Six things you should know about the Great Barrington Waldorf High School
by Stephen Keith Sagarin, PhD, Faculty Chair - 15 Oct 2008
1. In education, small is good. Research shows this, over and over. No one falls between the cracks at our school—there aren’t any. Small size, many combined classes, and excellent, respectful relationships between students and teachers give us an intimate, supportive atmosphere for learning. On the other hand, wireless internet, broad community resources, and lots of travel give our small school a big world in which to learn.
2. We are integrated into our community—locally, regionally, and internationally. We use or lease Simon’s Rock library, chemistry lab, and athletic facilities; Peter Barrett’s metal working shop, where John Graney teaches blacksmithing; Dan Bellow’s pottery studio; Mike Bissaillon’s fitness studio; Vikki True as chorus director; Berkshire Pulse for dance classes; and Dewey Hall in Sheffield for drama. We help to clean the Housatonic River Walk, spend a week working on a farm, serve in a soup kitchen, invite local speakers to weekly forums, and visit artists’ studios. We travel to Boston, New York, Maine, and Montreal to visit museums, film festivals, historical exhibits, and science programs. And every other year we travel to Germany and Peru for three weeks of cultural exchange.
3. We aim to provide access for each family that wishes to attend our school. Although we are an incorporated institution, we operate according to a flexible co-op model of schooling. Some families pay full tuition and more; others pay very little (all pay something). Some teachers work for almost nothing; others are paid as much as we can afford. We’re all in this together. You could say we are a small, community-supported “organic farming” model of educational practice, not an agribusiness.
4. As an independent school, we stand on our own feet. We are happily independent from the Great Barrington Rudolf Steiner School, and this independence has helped us to grow stronger and to be a better, more flexible and attentive school than we would have been had we continued as an extension of the Steiner School. Some day we may seek to reunite with the Steiner School, but, for the foreseeable future, we value our independence. We are entering our 7th year, we have 21 students, we will graduate our 3rd senior class in June, and we have a great core faculty of 8 teachers. Parents pay tuition because they want their children here. We receive no money from the government.
5. We aim to grow—to double our enrollment in the next five years—but not to extend beyond sustainability. By graduating strong senior classes, by attracting larger 9th grades, and by opening to local homeschool families and those seeking a different education than standard public or private school models, or for those seeking an excellent Waldorf education in the Berkshires, we can reach this goal.
6. You can have it all—outstanding academic preparation for college and life; an education that seeks meaning and acknowledges creativity as central to human happiness; excellent fine and applied arts; physical education in play and work that includes healthy competition, self-development, and personal health; and responsibility toward the communities in which we live, from our own homes to the world as a whole. We rely on your generosity for support in order to continue to do what we love to do as well as possible. Please support educational choice, Waldorf education, and healthy adolescence in the Berkshires with a generous donation today. Thank you!
Help Support our school - Download the donation form
Help Support our school - Download the donation form
Great Barrington Rudolf Steiner School.
Why Waldorf Works
Rudolf Steiner e.Links
The Education Revolution
Simon's Rock College
Empire State Youth Orchestra
Qumoz.net - A business directory
