Waldorf Country!
Welcome! Berkshire Waldorf School (Great Barrington, MA) and Berkshire Waldorf High School (Stockbridge, MA) are “sibling” schools. Together, we offer a holistic Waldorf education to support your student’s healthy learning and growing from toddler to teen.
Our campuses are located in neighboring towns, within the glorious natural beauty of the Muhhekunneuw (Mohican) homeland of Western Massachusetts, equidistant from both New York City and Boston. Most families commute to our schools from Northern Litchfield (CT), Southern Berkshire (MA) and Columbia (NY) counties. Many have relocated to the area to join our learning community.
Start Here, Go Everywhere: Intro to First Grade
If your child will be 6 by September 1, have we got a treat for you! Come meet Class Teacher Mabel Albert at our First Grade Open House on Flag Day, June 14, from 8:00-9:30a in the First Grade classroom at Berkshire Waldorf School. Ms. Albert will introduce herself and the Waldorf Grade School curriculum at 8:30a, followed by a tour of the School and grounds. All welcome. Come experience what learning with joy can mean for your student. To RSVP, email Admissions Director Robyn Coe at admissions@berkshirewaldorfschool.org.
Berkshire Waldorf School
Berkshire Waldorf School includes the Early Childhood program (Toddler, Nursery and Kindergarten, 18 months through age 6) and Grades program (First through Eighth Grades, ages 6-14). In 2021, Berkshire Waldorf School celebrated 50 years of Waldorf education in the Berkshires by inaugurating our new three person Leadership Team.
- With 32 acres of forests, meadows, playing fields and gardens, bounded by the Green River, there are plenty of “outdoor classrooms” at BWS. Students spend a lot of their day outside.
- The Betty Szold Krainis building provides indoor classrooms for Early Childhood classes, and the Grade School building, built around a classic Berkshires timber frame barn (now the Jean Zay Memorial Library), welcomes Elementary and Middle School students.
- Learning spaces also include art studios, an auditorium which is both theater and community gathering space, a science lab, playing fields and biodynamic gardens.
Berkshire Waldorf High School
Berkshire Waldorf High School (Grades 9-12, ages 14-18) offers Honors-level, college preparatory academics. In our “small school, big world” model, students are also well-integrated into the larger community, including:
- Classes and workshops in renowned artists’ studios
- Use of local labs and gyms
- Performances with Shakespeare & Company
- Field trips to events and museums in the Northeast
- International travel
Click here to learn more and contact BWHS.
Waldorf Education
Rudolf Steiner founded Waldorf education in 1919, built on his insights into human development. His perception of “education as an art” means that our teachers fit the curriculum to meet the children. Whether the subject is arithmetic, history, or physics, Berkshire Waldorf School teachers create lessons that resonate with their students’ imagination and experience.
The goal? To educate the whole child by appealing to mind, body and spirit. Berkshire Waldorf School teachers work together to engage, integrate and balance their students’ thinking, feeling and doing. For example, students learn math at Berkshire Waldorf School through academic skills and practice, movement, choral singing, playing an instrument, house building and knitting, among many other dynamic and practical applications.
Waldorf education is a proven means of lighting a fire for learning that lasts a lifetime.
BWS at a Glance
- Independent Coeducational Day School
- Toddlers through Grade 8
- Founded in 1971
- Governed by Board of Trustees, Leadership Team
- Accredited by Association of Waldorf Schools of North America (AWSNA) and Association of Independent Schools of New England (AISNE)
- Full Member of the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America (AWSNA) and Waldorf Early Childhood Association of North America (WECAN)
- Additional Programs: Parent-Child, After School Music, After Care (pending post-Covid), Summer Program (planned reopening Summer 2023)
- Two Buildings on 32 acres
- Current enrollment: 200+
- Part of the fastest-growing independent school movement, with more than 1,000 Waldorf schools worldwide
BWS Mission Statement
Berkshire Waldorf School cultivates students’ academic, emotional and spiritual development through our unique curriculum. We provide students with the foundation to live up to their full human potential, creating lives of meaning and purpose that positively contribute to our world.
We accomplish our mission by:
- Instilling in students a love of learning, a sense of wonder, an appreciation of beauty, and a connection to the natural world.
- Following a curriculum based on the developmental stages of human beings as described by Rudolf Steiner.
- Attracting excellent teachers who are committed to their own professional and personal development, and giving each teacher the freedom to work creatively within the Waldorf curriculum.
- Working cooperatively with parents to facilitate continuity between school and home.
- Actively participating in the time-tested, world-wide tradition of Waldorf Education that integrates the humanities, sciences, and practical and fine arts.
Diversity & Inclusion
Berkshire Waldorf School welcomes and celebrates diversity. We believe cultural, economic, religious, racial, learning style, gender identification and expression, sexual orientation, national and ethnic diversity make us stronger. We prize empathy and collaboration as means to change the world for the better. Our students, teachers, administrators, trustees and parents join in the active practice of inclusion, starting at the focal point of our unique Star Code. Berkshire Waldorf School intentionally works to build a diverse community where all children and families are cherished for their intrinsic value and potential.
