SLIDE 1
August 17, 2010
THE INSTITUTE FOR SOCIAL RENEWAL www.socialrenewal.com
SLIDE 2 The First Waldorf School
- Original impulse – social renewal
- One of principles – school open to all children
Waldorf Education Today
- One main challenge – including children from all
economic levels Accessible to All (ATA) Approach
- Makes Waldorf education accessible to all children and
families
- Works in harmony with the social mission and
Fundamental Social Law
SLIDE 3
Waldorf School of the Peninsula implemented the first Accessible to All (ATA) tuition approach in 1993. There are now twenty four schools in the United States and Canada and one teacher training center working with this model.
SLIDE 4 State School California Davis Waldorf School, Santa Cruz Waldorf School, Sierra Waldorf School, Valley City Waldorf School, Waldorf School of Mendocino County, Waldorf School of Orange County, Waldorf School
- f the Peninsula, Waldorf School of San Diego, Waldorf School of Santa Barbara, Waldorf
Institute of Southern California (Los Angeles and San Diego branches) Colorado Denver Waldorf School Idaho Sand Point Waldorf School Michigan Detroit Waldorf School Minnesota Spring Hill Waldorf School North Carolina Emerson Waldorf School Oregon Waldorf School of Bend, Oregon; Corvallis Waldorf School; Swallowtail School Vermont Orchard Valley Waldorf School Virginia Charlottesville Waldorf School Washington Sunfield Waldorf School Wisconsin Three Rivers Waldorf School Canada London Waldorf School, Trillium Waldorf School, Kelowna Waldorf School
SLIDE 5 Social and Spiritual Ideals
- Alignment with social mission of Waldorf education
- Greater accessibility and enrollment
- Improvement in communication and relationship with parents
Practical Reasons
- Under-enrollment
- Loss of families
- Deficits
- Danger of closing
SLIDE 6
! Overview and assessment of school including identifying
problem areas
! Introductory weekend workshop ! Training weekend workshop ! Follow-up with ATA Schools
SLIDE 7
! ATA Committee training ! Enrollment and ATA application process ! Review of application and documentation ! Scheduling of conversations ! Preparation for conversations ! Conversations and consensual agreement on tuition contribution ! Review and monitoring of program
SLIDE 8
Genuine interest Listening and empathy Picturing Letting go Co creating Sharing of gifts Letting come Awakened understanding Abundance - Sufficiency
Community Individual Presence Open Mind Open Heart Open Will
Co-evolving
SLIDE 9
! Community connection, understanding, and involvement ! Inclusiveness and accessibility ! Greater transparency and communication ! Higher enrollment ! Increased fundraising potential ! Positive factor in teacher recruitment ! Ability to keep some schools from closing
SLIDE 10 General
- Change in economy
- Tuition income down
- Lack of best practices in areas of finance
Specific to ATA
- Slippage of inspiration due to changeover in leadership and
lack of training
- Time involved for conversations and administrative process
- Finding and organizing conversationalists
- Striving for a balance of the needs of school and family
SLIDE 11 Schools that work most successfully with ATA and experience the maximum benefits of this approach have strengths in the following areas:
- Alignment of groups within the school in the areas of governance
- Consciousness of the school’s mission and purpose as central to
practices
- Ability to work with anti-social forces in working toward social
ideals
- Associative approach in conversations—appreciating each
individual
- Development of imagination and inspiration in conversations
- Commitment of administrative resources to support ATA process
SLIDE 12
! Teleconferences based on topics requested from schools ! A "best practices" handbook for ATA schools ! Access to sample documents from schools on website ! Development conversations and fund development training
SLIDE 13
THE INSTITUTE FOR SOCIAL RENEWAL www.socialrenewal.com
