The Sandpoint Waldorf School is part of a fast growing international movement arising from the philosophy and methods of Rudolf Steiner who founded the first Waldorf School in Stuttgart, Germany in l9l9. Steiner's insights have lead to new approaches in medicine, architecture, the fine arts, economics, and agriculture as well as education.

Waldorf education is designed to address the whole child: the head the heart and the hands. It stimulates the mind with a full spectrum of traditional academic subjects; it nurtures healthy emotional development by conveying information experientially as well as academically; and it teachers the hands to be valued members of the child’s being through a broad range of artistic and physical activities.

Waldorf education emphasizes respect, wonder for nature and reverence for human existence. Learning becomes much more than the acquisition of vast amounts of information; rather, learning becomes an engaging voyage of discovery, both of the world and of oneself. Because it touches children on a deeper level, they remember more easily what they have learned.

Although each Waldorf school is independent, all share a core of curriculum, methods and beliefs, including the idea that a fulfilled and creative life involves considerably more than mental development or the ability to earn a living. Every child also needs the balance provided by the strong and healthy development of the will (the ability to get things done) and of the feeling life (emotions, aesthetics, and social sensitivity).

The Sandpoint Waldorf School was founded by two teachers and a group of dedicated parents interested in providing quality education for their children. Serving Bonner and surrounding counties in Northern Idaho, the school opened its doors in 1992 with a kindergarten and one elementary class. To meet the needs of growing enrollment we moved to our present location on Sandpoint West Drive in 1998. Today, the Sandpoint Waldorf School has over 100 students enrolled and provides a rich, multifaceted, and integrated curriculum for children from preschool through eighth grade with specialty classes in foreign language, music, eurythmy, woodworking, spatial dynamics, and handwork. School families hale from diverse social, economic, spiritual, and professional backgrounds, yet what we share together as faculty, parents, and board is a common vision of love and joy for our children in the present and for the future.

Vision Statement

Guided by spirit the Sandpoint Waldorf School is working to create a healthy model of conscious living and learning. Our vision is to provide inspired education that supports our children, families, community, and the larger circle of life.

Governance

The Sandpoint Waldorf School's financial and legal matters are guided by a board of directors drawn from a larger group of faculty, parents, and friends. Pedagogical and administrative concerns are the responsibility of the faculty. The Sandpoint Waldorf school is a member of the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America and is recognized by the IRS as a nonprofit, tax exempt educational organization. The school admits students of any race, creed, sex, nationality, and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, sex, and national or ethnic origins in any school administered program.

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