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A challenging high school education
Grounded in the classics, academic courses at 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. Waldorf graduates benefit from a base of interdisciplinary knowledge from which they may pursue any passion in any direction.
An integrated curriculum
Our faculty fine tunes the curriculum so that it has a rhythm and harmony as it builds year by year through the high school. Teachers meet frequently to discuss what is being taught in each class, so that references and connections can be made between subjects. This integration of courses fosters students' appreciation that true understanding is reached by many roads.
An approach grounded in adolescent development
The curriculum reflects awareness of the developmental journey of adolescents and their quests for identity, independence, and purpose. Each year, our students study themes that resonate with their individual growth; each year's focus building on previous years. With a curriculum designed around students' developing consciousness, we feed and balance their intellectual, social, physical, and spiritual growth.
Main lessons
The heart of the Waldorf approach is the main lesson, an uninterrupted one and one-half hour concentrated class at the beginning of each school day. Specialist teachers lead the students through a rich array of main lesson subjects in the various academic disciplines. With three to four weeks dedicated to each main lesson, our students take time to explore every subject in the context of its history, culture, and impact. Primary source materials, rather than textbooks, bring students directly to the great and enduring ideas of mankind. Field trips deepen students' understanding with firsthand experience. Independent research extends classroom discussions.
For homework, students return to their main lesson topics as they amplify, condense, restate, transcribe, and illustrate their reading and reflections in main lesson books. The books may include references, research, essays, creative writing, scientific observations, charts, maps, and artistic work, and are both a record and a culmination of their study. These books become valuable resources and cherished creations, kept and referenced by students for years.
Track classes
All students attend eighteen 45-minute skill classes per week, covering English and mathematics, American studies, global studies, foreign languages, and music. Also, each student takes three one and one-half hour classes per week in the fine arts, practical arts/electives, and physical education. These classes ensure that upon graduation, students have the knowledge and skills to succeed in college and other post-secondary pursuits.
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