Wonder and Imagination in Rural Southwest Colorado

By Emily Capelin Palmer

I grew up in a rural Southwest corner of Colorado in a valley at the edge of mountains, desert, and rivers. Mother Nature’s diversity of landscape is at its best here–inspiring artists, farms, ranches, and outdoor education/wilderness therapy programs.

My parents were elementary school teachers in the 1970s, teaching in these rural cowboy towns. They grew up on the East Coast, moving out west to the wild places in adulthood. They fell in love with this rural Mancos Valley landscape and put down roots, founding Deer Hill Expeditions in 1985.

Their mission was to empower the individual to create authentic connection to self and community through wilderness and service experiences. Deer Hill has been hosting Waldorf School class trips for decades, with schools coming from all over the country for transformative river, service, and mountain hiking trips. 

People find this valley who are looking for community in an ever-faster modern world. We’re drawn to a deep sense of place here. We all wave as our cars pass by on these old roads, whether we know each other or not. This valley is a unique combination of time slowed in the intimacy of a small town (Mancos population 1300), and a vibrancy that artists and young farmers bring. 

There is life and growth here, and there is also depth of tradition with old ranching families on multigenerational farms and ranches. Mesa Verde fills our western skyline, speaking still further to the depth of history in this landscape. All of us value the connection that a strong community brings. 

Out of this backdrop, the Mancos Valley Dragonfly School was born in 2018. Eight pioneering parents and one grandparent came together with the common vision to create a school  for our children that would honor the unique wonder and imagination of their early childhood. I wanted a school for my two children that was held by community and by Nature.

Striving to build our school community within this diverse rural community in a population region that is learning about Waldorf principles, Dragonfly School sits tucked among farmlands and old growth oak and juniper trees just south of town. Children 2 through 6 years old in three classrooms come to play and learn here – in the Chickadee toddler Nursery, Bluebird Preschool, and Meadowlark Kindergarten. 

What we are building together–our families, our faculty, our children–is unique for this area. I remember a moment last fall at a whole school parent education night–when a new father (in worn ranch wear, and thick mud on his boots) spoke within the group circle, “I don’t know what you all are doing here, but it’s working. My daughter is more peaceful after being here for three weeks than I’ve ever seen her.” 

We are seeking colleagues to join our budding Early Childhood school who sense the importance of family, place, community, and the striving that is deep with our founding core. Join us! Please get in touch with me at info@dragonflypreschool.org.

Learn more about us at mancosdragonflyschool.org

Emily Capelin Palmer is the founding Board President, current School Director, mother to Olivia in preschool and Hazel in first grade, and wife to a Waldorf graduate.






Sound Circle Center Seattle Summer 2023 Courses

Meeting Today’s Children- A Course on Individualization and Differentiation

“What are today’s children asking from us as teachers?
What is different after Covid?
How can we engage all of our students?”


Nettie Fabrie and Wim Gottenbos, experienced mentor teachers, are hearing these questions in every Waldorf school that they have visited. They are excited to work with class teachers on ways to understand and meet the changing needs of students. Their answer is not through “blanket teaching,” but through individualization and differentiation!

How do we do that?   This will be the focus of their Summer Professional Development Course at Sound Circle Center, June 27-30, in Bellingham, WA. at the Whatcom Hills Waldorf School.

Nettie and Wim will share their general approach and also tailor their examples to grades that are represented by participants in the group and the specific needs of those teachers. All areas of the curriculum will be covered, including specialty classes and math and language skills. Participants will present, practice and work in groups. The activities and conversation promises to be potent and lively!

To register for this course please click here.

Teacher Training 

We are enrolling our new cohort of students in the Early Childhood and Grades teacher training starting this summer. These new students will join the 40 current students on a journey of personal and professional development. Applications for financial aid are due by May 15th and enrollment is open right up until we begin in late June. Learn more here. Come join us as we forge the path for the next 100 years of Waldorf education.

Professional Development Courses

We are registering currently practicing teachers into our summer professional development courses in Spanish, Cultural Consciousness in EC, Cultural Consciousness in the Grades, Differentiation and Individualization in class teaching, mini-intensives for the grades, and a 3 day Creative Speech course for teachers. See the description of courses here. Come join us as we dive deeply into the heart of educational practice 

Speech Training

We are sailing into our second year of our Speech training course with our first cohort and still have spaces for our second group to begin this July. This new first of its kind training program mixes 18 in-person days of speech, eurythmy and movement with weekly online practice seminars and 30 online mini seminars each year. Learn more here. Come join us as we grow a new group of speech artists and teachers for the Waldorf movement.

Board and Admin Courses

We are hosting five Leading with Spirit Professional Development courses for Board members, administrators, and school leaders. Two basic training for board members “Prepared to Serve” as part of our ongoing board training program, and three Art of Administration courses (two in-person (in Maine and on Whidbey Island), and one online) Learn more here. Come join us as we grow our capacities for building vibrant and resilient school organizations and communities. 

