Distinctive Learning
The Waldorf School of Louisville Settles Into New Surroundings
Photography Provided
If youve taken a run, walked your dog, or sat with a cup of coffee on a bench in Seneca Park lately, you may have noticed the new tenants at 3110 Rock Creek Drive. In August of 2021, The Waldorf School of Louisville (WSL) began welcoming students from pre-K through grade 8 to their new campus in the heart of St. Matthews.
Rudolf Steiner, the philosopher and social reformer who founded Waldorf education, believed that our highest endeavor must be to develop free human beings who are able of themselves to impart purpose and direction to their lives. This belief, that the paramount responsibility of educators is to empower children to become agents of positive change who live up to their fullest potential, is a guiding force at the school.
Like other Waldorf Schools around the world, WSL is nondenominational and serves students from a variety of backgrounds. The inclusive atmosphere and whole-child approach has been providing children with a unique curriculum that blends the arts with rigorous academics for almost 30 years. Since the first Waldorf school opened more than 100 years ago, this style of education has spread all over the world, with thousands of Waldorf schools operating globally.
Louisville got its own Waldorf School 30 years ago, when the original and well-loved campus opened in Lyndon. Founded in 1993 by Janey Newton and Robin Dulaney, the school applies the Waldorf philosophy of educating through imaginative play, art and developmentally appropriate curriculum to fully foster the growth of students own unique talents, strengths and capabilities. The Newton family has deep ties to anthroposophy, Waldorf education and biodynamic farming, all established by Steiner in the early 1900s. As Louisville families began to experience Waldorfs holistic and arts-infused approach to education, there was a natural cultivation of positive word-of-mouth referrals, resulting in a thriving community that recently began to grow beyond the capacity of its original walls.
Welcome to the Neighborhood
We knew right away what a fantastic opportunity it would be to move our operation to the heart of St. Matthews, says Sasha Caufield, WSL parent and board chair.
With such an intense focus on outdoor play and exploratory learning activities for children, the proximity quite literally a stones throw from Seneca Park made moving into the former home of Christian Academy a smart fit for the growing organization.
In Waldorf education globally, the curriculum often includes school gardens and horticulture study, science observation and environmental work, camping and hiking experiences, unstructured free play, and multiple opportunities for outdoor class time in other subjects. School campuses, even in large cities, prioritize access to green space.
The Waldorf educational method, with its heavy emphasis on outdoor instruction and innovative classroom practices, was well-suited to adapt to a fully outdoor model during the 2020-2021 academic year, allowing the school to safely remain open through the pandemic. The schools small class sizes, larger campus and focus on outdoor learning opportunities has garnered attention from parents who were looking for alternatives to remote learning last year.
Unstructured time outdoors brings challenges and experiences so beneficial that they cannot be replaced by any other activity. Whether for play, observation, appreciation, scientific exploration or purposeful activity, time spent in a natural environment is essential to learning and child development. WSL leaders make outdoor time and environmental appreciation a central part of the educational experience.
Once the relocation was official, parents, alumni, faculty and students rolled up their sleeves and got to work transforming the indoor and outdoor spaces for academic and specialty work. All over the world, Waldorf schools are designed to have a signature look and feel, emphasizing calm, beauty, natural light and natural furnishings.
Throughout the entire process of relocating to St. Matthews, our community demonstrated their commitment to us in extraordinary ways, says Madyson Haskins, development and volunteer coordinator. From helping us to raise vital funds for our new outdoor imaginative play yards, loading and unloading boxes of silks and puppets, to cleaning cardboard and mixing compost for our biodynamic garden beds, our community went above and beyond. It was so inspiring to see different members of our community come forward to lend a helping hand. Generous grandparents built a gnome house for our pre-K play yard, young alumni helped paint classrooms in the traditional Waldorf lazure technique, and current students kept the volunteer morale high by passing out watermelon slices.
Putting in the work to welcome students at the new location after more than a year of turmoil in the world at large was well worth the effort, especially when the students returned with smiles on their faces, almost like they were coming home.
Great Students, Great Neighbors
The extended-family feeling of a Waldorf community is by design, and the WSL staff is proud to offer one of the smallest teacher-to-student ratios in the greater Kentuckiana region. Safety, trust, and exposure to a wide variety of subject matter and experience allows students from all backgrounds to find their unique path to success. The expansion of the school has also allowed the introduction of a variable tuition program, lowering barriers and increasing accessibility to private education for families in Louisville. At Waldorf, standardization is never a focus, and long hours of homework and impersonal lessons are abandoned in favor of fostering a slower and more in-depth understanding of subject matter. The result is that graduates become more compassionate individuals with a greater sense of social responsibility who are able to creatively apply critical thinking and problem-solving skills in many diverse fields.
Waldorf graduates have become notable contributors to the fields of architecture, film, biochemistry, engineering and journalism, and have also even been Nobel Prize winners.
We aim to grow free-thinking, compassionate individuals, capable of healthy relationships and who are actively engaged members of society, says Teacher Ed Hardy, who is an alum of Kentucky Country Day School, which was located at Rock Creek in the 1970s. It feels both strange and wonderful to be back in these familiar spaces. Much has remained the same, but it feels now that the halls are filled with the warmth and promise of these young students, learning by such a different method. In our endeavors at our new campus, we aim to be good neighbors, and to educate and grow good neighbors too. Were so happy to have a home in St. Matthews.
For more info, visit waldorflouisville.com.
Admissions are open on a rolling basis. To schedule your tour, visit https://www.waldorflouisville.com/admissions-process/
