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Front Range Waldorf School turned out to be exactly the school we were looking for. I started my son in another school when he was 3 ½. When I picked him up at the end of his day and he would habitually whine and scream in reaction to something before we could make it into the car. He was defiant and unhappy much of the afternoon and evening. Magically, during the two-week winter break, his former personality resumed and we decided to remove him from that school. We looked for another school that would attend to him with the same kind of attunement and love that we provide at home. Right from the start at FRWS, his demeanor was relaxed, happy and full of joyful energy when I picked him up after school. We have been enchanted with the education and care provided to him and to our four-year-old daughter who attends there now too.
Nancy Goodman, mother of Gabriel age 7 and Jordan age 4
We feel very lucky to have found FRW. Our children were in public school for three years. When I pulled them out they were high anxiety, over-stressed kids who hated going to school. Their school, by the way, was a top performer in the state in terms of "testing" standards. We also tried charter schools, but found a double problem, first the school districts still have a stranglehold over the charter school's curriculum, testing etc. Second, there are so many families looking for alternatives to public school, the charters and their teachers are fairly overwhelmed. We didn't have any better luck with charter schools.
Now at FRW I have two children who beg to go to school, who are happy easy-going, and intrigued with every aspect of what they learn. Moreover, I am extremely pleased that my children have foreign language class - both German and Spanish - during school four times a week. Along with this, FRW includes violin, recorder/flute depending on the age, drama, dance, handcrafts and painting by outstanding teachers during the day. We don't run from activity to activity like many of the public school families I know the second school gets out, and I feel my children are more enriched. When it comes to the basics, I am also very pleased.
Waldorf education differs in theory from that of traditional schooling, but after being involved both as a teacher and having kids in public school, my very strong feeling is that this is a good thing. My children learn with hands-on methodology. Their teachers are very attuned to how they are learning and adapt their methods to work with each child. Finally, the families at FRW are very supportive and it is a great community. We love being here!
Lynne Howard, mother of Jordan age 9 and Natalia age 10
Why are my children here and why do I intend for them to stay for the grades? My hope for my children is that they be happy and successful - successful in their personal lives, their professional lives and in following their bliss. With the pace of change of the world today, I have no idea what specific type of skills or knowledge they will need. I do know, however, that in order to succeed they will need to be innovative, flexible thinkers who are confident enough with themselves to follow their intuition and their heart. They will need to love learning their whole lives to keep up with the changes the future holds for them. And, they will need to have the self awareness of their own passions to avoid society's narrowly defined definition of success. No school besides Waldorf can help me make this hope a reality.
Catherine Johnson, mother of Serena age 4 and Lily,19 months old
Why do I send my daughter to The Front Range Waldorf when there are free public schools all around us? There are many good reasons, like the quality learning materials, or the true art all around her, or the rich fairy tales which make up her main lessons. Then there are the wonderful teachers who, knowing how children grow and develop, invite her deeper into learning. And there is the community surrounding not only my daughter but my whole family. Yet more than all of that, she is here because I want her whole being to be educated. I want her to be educated in compassion and collaboration as much as in arithmetic and reading, open to beauty and creativity as much as to an ability to work a 9 to 5 job, aware of what she brings to this world and what the world brings to her. Counter to our culture and the role it has decided upon for education, I want her to uphold truth, beauty, and love before materialism, competition and isolation, to be truly free.
Angie Dancer, mother of Lorien age 6 and Bo age 2
Of all things, our interest in Waldorf was sparked by the attendance by my husband at a professional development course in upstate New York. The founder of the course was Waldorf educated and many of the facilitators had children in Waldorf schools as well.
In a nutshell, the course dealt with looking at the world with new eyes and trying to make sense of it. As we grow up, we try to find meaning in the world. Unfortunately, there are many instances in our modern world where things simply don't make sense, particularly to a child. In order to make sense of it, we may place a false belief on it and carry it on into our adult life, in many cases denying us the ability to achieve our true potential and happiness.
Our second grader, Alex, went to Kindergarten at a public school. It was readily apparent that the administration was more interested in enrollment and academic performance than the development of the child as a whole. Alex was frustrated and unhappy.
When we heard that there was a Waldorf school in our area, we quickly went and attended the informational meeting. After some consideration we decided, with the assistance of the school, that our son would benefit from attending Kindergarten again to recapture that portion of his childhood. It was one of the best decisions we ever made.
Alex is much more at ease with himself and less stressed out. He is developing a love of learning and a desire to do things well. His Kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Hartman, and his grade school teacher, Mr. Cantrell, have demonstrated that they have a deep understanding of Alex and his needs and make attempts to meet him where he is at that moment, not whether or not he is "performing up to expectations." They let us know where things are going astray, and let us know what we can do together to get things on the right track. I appreciate their honesty and dedicated interest in our child.
Waldorf education is helping Alex prepare for the adult world in a manner that addresses his needs at those stages in his development where he is best able to understand them. He is developing an understanding and appreciation for his world and his place in it, most importantly, it is being done in a manner which he can truly make sense of and understand. I have no doubt that he will become a truly well adjusted and happy adult, no matter curve balls the outside world throws at him.
Jim Knox, father of Alex age 7