For more information, visit www.soundcirclecenter.org


 


Between Form and Freedom, Raising a Teenager   

By Betty Staley

When I wrote the second edition of Between Form and Freedom, Raising a Teenager in 2009, I thought it would be relevant for quite a while.

However, we could not have anticipated the changes that would come and how they would impact teenagers, teachers, and parents in the next decades.

The issues that teenagers face today are turning the world upside down. Topics such as autism spectrum, identity issues, screen dependence, adolescent depression and anxiety have become everyday issues affecting teenagers all over the world. Beyond these personal issues, many have lost two years of socialization through isolation during the pandemic.

They have taken refuge in the cyber world, seeking safety, but not really finding it because technology is both a useful tool and an escape. The concerns about climate change are deeply unsettling for this generation that has to live with the results of past generations’ behavior.

Political turmoil has shaken the ideas of what is acceptable behavior, idealism, and questions of truth lead them to ask, What is true?, what is real?, what is good? At the time when teenagers are entering the search for selfhood, the world around them is making the journey more and more arduous.

Yet there is hope. Neuroscientists have given us the benefits of their research so we can understand the importance of supporting the prefrontal lobe development of children and adolescents.

When we bring together neuroscience with the Waldorf approach, we have a powerful way of understanding and helping children and adolescents. However, we have to ask important questions that go to the heart of what it means to live in the twenty-first century. Old answers no longer work.

We – educators, psychologists, sociologists, therapists, and other helping professionals— have to work together. No one can meet this challenge alone. We are all engaged in partnership to bring home life, school life, and public life into an integrated whole.

Communities need to put an arm around children and teenagers, protecting and letting go as appropriate for each youngster. Nothing else will do.

This is why I wrote a new edition of Between Form and Freedom, Raising a Teenager. Readers have told me this book has become their partner in this  journey. For a quick overview of what is essential, I have added “ In a Nutshell” at the end of each chapter. 


Take a look inside the book and learn more here, along with purchasing details.

Between Form and Freedom
By Betty Staley
Hawthorn Press, 348pp.

 


Job Listings
 
***Click here to see all jobs at waldorftoday.com***


Education Director
Westside Waldorf School – Pacific Palisades, CA

Grade 1 Lead Teacher New Orleans 2023/2024
Waldorf School of New Orleans – New Orleans, LA

Waldorf Grades Teacher
Heartwood Charter – Fairfax, CA

Kindergarten Teacher for 23-24 School Year
Heartwood Charter – Fairfax, CA, USA

Grade 6 Class Teacher
Santa Fe Waldorf – Santa Fe, NM

5th Grade Class Teacher Fall 2023
Berkshire Waldorf School – Great Barrington, MA

3rd Grade Teacher
Marin Waldorf School – San Rafael, CA

Elementary Grades Teacher
Northeast Woodland – Conway, NH

First Grade Class Teacher at Richmond Waldorf School
Richmond Waldorf School – Richmond, VA

Waldorf Certified Kindergarten Lead Teacher for the 2023/2024 school year
Tucson Waldorf School – Tucson, AZ

Early Childhood Lead Teacher - Fall 2023
Boulder Waldorf Kindergarten – Boulder, CO

Music Teacher | 2023-2024 School Year
Austin Waldorf School – Austin, TX

Spanish Teacher Fall 2023
Berkshire Waldorf School – Great Barrington, MA

High School Math Teacher
The Waldorf School of Garden City – Garden City, NY

Full-Time High School Teacher beginning Fall 2023 Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Maine Coast Waldorf School – Freeport, ME

6th Grade Class Teacher- School Year 2023- 2024
Highland Hall Waldorf – Northridge, CA

Grades Teacher
Wildcat Canyon Community School – El Sobrante, CA

Lead Kindergarten Teacher
Mountain Laurel Waldorf School – New Paltz, NY

Assistant Early Childhood Teacher
The Mountain School – Corte Madera, CA

Grades Homeschool Teacher 2023-2024
Private Homeschool – Florida, US

Lead Teachers (Lower) - 4-Day School Week
Running River School – Sedona, AZ

Grade 6 Class Teacher
Santa Fe Waldorf – Santa Fe, NM

First Grade Lead Teacher
Living Oaks – Dripping Springs, TX

Lead Nursery Teacher
Maine Coast Waldorf School – Freeport, ME, USA

First Grade Teacher, 2023-2024 School Year
Housatonic Valley Waldorf School – Newtown, CT

Upper School Class Teacher (Planned Salary Increase!)
Mountain Phoenix Community School – Wheat Ridge, CO

Kindergarten Teacher 2023-2024
Cedarwood Waldorf School – Portland, OR

Credo High School Biology Teacher
Credo High School – Rohnert Park, CA

High School Math Teacher
Credo High School – Rohnert Park, CA

Elementary Class Teachers
Mountain Song Community School – Colorado Springs, CO

Mandarin Teacher
Marin Waldorf School – San Rafael, CA

First Grade Teacher at Pleasant Ridge WS
Pleasant Ridge Waldorf School – Viroqua, WI

