Private Waldorf School in San Francisco Bay Area

San Francisco Waldorf School:
San Francisco Waldorf School is an independent, co-educational, non-sectarian school providing education from Kindergarten through to Grade 12. We are located in the Richmond District of San Francisco, near Western Addition, Presidio Heights, Lower Pacific Heights and Cow Hollow neighborhoods.

Early Childhood:
At San Francisco Waldorf School, the period of Early Childhood covers the age from pregnancy through the Kindergarten years. Weekly parenting classes offer resources and support for those with little ones through age three, parenting workshops, lectures and community festivals are offered regularly, and our three Kindergarten classes meet daily for children ages 4 3/4 to 6 1/2.

Parent and Toddler:
In the first three year's a child develops of herself, as if by a miracle, the three fundamental capacities of being human: to walk upright, to talk, and to call herself “I.” Steiner's deep insight into the process by which the soul gradually incarnates in the earthly body engenders a sacred awe for the task of caring for a young child.

Striving to counteract the fast-pace mentality of today, these parent-child classes support parents in protecting this awe-inspiring process and in creating a nurturing and rhythmical environment for their children.

Kindergarten:
In our Waldorf kindergartens the emphasis is on learning through doing, and the children are active in work and play, song and movement.

Every effort is made to make our Waldorf kindergartens a warm and home-like environment for the children. Great care is given to the development and nurturing of the children’s senses, their organs for learning. All the materials are part of life and the room has a balance of color, form, simplicity and purpose. Much learning takes place, but it is through imitation and example rather than through instruction. The children are learning about life at this age rather than about the specific subjects of academic work.

Elementary School:
The structure of the curriculum is designed to both stimulate and support the developing child. From the imaginative world of fairy tales to the sophisticated and complex concepts operating in modern times, all the academic subjects are taught from the perspective of historical and cultural origins. Kindergarten is devoted to the cultivation of imagination. From this stage the students progress through the eight grades from ancient civilizations to the modern world with an understanding of the connections between individual human effort and the development of culture. The continuity of the curriculum, whether in mathematics, science, language arts or history, gives the student the capacity for perspective and an ability to exercise judgment responsibly.

High School:
San Francisco Waldorf High school offers a rigorous college preparatory curriculum that integrates ethical values and creative exploration into all subjects. Grounded in the classics, academic courses at San Francisco Waldorf High School expose students to the great ideas of mankind, the events that shaped civilizations, the beauty of mathematics, the power of the arts, and the phenomena of the natural world.

Our academic program provides exposure and mastery of a broad range of ideas in math, art, science and the humanities. By offering a wide variety of subjects, Waldorf students have the opportunity to discover their own unique strengths and talents, giving them the self-confidence to succeed in all areas of their education.

The Waldorf curriculum is carefully crafted to guide students through various stages of their intellectual and personal development. Students learn to observe, compare, analyze, synthesize, question, and imagine alternatives. They debate ethical issues in science, history, and literature. They engage in abstract mathematical reasoning, as well as hands-on laboratory experiments.

Remedial Program:
Each child brings into the world his or her individuality and uniqueness shaped through the years of schooling. Part of our work as teachers is to remove hindrances often expressed in the child as learning difficulties, health concerns or emotional disturbances. A deep interest for each child is nurtured in our school and through this interest we as educators strive to understand the questions and challenges that each child reveals to us and especially to the class teacher. We as a school recognize that the understanding and the recognition of the child’s struggle can itself begin to contribute to the healing of the problem. The class teacher, ultimately responsible for the care of the child in the grade school years works conscientiously with the student and the family.

Athletics:
The San Francisco Waldorf School sports program includes league play for both basketball (boys and girls), volleyball (girls) and baseball (boys) in grades 6 – 8.