SAN FRANCISCO WALDORF SCHOOL ASSOCIATION
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Mission Statement
San Francisco Waldorf School is an independent, co-educational, non-sectarian school providing education from Kindergarten through Grade 12. SFWS was founded in 1979 as an independent school within the rich Waldorf tradition whose mission is to educate students using an approach that fosters independent thought and a sense of personal responsibility. The Waldorf curriculum, designed by Austrian philosopher and scientist Rudolf Steiner in 1919, is based on a thorough study of child development, so that the subjects taught meet not only the cognitive developmental needs of the students, but also their physical, emotional, and spiritual needs. There are over a thousand Waldorf schools around the world, each operating independently, but held together by a common understanding of human development and a recognition of the value of artistic work and meaningful social interaction.
About This Cause
Mission Statement: With love and devotion, we strive to nourish the unique capacities of every student that in each may awaken the critical and creative intelligence to envision the future the compassion and commitment to understand others and the courage to be a free and active participant in our common human experience. At San Francisco Waldorf School, our dedicated faculty and staff work together with parents to foster each student’s sense of self-reliance, social responsibility, and moral purpose. The diverse cultures and individuals represented in our school community are a source of invaluable human experience from which our students and the entire community learn and grow. We aim to encourage young people to bring the highest human capacities into their adult lives, as they become world citizens of the future. About Waldorf Education Waldorf education is based on the work of Rudolf Steiner, a leading early twentieth-century philosopher and scientist. The first Waldorf School was begun in Stuttgart, Germany in 1919, with the mission to educate students using an approach that would foster independent thought and a sense of personal responsibility. The curriculum Steiner designed is based on a thorough study of child development, so that the subjects taught meet not only the cognitive developmental needs of the students, but also their physical, emotional, and spiritual needs. Continuing to work with Rudolf Steiner’s ideas, many Waldorf schools have been established since 1919. Now there are over a thousand Waldorf schools around the world, each operating independently, but held together by a common understanding of human development and a recognition of the value of artistic work and meaningful social interaction. Philosophy Waldorf education is based on Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner’s study of child development. Steiner founded an education that meets the cognitive, physical, developmental, emotional, and spiritual needs of each student. Rather than stressing externally driven data acquisition, we emphasize students’ inner growth toward self-reliance, resilience, and creative intelligence. SFWS students embody these traits, which are developed through attention to their growth and capacities over time. Like all K-12 Waldorf schools, San Francisco Waldorf School’s curriculum addresses three discrete stages of child development: - Between birth and age seven, children learn primarily through imitation, and through an emphasis on physical activities. The atmosphere surrounding the child is filled with beauty, goodness, and role models worthy of imitation. At this age children need warmth and protection to develop their capacities in a natural, non-competitive atmosphere for creative play and work. - Children between the ages of seven and fourteen learn best from loving and consistent authority figures that embrace the world with interest. At this age subjects are presented in a lively, artistic, and engaging way in order to ignite children’s enthusiasm for learning the academic, emotional, practical, and physical skills they will need for life. - High school students learn best from experts in their fields with whom they can exercise their independent thinking and pursuit of truth. At this age students deepen their understanding of the world and of themselves. Through challenging intellectual study, they begin to master a wide range of subjects from mathematics to music, from science to humanities, from art to physical education. SFWS History Washington Street CampusIn September 1979, San Francisco Waldorf School Association inaugurated the school under the pedagogical direction of R. Monique Grund. San Francisco Waldorf School’s kindergarten began with a founding group of eighteen parents and grew quickly into our present offering of parenting classes, a nursery program, three kindergartens, grades one through twelve - and over four hundred children. In August 1980, San Francisco Waldorf School moved to its present grade school location at 2938 Washington Street. In 1989, SFWS inaugurated the use of the new classroom building, Main Hall, and Eurythmy Hall, all constructed to meet our growing school’s needs. Before 1997, SFWS graduated a number of eighth grade students who went on to an array of select local public and private high schools. Since the opening of San Francisco Waldorf High School in the fall of 1997, most of our grade school students have chosen to continue through 12th grade. They have been joined by students from other regional schools. Most of our graduates have gone on to well-known colleges and universities for both undergraduate and graduate work. San Francisco Waldorf High School began at the Fort Mason Center and graduated its first class in June 2001. After ten years of renting, SFWHS purchased 470 West Portal Avenue, and its doors were opened in September 2007. The facilities include nine classrooms, three state-of-the-art science labs, two dedicated art studios, and a library media center. SFWHS is the first "green" high school in San Francisco and received it's Gold LEED certification in 2011.