. Read more The Telegraph September 15, 2009
International Day of Peace Honored
The Waldorf School of Princeton will host the Folk Tale Puppet Troupe for a performance of “The Queen Bee”, on Sunday, September 20 at 2:00p.m. This marionette show is being offered free of charge in honor of International Day of Peace.
Making a World of Difference: Healing Heart Dolls
When classes let out for holidays in June 2009, one parent didn’t want to let the strong community spirit of Cedar Valley Waldorf School in Squamish, British Columbia, wilt over the hot summer months. So she took matters into her own hands – quite literally. Jennifer Thompson stitched together a dedicated group of volunteers, approximately 18 moms, who met almost every Tuesday night throughout July and August to create 35 Healing Heart Waldorf Dolls – beautiful handmade dolls that will go to local social worker Allison Clarke, who primarily handles guardianship and adoption cases. Clarke will in turn offer one to a child to keep, when he or she needs comfort and reassurance during crisis. Read more by Kirsten Andrews
Swallowtail School Adopts Accessible-to-All Tuition Adjustment Program
Swallowtail School in Hillsboro has adopted the Accessible-to-All tuition adjustment program currently used nationwide by many Waldorf schools. This program allows schools to practice the ideal that Rudolf Steiner envisioned, that Waldorf Education should be accessible to all families who wish it for their own values, regardless of their economic status. It also views adjusted tuition as a contribution to the financial well being of the school, rather than a reduction of income. Read more Oregon News August 28, 2009
Foundations of Waldorf Education for the Twenty-first Century
Steiner's thought on children's growth and evolution is the basis of the famous Steiner-Waldorf Education, and is more modern than ever. Read more Suite101.com August 9, 2009
Detroit Waldorf School Helps the Neighborhood
Read more Detnews.com July 14, 2009
Kimberton Waldorf School Kicks off Restoration Project
Kimberton Waldorf School announces the start of a fundraising campaign to restore the historical and architecturally-significant glass-paned roof in its middle school, formerly owned by the Myrins and part of the Myrin-Pew estate. Added on to the original stone house structure in the 1920's, the curved, hip-style glass roof was made and installed by the Lord & Burnham Company, the premier designer and builder of greenhouses and conservatories in the United States and Canada for over 25 years.
Frederick A. Lord, who began erecting greenhouses in Buffalo, NY, in 1849 was a favorite carpenter to many Hudson River estate owners. In the early years, the conservatory at Kimberton Waldorf School housed palm trees and monkeys. Read more The Times Herald July 7, 2009
Waldorf Duo take to Unicycles for Circus Smirkus
Running away to join the circus is a fairy tale dream for many and a reality for just a few. For two boys, Waldorf School students Taylor Wright-Sanson and Emmanuel Ribereau, Circus Smirkus is the opportunity to live the dream. Read more The Saratogian July 3, 2009
Ancient Farming Practices Motivate Students to Grow
When a class of second- and third-graders cheer wildly when offered a chance to return to school midsummer for physical labor and homegrown salad, somebody's clearly doing something right at the Waldorf School on Bend's north side. Read more The Bulletin May 29, 2009
Waldorf School Wins Lyons Award
HONOLULU - Haleakala Waldorf School has been selected as this year's recipient of the Bank of Hawaii Mike Lyons Maui Community Award. Read more The Maui News May 27, 2009
Sixth-grade students from the Waldorf School of Cape Cod - as well as three other Waldorf schools across New England - traveled to the small Bourne campus yesterday for the school's annual medieval festival featuring events such as jousting, archery and the hammer throw. Read more Cape Cod Times May 9, 2009
On Wednesday, May 6 Johns Hopkins sponsored a one-day Roundtable on Arts and the Brain, based on the report released last year from the Dana Foundation, indicating that the arts light up parts of the brain like nothing else can do. This was followed in Washington, DC by the tenth annual conference on Learning and the Brain. Both the Roundtable and the conference were attended by Patrice Maynard, AWSNA Leader for Outreach and Development, who sent this report. Read more May 6, 2009
Creating a Buzz at Kimberton Waldorf
Kimberton Waldorf School’s students and parents welcomed thousands of honey bees to new hives built by students recently at the school’s organic garden. Read more The Mercury May 6, 2009
IN THE KITCHEN: Taking the Lead on School Nutrition
At the first-ever statewide conference on bringing local, healthy food into New Jersey schools, Mary Capoferri of the Waldorf School of Princeton spoke about her school's successful school gardening program. Ms. Capoferri teaches gardening to pre- schoolers through eighth graders via the school's two-acre biodynamic garden, which is almost 25 years old. She described how
