The Humanities, Mathematics and Computer Science, Physical and Life sciences, Foreign Languages and Foreign Exchange,
The Arts, Physical Education and Athletics, Community Service, Work Experience, Electives and Senior Projects,
Student Evaluation and Reporting, Student Activities, The Faculty, Advisors and Counseling, Athletic Director and Coaches,
Outside Experts, Waldorf Graduates

High school students are searching for truth. Waldorf high school education offers adolescents the guidance and inspiration they seek in their pursuit of their emerging ideals. The faculty and staff of the high school understand that adolescence is a time when young people seek to be met by teachers who recognize that each student is crossing over one of the great thresholds of life. The journey they are embarked upon is one of life's most profound and will ultimately lead them from childhood into adulthood.

Who am I? How can I make a difference in life? These questions are central to the adolescent, and the Waldorf high school helps students find their own answers by addressing their cognitive, emotional, and social needs in a way that guides them towards responsible adulthood.

While the life of the mind is the central focus of the high school, life as a whole is never far removed. The quality of thought the teachers seek to engender in the students is imaginative in nature, warmed by enthusiasm for life - a perceptive thinking, able to see the whole in the parts and the practical in the ideal. Our aim is to graduate young adults who can view them-selves and others with equal measures of compassion and objectivity.

THE HIGH SCHOOL CURRICULUM - Click here for tabular summary

The Waldorf high school provides students with a comprehensive curriculum that focuses on developing the life of cognition. During each year of the high school a different cognitive faculty is trained: in ninth grade it is the powers of observation, in tenth the powers of comparison, in eleventh those of analysis, and in twelfth synthesis. As in the grade school, the arts play a role equal with the academics.

The Humanities

For adolescents' their personal struggles for freedom and individuality frequently find reflection in pivotal events of history and the spiritual struggles portrayed by the great authors of literature. Through engaging in thoughtful and deeply felt discussions with teachers and peers, high school students are able to come to an understanding of not just the events and personalities of the past but the universality of human experience. By learning to write in a variety of styles-the critical essay and research paper, the short story and the poem-high school students are able to hone their critical thinking skills.

Mathematics

Mathematics demonstrates the mind's ability to discern truth in the intangible. The challenge of a truly creative mathematical education is to make the conceptual world concrete, practical and artistic. In addition to the traditional computational aspect of mathematical studies, the students learn how to construct artistically beautiful representations (models) of complex concepts.

Physical, Life and Computer Sciences

The study of the sciences trains students to observe carefully and think clearly about the world before them. By starting with the physical or chemical phenomenon itself and the questions raised through that experience, students work and think towards theoretical explanations, instead of from them. In the life sciences the cultivation of an appreciation of the human being's need to work in partnership with nature is as important as the acquisition of knowledge. Laboratory work is an intrinsic part of the science curriculum. In computer science the logical foundations and fundamentals of programming are explored, and each student is introduced to the principles of word processing and graphic design.

Foreign Languages

Students are required to take four years of either Spanish or German unless special educational circumstances dictate otherwise. The goal of our language program is to develop a living connection to another language, one that goes beyond basic reading and conversational skills and fosters an appreciation for the literature of a foreign culture.

The Arts

In conjunction with the aesthetic sensibility that guides the study of all subjects, courses in the performing, fine and practical arts are integral to a student's course of study. Classes in painting, drawing and sculpting; choral and instrumental music, including improvisation; theater and eurythmy (an art of movement); woodworking and furniture making; blacksmithing and casting; ceramics and basketry; and papermaking and bookbinding are offered on a block basis. Over the course of their high school education, students produce many beautiful and functional works of art. It is also expected that each student be privately studying either voice or an acoustic instrument.

Physical Education and Athletics

All students are required to participate in the physical education program. A variety of gymnastic, team sports and movement arts are offered on a rotating block basis. The school provides opportunities for extra-curricular, interscholastic, competitive team sports. Cooperation, fair play and the pure joy of playing are fundamental values of our athletic program.

Community Service

Our Community Service Program provides both the individual and the group an opportunity to connect with and contribute to the wider community in a personally and socially meaningful way. Ninth and tenth graders spend one afternoon a week for approximately half a year working in a volunteer capacity either on campus or at service- oriented programs around town. Eleventh and twelfth graders fulfill their required 20 hours of community service per year on their own time.

Work Experience

Each year every student in the high school spends two weeks working in a variety of off-campus settings. The purpose of this program is two-fold: firstly, we want every individual to experience a type of work they may never choose in life so as to learn to appreciate the contributions of the many people who perform the various types of work necessary to our society. Secondly, we want them to have the opportunity to explore possible career choices. In ninth grade each student works on an organic farm, experiencing the hard physical labor that is needed to supply a community with food. Tenth graders work with craftspeople or trades people in the setting of small factories, bakeries or similar businesses. The eleventh grader's experience is in human services: old age homes, children's shelters, schools or hospitals. Seniors create their own work experience.

Electives and Senior Projects

Starting in ninth grade students may elect either choir or orchestra, and Spanish or German. Subject to interest and in consultation with the faculty, twelfth graders may choose some academic electives. Seniors do projects of their own design, which they present to the school community in the spring.

Student Evaluation and Reporting

The faculty encourages internal motivation and expects that students show an interest in the world, a love for learning, and respect for themselves and their classmates. Written reports and letter grades are prepared for each main lesson block, and letter grades are compiled for the continuing programs on a mid-semester basis. Extensive reports are sent home at the end of each semester.

Student Activities

A wholesome feeling of comradeship is encouraged between all students in the high school. Assemblies, class and all-high school meetings offer opportunities to develop communication and listening skills. A student council, with representatives from each class, provides further opportunities to develop social, organizational and leadership skills through the planning of dances and other cultural events, and meeting in dialogue with the faculty on issues of student concern. A variety of extra-curricular clubs and performance groups are sponsored by the school. The cultural life of the whole school community with its rich festival life also offers the high school students the opportunity to feel a part of a warm, multi-generational community.

The High School Faculty

Each high school teacher is an active expert in his or her field; academic faculty hold a minimum of a master's degree. The high school faculty works together on the development and implementation of all aspects of school life. Through their mutual striving for a harmonious, collegial school environment, the faculty hopes to provide the students with a working model for their own relationships in life.

Advisors

Each class has at least one class advisor, who ideally accompanies the class through the four years of its high school experience. These interview potential students, help integrate the class as a social whole and oversee the whole class' responsibilities and tasks, from daily chores to their role in school events and festivals. Ninth and tenth graders each have an academic advisor, who meets with the student as guidance is needed. This person may be called by the student or by parents (or guardians) with questions or concerns about the student's academic progress.

Counseling

Beginning in eleventh grade the counselor helps each student formulate his or her post-secondary plans, including some preparation for the PSAT and SAT and potential career options. This counselor is also available for personal support.

Athletic Director and Coaches

Through interaction with the athletic director and the volunteer coaches, the students learn good sportsmanship and citizenship, along with athletic skills.

Outside Experts

Through community service, work experience, field trips and visiting teachers, the students are able to establish productive relationships with a wider circle of adults than directly available on the faculty. For their senior projects, seniors are required to seek a mentor who is an expert in the selected field.

Waldorf Graduates

Waldorf schools have a worldwide reputation for presenting the world with graduates who are positively oriented and morally responsible young people. Waldorf graduates are resourceful, productive, flexible and clear thinking individuals who mature into intellectually and emotionally healthy adults, whether they choose to go on to college or pursue an alternative, career path in society.

For a list of the Colleges and Universities attended by Austin Waldorf Alumni click here.

To view slide-show from the alumni class of 2003 click here.

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