About Us

Welcome Alumni from Waldorf schools across this great continent and beyond! For this site, we have identified “Waldorf Alums” as those who attended a Waldorf school at any time in their schooling years and wish to remember and remain connected. We discovered deep loyalty to Waldorf schools and Waldorf Education in some who attended a Waldorf school for only one or two years. We include these people in our definition of “Waldorf Alum.”

In 2005, Alumni around the continent, graduates or former attendees of Waldorf schools, indicated to the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America (AWSNA) that a protected site for all Waldorf Alumni – an internet meeting place - would be a welcome thing. Research began in 2006 with a grant from the Waldorf Schools Fund. Alumna Samantha Stier interviewed several dozen Waldorf school attendees and graduates of all ages to ascertain if the need for a protected Waldorf site was shared by many. It was indeed established, in many different ways and on many levels from many age groups, that an online Waldorf Alumni “place” would be welcome and useful. Following the beginning grant, funds were secured from the Waldorf Schools Fund and work on designing and developing the site began energetically in 2008 and 2009.

Our research demonstrated that older Waldorf graduates (we have some in their nineties) who do not regularly use social networking tools on the internet indicated that they would be glad for a vehicle to be used intermittently for locating friends and colleagues; younger Waldorf Alums indicated that existing social networking tools were overcrowded and sometimes invasive and that a protected space online would be a welcome tool.

Finding classmates and schoolmates, finding friends in new locations, job search assistance, housing identification, house exchanges (nationally, continentally and internationally), and Waldorf school affiliation were all identified as components that would be helpful. Waldorf schools expressed appreciation for the idea that their own Alumni could be found through such a tool as well. Posting news and events about Waldorf school participants and Alumni gatherings were also identified as welcome components.

Spread the Word and Help in Maximizing the Data!

“The more the merrier” was never as true as it is for this site. Get your own information on this and spread the word to your Waldorf friends and associates! The substance of the impact of networking will be realized through many joining the site.

Other Possibilities for the Alumni Site

In researching the possibilities for the “Alumni Corner,” graduates (and Waldorf participants who might not have finished school at a Waldorf school) indicated that reunions were less interesting to them, per se, as service or science trips to help in neighborhoods or populations where there is identified need with other Waldorf Alums (New Orleans, or Haiti, for example).

 

Recent News

Former Waldorf Student from the San Francisco Waldorf School featured in the SF Gate 'Violinist Sophia Hummell Keeps a Steady Hand' Make a list of the requirements for playing the violin, and the first few items are pretty obvious. Love of music, a good ear, dedication - check, check, check. What about two good arms? Now that's where you want to be careful about jumping to conclusions. Read more SF Gate of the San Francisco Chronicle January 7, 2012

Ashwood student takes eighth-grade project to Burma On Valentine's Day, Feb. 14, Abigail Matlack won't be preoccupied with candy hearts; instead, she will be on a trans-Pacific flight heading to Southeast Asia — Seoul, Bangkok, and then to the isolated Burma. Read more Knox Village Soup January 11, 2012

Have you ever made a phone call to Antarctica? Tanja is where Jessica Bramley-Alves went to the Mumbulla School for Rudolf Steiner Education in Bega. She's now a scientist working in Antarctica, completing climate change research for the University of Wollongong. Listen to the Interview Australian Broadcasting Corporation January 6, 2012

Benjamin Weber was selected as the 2011 Outstanding Secondary Level Social Studies Teacher of the Year Award recipient. Weber is a graduate of Hawthorne Valley School. The award will be presented during the 91st Annual, Conference of the National Council for the Social Studies, “Dimensions of Diversity,” in Washington, D.C., in December at a special Outstanding Social Studies Teacher of the Year Award ceremony. Congratulations, Benjamin Weber! Read more 2011

AWSNA's WaldorfFest 2011 at Club Helsinki in Hudson, New York this past July was a wonderful success. It was the second annual summer party for Waldorf alumni, parents, teachers, students, grandparents and friends. The food and mood were both great - 14 Waldorf schools were represented, not just from North American countries but from Europe as well. Many alumni-owned businesses were our sponsors and offered raffle prizes and door prizes. Patrice Maynard described the good work done by Waldorf volunteers at the Waldorf School of New Orleans last April, who participated in the first and hugely successful AWSNA Service Weekend. She also announced the location of the next AWSNA Service Weekend dates and location: the Lakota Waldorf School on Pine Ridge Reservation, from April 19-21, 2012. During this enjoyable evening we raised several hundred dollars toward this next Waldorf Service Weekend. All-in-all, a fun festive summer gathering!

Sponsors: The Youth GroupThink Outword; The Raphael Academy of New Orleans, LA; The green cleaning company Swept Green of Hudson, NY; Hawthorne Valley Farm Store and Association located in Harlemville, NY; Camphill of Copake, NY; Waldorf Home Exchange, based in Santa Rosa, CA; Hudson Valley Acupuncture out of Hudson, NY; Woodland Ways wilderness camp in Harlemville, NY; the author Winslow Eliot; The Farm at Miller's Crossing in Claverack, NY; The children's store The Bee's Knees on Warren Street in Hudson; KOSA also located on Warren Street in Hudson; The restaurant Northeast Kingdom of Brooklyn, NY; the band Mother Fletcher of Hudson, NY; Harvest Spirits of Valatie, NY; Lefty's Silver Cart of Cambridge, MA; AWSNA Books&More and Renewal magazine.

Hearthstone Students Travel to New Orleans for AWSNA's Service Weekend
Early this month, several Hearthstone high school students left on a service trip to New Orleans. The group\'s travel expenses were partially paid for by a grant from the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America, awarded for their willingness to help rebuilding efforts in New Orleans, which is still struggling to overcome the devastation of Hurricane Katrina five years ago. According to one of the students: \"It was a great learning experience, and possibly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, although I have high hopes of returning to New Orleans in the future to help with the rebuilding and experience the culture all over again.\" RappNews April 28, 2011

Highland Hall graduate Zoe Kravitz
Young actress Zoe Kravitz has three high-profile movies coming out this year. Yelling to the Sky - SXSW 2011 Accepted Film is one of them. View Trailer

Malibu Compost: Love, Compassion, Gratitude, and Cow Manure
Waldorf alum Colum Riley, class of 1992 at Kimberton is the co-founder and director of operations for one of the hottest new companies on the west coast. His company “Malibu Compost” not only makes and sells biodynamic compost, but also rescues cows that are about to be slaughtered for beef. 

Tech Gets a Time-Out
Charges of hypocrisy be damned: Some Silicon Valley tech wizards are quietly raising their kids outside the lurid digital landscape that their own industry calls childhood. San Francisco Magazine 2010