Philosophy & Mission

Origins

The Denver Waldorf School

In April 1919, scientist, philosopher, and educator Rudolf Steiner agreed to establish and to direct a school for the children of the workers in the Waldorf Astoria cigarette factory in Stuttgart, Germany. Steiner’s goal was to establish an education with a culturally rich, age appropriate grade-level curriculum that would educate the body, soul, and spirit of children. The school was intended to be independent from state interference and to educate boys and girls together, open to all wishing to attend, and inclusive of children of all economic backgrounds. The teacher was to be free to teach in association with a circle of colleagues, and the school affairs were to be “self administered.” Steiner intended Waldorf education to focus not only on what knowledge must be acquired to enter society, but also to awaken latent capacities in children that would bring new forces and impulses into society.

“We shouldn’t ask: what does a person need to know or be able to do in order to fit into the existing social order? Instead we should ask: what lives in each human being, and what can be developed in him or her? Only then will it be possible to direct the new qualities of each emerging generation into society. Then society will become what young people as whole human beings make out of existing social conditions.” Rudolf Steiner

One motto of the education that he gave for teachers was: “Receive the children in reverence, educate them with love, and send them forth in freedom.” Since the founding of the first school, Rudolf Steiner Waldorf education has become a global independent school movement with more than 900 schools worldwide.

The Denver Waldorf School strives to work in a manner that is consistent with the principles of the first Waldorf school. One of the main challenges for Waldorf schools in North America is finding a way to include children from all economic levels, while at the same time maintaining Waldorf schools as independent and self-administered. Our school actively works toward achieving the goal of becoming a source of social change through its striving to become truly “accessible to all”.

Philosophy

Waldorf education values soul moods through which learning unfolds: wonder, awe, devotion, gratitude, compassion, and trust. The ability to recognize beauty, to discriminate between right and wrong, to carry out a chosen course of action, are the qualities consciously cultivated at The Denver Waldorf School from early childhood through adolescence. True education is about transformation – the gradual unfolding of faculties and capacities – which take the individual beyond tradition and the conventions of our time. Today’s students will become tomorrow’s initiators of cultural progress. We believe that a lifelong love of learning and a curiosity to ask deep questions are vital to this process. Our graduates leave school with clear, independent thinking, feelings of empathy and creative activity, and ultimately strength of will that propels them toward moral courage and social responsibility.

Mission Statement

Founded on Rudolf Steiner’s humanitarian curriculum, The Denver Waldorf School awakens and inspires students’ critical thinking, emotional intelligence and artistic expression, preparing them to bring relevant contributions to the world.

About DWS

The growing child is the heart of our work. Our school is a community of children, teachers, parents, community leaders, family and friends joined in a celebration of life and education.  Founded in 1974, The Denver Waldorf School is a non-profit, independent, co-educational school for toddlers through 12th Grade. We are located in central Denver in the Congress Park neighborhood just east of the Botanical Gardens.  The Denver Waldorf School welcomes students of all socio-economic, religious and ethnic backgrounds from throughout the metropolitan area. We educate our students to become free thinking adults who are able to impart purpose and direction to their lives and who will offer new solutions for the problems of our age.

We strive for intellectual freedom, artistic creativity and a sense of social responsibility. Graduates of The Denver Waldorf School carry with them into the world the developed capacities of wonder, gratitude and integrity out of which they are able to serve the larger community with flexible thinking, moral courage and skillful, purposeful work. We are concerned with the transformation of education itself. We consistently explore, train and develop ourselves and share and foster such growth in those around us.

The faculty and staff of The Denver Waldorf School are made up of courageous women and men who serve as a model of partnership and cooperation. We are dedicated to the conscious evolution and development of the whole human being.

We are a full member of the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America and provide a full Waldorf education program.