Waldorf schools are an expanding international, independent school movement. The first Waldorf school opened in Germany in 1919 when Rudolf Steiner, Austrian scientist, philosopher, and educator, was asked to create a school for the workers' children at the Waldorf-Astoria factory. He responded by designing a curriculum that educated the whole child--through the head, heart, and hand.

Founded in 1980, the East Bay Waldorf School is one of over 900 Waldorf schools in more than 60 countries. It is situated on a beautiful 11-acre campus on the edge of Wildcat Canyon in the East Bay hills of the San Francisco Bay Area. In addition to early childhood parenting classes, the East Bay Waldorf School offers a full K-12 curriculum.

Waldorf education develops lifelong creativity by cultivating:

• Inner enthusiasm for learning;

• Rigorous, clear thinking;

• Respect and appreciation for the world;

• Initiative and responsibility.

The uniqueness of the Waldorf approach lies in how the students are taught. Whether the subject is arithmetic, history, or physics, the class or subject teacher brings life to knowledge through vivid descriptions and characterizations which heighten students' curiosity and engage their feelings. The teacher leads the students into painting, music, writing, rhythm, drama, experiments, poetry, drawing or movement to stimulate their imagination and strengthen their memory.

The students focus on one subject for several weeks during an extended morning lesson (main lesson), which allows time for understanding to merge with experience. In this way, what is learned will live in the student.

Our Teachers

• Value each student's unique talents and needs

• Create a warm, cooperative environment.

Our Students

• Develop a love for learning through discovery, that continues into adulthood

• Build self-assurance by learning through experience.

Our Curriculum

• Integrates the sciences, humanities, mathematics, music, movement and the arts to develop creative thinking.

Our Graduates

• Are valued for their thinking ability, initiative and enthusiasm

• Attend a diverse range of colleges and universities.

Waldorf education balances artistic, academic and practical work, educating the whole child in heart, hand and mind. Its innovative methodology and comprehensive curriculum, permeated with the arts, address the student's changing consciousness as it unfolds, stage by stage. Imagination and creativity are cultivated as well as cognitive growth and a sense of responsibility for the earth and its inhabitants.

In February 2007, the East Bay Waldorf School received full accreditation from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) and the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America (AWSNA) for the maximum term of six years. The school welcomes students of any color, race, gender, or sexual orientation, and all ethnic, national, cultural, social, or religious backgrounds.