the gardening classes involve the entire school community, and how in 2007 a solar-powered geodesic dome was built with the help of parents. Read more Central Jersey May 1, 2009
INFORM Newsletter for our School Communities. Read the May 2009 issue here: [link to pdf]
Waldorf Students Bring Happiness
Eighth graders from the Waldorf School of the Roaring Fork started singing room to room at Valley View during Christmas, and liked it so much they make arrangements for hospital performances once per month, and some of them are considering volunteering during the summer. "We went to the house of a hospice patient," said one of the students. "She had trouble speaking,
quotes from "Crisis in the Kindergarten," a report recently released by the Alliance for Childhood. Read the article New York Times April 29, 2009
Waldorf Schools Go Green for Earth Day
On Earth Day, all Waldorf schools affiliated with the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America (AWSNA) will be able to access detailed purchasing information about the best green products to use in schools by going to a newly-launched Green Resources on the Association’s web site: Why Waldorf Works. Read more ... April 20, 2009
Miami-Dade County Schools Go Green -- and Save Money
Children at the Waldorf school near Pinecrest not only recycle, they alsogrow organic vegetables, compost leftover food, utilize organic crayons made from beeswax and write on paper created from green processing, among other practices. Read more Miami Herald April 16, 2009
Waldorf School Partners with Germany
On March 20, the Waldorf School in Lexington received the Partner School plaque from German Consul General Friedrich Löhr and Dr. Inke Pinkert-Saeltzer, Washington-based German Language Consultant of the Central Agency for Schools Abroad. Löhr congratulated Waldorf School director John Anderson and German teacher Christa Clark on the school’s successful and long-standing German program and welcomed the East Lexington independent school into the network of more than 1,000 Partner Schools worldwide. Read more... Wicked Local Lexington Minuteman April 16, 2009
Waldorf School Composting Project Benefits Community
Whole Foods, along with several other Congress Park neighborhood businesses, have enthusiastically agreed to partner with The Denver Waldorf School in a school-wide composting project that will extend far beyond the school grounds itself.
Read more Your Hub Denver April 4, 2009
Hallapalooza, a Highland Hall Waldorf School Event, Draws Huge Crowd & Rave Reviews On Saturday, March 28th a crowd of over 1100 parents, faculty and friends gathered at Reseda High Auditorum for the biggest musical show in Highland Hall's 54 year history. Emceed by Melissa Etheridge, the event featured student performances ranging from classic rock to contemporary music as well as several classical music performances. Read more…
What is the Purpose of School?
In the most recent edition of Lilipoh, authors Douglas Gerwin and David Mitchell identify and set aside three widely held yet misleading assumptions given as reasons for going to school. They then go on to show how teaching is not just the transfer of knowledge but also a drawing out of students’ nascent capacities. Read the article Spring 2009: Redefining Education - Issue #55, Vol. 14
Waldorf Launches 'Forest' Kindergarten
In “Forest Kindergartens” the children are outside most of the day, year-round. The curriculum develops out of the environment, which is always changing — providing new problems to solve and situations to explore depending on the season and weather. Forest kindergartens began in Denmark in the 1950s and have steadily grown in popularity all across Europe. The trend has recently spread to the United States, and this is the first program of its kind to be launched in Saratoga Springs. Read more... The Saratogian March 29, 2009
Recently Patrice Maynard, AWSNA Leader for Outreach and Development, attended the Council of American Private Education (CAPE) spring meeting in Washington, D.C. CAPE is a coalition of national organizations and state affiliates serving private elementary and secondary schools. Its fundamental principle is that independent education is "good for students, good for families, and good for America." Read the letter…
U.K. Cambridge Primary Review Report
According to the Cambridge Primary Review, children’s lives are being “impoverished” by school education that is “fundamentally deficient.” Read more … March 2009
Knitting Brainpower Stitch by Stitch
At the Waldorf School of Pittsburgh, boys and girls from kindergarten through fifth grade scrutinize their knitting, crocheting and sewing projects like students elsewhere might examine computer programs or graphing calculators.
