Waldorf Education

Washington Waldorf educates the whole child

Our curriculum is designed to develop our students academically, emotionally, and physically. WWS students get a strong grounding in core academic capacities, with rigorous math courses, lab-based sciences, English classes that build writing skills and explore humanity through literature, and history lessons that build a comprehensive picture of human interactions with the world and each other. Students also engage in the arts, music, and drama, with courses that include textile arts, metalwork, woodwork, and more. Waldorf students all participate in a variety of movement, physical education, and outdoor education classes that build physical capabilities and allow for extensive exposure to the natural world.

The Waldorf curriculum is developmentally appropriate.

Children have very different capacities at different ages and our curriculum is designed to meet the students where they are.

We believe young children need to spend much of their time in free play, building their capacities for imagination and goal setting, along with social skills and fine and gross motor skills.
Formal academics are introduced in the early grades, and gradually become more intense into the middle school years. The Lower School curriculum is rich in the arts, storytelling, and drama, which cultivates the students' ability to be empathetic and compassionate.
In high school, the curriculum is designed to cultivate the students' capacities for rigorous critical thinking, supplemented by more advanced work in arts, music, and expressive movement.

We create a safe and nurturing community for students and their families, while preparing our students for life beyond Waldorf.

In a very real sense, WWS is an oasis, especially in the Children's Garden and Lower School, where children can be children. As students get older, they engage the larger world in ways that allow them to develop their independence and good judgment.

Our goal is to help our students know who they are so that when that time comes, they can go forward with confidence that they are equipped to thrive.

Although there is no typical Waldorf student, our students tend to be inquisitive, creative, hard working, and open to new experiences and ways of learning.

Many different kinds of students thrive at WWS. All students discover new facets of themselves. Learning her is joyful and rigourous without undue stress. Even though we are a relatively small school, students experience a rich social life, and no one is anonymous.

WWS is not equipped to support students with severe learning or behavioral challenges, though students with mild learning differences including ADHD and dyslexia may do well here.

We do not "teach to the test."

Students are evaluated regularly, and teachers are available to parents to discuss a child's progress.
Students typically begin getting letter grades in grade 6.
Although we do not administer any standardized tests (with the exception of the PSAT, which we give to 10th grade students), we recognize their place and prepare our High School students for the SAT and other such tests. The average SAT scores for WWS students is above the average for Montgomery County Public Schools.

We are thoughtful about the use of digital media in education.

We believe that young children benefit from little or no screen time and our classes reflect that belief.

We introduce digital media in the classroom in middle school when our students begin to use the Internet for research, and we include digital literacy and responsibility in the curriculum. In high school we have a technology curriculum that includes basic coding as well as disassembling and assembling a computer to understand its components and functions.

In general, we want our students to maximize their experience of the real world rather than the virtual world. Thriving in a highly technological world that is ever changing, requires a high degree of flexibility, adaptability, and creativity — precisely the qualities the Waldorf curriculum fosters. Waldorf graduates are very well represented in high technology fields and media, where their creative capacities are highly valued.

Students' cell phones and smart watches are stowed away in magnetically locked bags for the entire school day.

Our graduates are admitted to a wide range of top colleges and universities, and most gain admission to their top choice.

Waldorf graduates stand out in the college admissions process. Our personal approach means that teachers are equipped to provide highly individualized, persuasive recommendations. Many of our graduates also receive substantial merit-based financial assistance. What colleges do WWS graduates attend?

Beyond college, our graduates excel in a wide variety of careers. Our graduates are highly creative, entrepreneurial, driven, socially minded, and grounded in themselves. What fields do WWS graduates go into?

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Washington Waldorf is one of more than 1,000 Waldorf schools worldwide, and our pedagogy is rooted in the pioneering work of Rudolf Steiner. Waldorf schools strive to develop the whole human being in a healthy and nurturing environment.

WWS is a member of the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America.