First Grade Class Teacher 2023-24
Portland Waldorf School – Portland, OR

Grade 4 Class Teacher 2023-24
Portland Waldorf School – Portland, OR

6th Grade Teacher for the 23-24 school year
Sunfield Farm and Waldorf School – Port Hadlock, WA

Work in joy with us -- 3rd Grade Teacher 2023/24
Wishing Well School – California's Central Coast (Los Osos, CA)

Educational Support Teacher
Cedarwood Waldorf School – Portland, OR

Full Time Eurythmy Teacher
Cedarwood Waldorf School – Portland, OR

Lead Kindergarten Teacher
Swallowtail Waldorf School – Portland OR (Western Suburbs)

5th Grade Teacher
Swallowtail Waldorf School – Portland, OR

First Grade Teacher 2023-24
Wildcat Canyon Community School – El Sobrante, CA

$50k - $60k Lead Grades Teacher * 23/24 Year
The Waldorf School of Tampa Bay – Tampa Bay, FL

Lead Early Childhood Teacher
Wishing Well School – California's Central Coast (Los Osos)

Fourth Grade Class Teacher 2023-24
Waldorf School of Lexington – Greater Boston, MA

First Grade Class Teacher 2023-24
Waldorf School of Lexington – Greater Boston, MA

The Waldorf School of Garden City seeks a Middle School Handwork and High School Fiber Arts Teacher
The Waldorf School of Garden City – Garden City, NY

The Waldorf School of Garden City seeks an Early Childhood Lead Teacher
The Waldorf School of Garden City – Garden City, NY

High School History/Humanities Teacher | 2023-2024 School Year
Austin Waldorf School – Austin, TX

High School Director
Austin Waldorf School – Austin, TX

Grades Lead Teacher - 2nd & 4th (2023-24)
Stone Bridge School – Napa, CA
 




 























































 

Waldorf Job Openings

Just click here to see all the current job postings.




 


Waldorf School of Saratoga Springs to Close High School

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — Citing “low enrollment over a number of years and a need to refocus energies on developing other programming,” the Waldorf School of Saratoga Springs announced it will close its high school after the completion of this school year as the independent, private learning institution re-brands itself to focus on serving pre-K to eighth-grade students.

In an email, Waldorf School Administrator Astrea Ravenstar said the move is a major step forward for the 122 Regent St. school, established in 1981.

“The Waldorf School has been a hallmark of the Saratoga Springs community for over four decades,” Ravenstar said in the email. “Rebranding our school and refocusing our mission will ensure that we are able to provide Waldorf education to the region for decades to come.

The interest and enthusiasm for our Early Childhood and Grade School programs at this time is astounding, and while the closing of the high school is very emotional for many of us, it is balanced by the strength and growth of our other programs.”

According to the release, the recent news comes in the wake of recent initiatives and accomplishments, including:

• Expanding Early Childhood Programs: For the 2023 – 2024 school year, the Waldorf School will provide full-day and half-day Mixed-Age Kindergarten classes, Preschool classes, and Caregiver-Child Playgroups at two locations: Forest Campus on Kaydeross Avenue West and Early Childhood Center on Lake Avenue.

• Lower School Program Expansion: The Waldorf School is undergoing revisions to strengthen programming and build upon the artistic and academic
rigor the school is known for including Pre and Early Literacy renewal, enhanced Middle School Curriculum, and Afterschool Program development. Regents tests will be offered to eighth-grade students to help prepare them for the Advanced Regents diploma in high school, should they choose to take that route.

• Rebranding: The Waldorf School of Saratoga Springs is rebranding itself as a PreK-Grade 8 institution that will continue to grow and expand in its new form, prepare for a changing world, and the next decade of Waldorf Education in Saratoga Springs.

“As has always been in our school’s 43-year history, our community — with its deep passion, commitment, and vision — will be the true source of the strength of our school as we move together into the future,” Board President Richard Frank said in the release.

“We are grateful for the commitment, care, and dedication of our community of friends, colleagues, and students that allows us to continue to bring Waldorf education to families in Saratoga Springs.”

According to its website, the Waldorf school was established “by a group of parents and educators dedicated to Waldorf education. They wanted to offer students a developmentally-aligned curriculum that educates their whole being — mind, body, and soul.

Over the years our school has expanded from its humble beginnings into an elementary school and high school, and is now proud to be the only independent K-12 school in Saratoga County.”

Its mission, according to the website, “values the healthy development of the whole individual in mind, body, and spirit. Through a focus on academics, music, art, and movement, our bountiful curriculum — based on established and evolving Waldorf principles — inspires creative thought, discourse, human connections, and experiential learning. We graduate global citizens who have initiative, social responsibility, and enthusiasm for life.”

More information about the Waldorf School of Saratoga Springs can be found at www.waldorfsaratoga.org.

The Waldorf School of Saratoga Springs will re-brand itself to focus on serving pre-K to eighth-grade students. (Photo by Lauren Halligan)
The Waldorf School of Saratoga Springs will re-brand itself to focus on serving pre-K to eighth-grade students. (Photo by Lauren Halligan)

from the Saratogian


 


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