Read more Dailybreeze.com (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) March 8, 2009
A Field-to-Fork Experience
The Prairie Moon Waldorf School in Lawrence, Kansas recently received a grant to establish a market garden on the school grounds. The garden will provide a vital focus for the school’s Waldorf curriculum, encouraging appreciation and connection to the natural world through active participation in planting, growing, and harvesting. Students will learn about plant biology, soil science, hydrology, gardening, mathematics, geology, geography, and business. Read more March 2009
Water's Edge Waldorf School Raingarden
A year ago, under the guidance of an imaginative and helpful parent, the students at Water's Edge Waldorf School planted a small rain garden in a low spot in the grounds where water pooled dismally during heavy rains. Despite some initial skepticism, the plants in the rain garden helped the water percolate into the ground instead of creating an unusable swampy area. Read more
Serious Need for Play
In the new issue of Scientific American free, unstructured, imaginative play is shown to be vital in the early lives of children. The article describes how and why
- Childhood play is crucial for social, emotional and cognitive development.
- Imaginative and rambunctious “free play,” as opposed to games or structured activities,
is the most essential type.
- Kids who do not play when they are young may grow into anxious, socially maladjusted adults.
Read more Scientific American January 2009
12th Annual Civil Rights Brunch
On a recent sunny, chilly Sunday more than 75 adults and students gathered in the Multi-Purpose Room of the Waldorf School of Baltimore for the 12th Annual Civil Rights Brunch. Read more
U.S. School Children Need Less Work, More Play: Study
CHICAGO (Reuters) – All work and no play may be a hazard for some U.S. school children.
Researchers reported on Monday that a growing trend of curbing free time at school may lead to unruly classrooms and rob youngsters of needed exercise and an important chance to socialize.
A look at more than 10,000 children aged 8 and 9 found better classroom behavior among those who had at least a 15-minute break during the school day compared to those who did not, Dr. Romina Barros and colleagues at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York reported.
Read more Reuters January 26, 2009
Kimberton Waldorf School Students Take Physics to a New Level
High School students at Kimberton Waldorf School took real pleasure in completing their physics projects, designing a Wimshurst machine, DC motors and Van de Graaff generators.
Read more The Phoenix January 23, 2009
Kimberton Waldorf School Students Experience Wilderness
Four Kimberton Waldorf School sophomores left for a sixth-month excursion that will include a 600-mile wilderness expedition by ski and canoe. The students will join other participants from around the world in a journey that will undoubtedly change their lives. Read more The Phoenix January 21, 2009
New Study: Home Computers Affect Grades Negatively
Waldorf educators are delighted that research is finally catching up with what they have known all along: excessive screen media has a negative impact on growing children. Three researchers from Duke University in Durham, N.C. used data gathered from a survey given to 1 million fifth through eighth graders for their paper: Scaling the Digital Divide: Home Computer Technology and Student Achievement. Read more (PDF with link to research paper) January, 2009
At Waldorf School, Kids Experiment with Solar Panels
The half dozen solar panels mounted atop the Chicago Waldorf School in Rogers Park power just a handful of light bulbs. But they provide students with the kind of hands-on experience in physics and environmental sicience that's not available in any book.
Read more Chi-Town Daily News, January 5, 2009
Waldorf School Unveils New Solar Installation
Students shoot hoops under the new solar panels recently installed at Waldorf School of the Peninsula in Los Altos.
Read more Los Altos Town Crier, December 31, 2008
No Child Left Inside
For students at the Waldorf School, outdoors is one big classroom Times NJ.com, November 19, 2008
Siskiyou School Completes 'Green' Classroom Buildings Mail Tribune November 17, 2008
Accreditation Accolades!
This fall five Waldorf schools are completing their AWSNA accreditation by having site visits.
November, 2008 Read more
Assessment without High-Stakes Testing: Protecting Childhood and the Purpose of School. A team of Waldorf educators and researchers has published an important research paper. Read more (12 page PDF)
1st-grader at Haleakala Waldorf School inspires warm and fuzzy tale of comfort
The Maui News October 8, 2008
William Ward crossed the threshold on Sunday, October 5, 2008, in the presence of his wife Andy and their two daughters, Claire and Rosemary, at the age of 61. He was a beloved class teacher at Hawthorne Valley School from 1976 until his sudden retirement in 2005 when he retired to deal with the diagnosis of a brain tumor.
Henry Barnes crossed the threshold September 18, 2008, at 10:15 p.m. For the past several years, he was a resident at the Fellowship Community in Chestnut Ridge, New York. Those of us who were fortunate enough to know and work with him were always touched by Henry's generous warmth and endless optimism in life. His significant impact on Waldorf Education on this continent and around the world is powerful enough to make his departure the mark of the ending of an epoch.
Read more (pdf)...
Archived Stories can be found under Why Waldorf Works Articles
