Amazing school in Pacific Heights. Two foreign languages are taught from first grade - Spanish and…read moreMandarin. The children learn through ways that help them develop memory and concentration as well as social manners. Computers are not used in the classroom. People misunderstand anthroposophy. It is a nonsectarian approach without the pressure of a church and practiced to be inclusive of all students' religious beliefs.

This school played a very large part in destroying my life…read more I attended the waldorf grades school from k1-8th grade and transitioned to the waldorf high school after (all while paying full tuition). Due to some unfortunate events based on false allegations I was asked to leave the waldorf high school during my sophomore year. I lost all of my friends, everyone i had known for the past 15 years where ripped away from me. I remember crying in the principles office not being able to accept the words she uttered.. I remember my mom driving me home, it was silent in the car except for the sound of my tears dropping onto my northface. Since that day I was an outcast to the community I once called home. The waldorf school ruined my life, but everyday, I am healing from the wounds it left me.

We are blown away by our shadow day/application experience at this school…read more First of all, let me say that gaining entry into private schools on the peninsula in the Bay Area is not for the faint of heart. The process with all of these schools has been completely grueling overall, so I have nothing but love and deep appreciation for the schools who met us with kindness and handled our family situation with care. This school is a phenomenal choice. After struggling initially with a couple of private schools, we steeled ourselves and made it our mission to engage wholeheartedly in the process. We applied to five top notch schools and our daughter got into all five of them! It can be done. Alongside one other school, Waldorf was tied as top choice. The teacher moves through all grades with the class until 8th, and wow--Mrs Sykes is a quintessential teacher!! The arts program is so powerful and strong, and kids emerge deeply talented and capable. Childhood is kept intact, and academics are rigorous. This school produces well-rounded humans, no doubt. It was painful to decline the offer, but we ultimately decided that another school fit our family's current journey slightly better. Marginally. Finally, I want to acknowledge Jaime in the admissions office. She was so responsive, kind, knowledgeable, and passionate! I wish I knew the name of the other two women we interacted with--one beautiful human behind the desk in the front office, and another who sat through our parent interview. Again, simply lovely humans. I am including he body of the email we received in response to declining. This is such a classy, humble, kindhearted, and generous way to respond. I'm sad to say that we now know firsthand that this is not the way that all private schools in this area treat people--not even close. We are so grateful! Please check out Waldorf!

Our family has had a wonderful experience at Waldorf School of the Peninsula. My son started in…read moreNursery and is now in 5th grade, and we're planning for him to continue all the way through 12th grade--that's how much we value this school. He genuinely loves going to school every day, which says so much. The teachers truly care about the students in front of them--not just academically, but as whole human beings. They are attentive to each child's development and also thoughtful about the class dynamic as a whole, creating a supportive and nurturing environment. The curriculum is incredibly rich and diverse. From math and English to music, gardening, handwork, world languages, arts, and games, the education is well-rounded and engaging. It fosters creativity, critical thinking, and a real love of learning. We feel very grateful to be part of such a warm and inspiring community and highly recommend WSP to families looking for an education that nurtures both the mind and the heart.

My children have attended The Waldorf School of the Peninsula for the past four years. While many…read moreof the teachers are caring, dedicated, and deeply invested in their students' growth, the same cannot be said for the school's leadership and administration. Unfortunately, the administration is dysfunctional, lacks transparency, and demonstrates poor alignment in priorities and resource allocation. The school has a large population of neurodivergent students, yet the current educational support structure is alarmingly inadequate. This year, the entire "educational support team" for the Mountain View campus (grades 6-12) -- consisting of ONLY one learning specialist and one counselor -- has been stretched even further to cover the Los Altos campus (grades Kindergarten-5). The administration claims to have a "robust educational support team". However, a staff of 2 people is far from robust and is completely insufficient to serve the needs of the entire school (Kindergarten - 12th grade). Despite my repeated efforts to raise this concern with the administration, they failed to take any meaningful action. While the teaching staff genuinely care about their students, the lack of administrative competence and adequate support services significantly undermines the school's ability to meet the needs of all learners. There are many excellent public and private schools in the area that are far better equipped to support diverse students. Your child deserves that level of care and commitment.

I am a student who attended multiple private schools and public schools, usually,…read morepublic school: 6th grade: 6th grade math, pre algebra if you pass skip test 7th grade: pre algebra, algebra 1 if you pass skip test 8th grade: algebra 1, geometry if you're good enough private schools, like stratford and challenger: 6th grade: pre algebra 7th grade: algebra 1 8th grade: geometry waldorf: 7th grade: pre algebra 8th grade: algebra 1, pre algebra if you fail too many test or is struggling so Waldorf is clearly behind in math. They just give a book to read for English, and they don't give you a standardized curriculum for testing , and most topics like grammar(phrases, part of speech), reading comprehension and vocabulary is not included. They don't even have history class. Science class is just doing science experiments that don't follow a standardized course. Not only they don't have a standardized course but the experiments are usually something to learn a long time ago, eg refraction or reflection. On top of behind in most classes, they also spend too much time on arts, music, dance that are optional classes to take in high school. And they have a fundraising thing for 8th grade that took up all the time for learning and it is mandatory. So Waldorf, therefore is not a good place to spend your time and money on if you're serious about education, GPA, and getting into a good college

We are a new Waldorf family and my son's a 9th grader. What an amazing experience WaldorfHS has…read morebeen for us. When we visited last year, I felt the curriculum and opportunities(foreign exchange, class trips) sounded wonderful but still wasn't sure how my son would fit in- as the school is smaller. However- the school's been fantastic on all fronts- including the social aspect. Though smaller, there's a welcoming & friendly vibe between all students. I think my kid has MORE friends than he would at a much larger school where he'd hang with the same 2 or 3 kids daily. Teachers care about the kids and "see" my kid for who he is. The academics are amazing & yet the workload isn't overwhelming. Meaningful project assignments & plenty of available support from teachers when needed. HW load comparable to most privates- but not excessive. He has plenty of downtime & isn't staying up until 11pm doing HW. I'd absolutely recommend this school & SF Waldorf HS school has surpassed expectations.

I don't know if the word negro is a joke within books being produced out loudly. If this is about a…read morebook, teaching or not, the word negro shouldn't be replaced with anything else or misused. This truly misguides student who are not Black and encourages them even more to think that word is okay while being used in school books and teaching context.

Words can't express how happy we are that our children (2 boys) have been here at SCWS since 2012…read more I'll share about both academic development and social development. Our kids are flourishing and being cared for as individuals, as opposed to following a regimen determined by testing standards. Some parents are worried about the academics, because reading happens later than in public school. But what they might not know is that the children learn to fall in love with letters and stories, prior to learning to read. I had a concern, but our second grader is now reading beautifully and easily. The early math lessons are more advanced, as they learn how to add, subtract, multiply and divide a number, all at the same time. They also learn the spelling and Roman numeral while they're learning how the number is used. In other words, they have context for what they're learning, so it has meaning (and is therefore more easily retained) vs. just memorizing a set of numbers. Every time I have a parent-teacher conference, I can feel the true love and care for our children. Our boys have developed deep friendships already with other children whose families have similar values. Each of our boys carries a level of confidence and self-assuredness that we believe would be stamped out my well meaning teachers and potentially other children who are modeling what they watch on TV. I understand there were issues with SCWS in the past, with funding and with some administrative policies (or lack thereof). Parents of older children shared mixed reviews...But I believe this issues have been straightened out and SCWS is a wonderful school and community we are proud to be a part of. If you're a parent who wants to give your children a true childhood, where they aren't exposed to violence, too much stimulation through media that is way too mature for them, and a commitment to the development of your child's spirit, SCWS is the place to be.

0/10 would not recommend. Lots of child abuse, lacking qualified teachers, and termite poop in all…read moreclassrooms. Pretty awful place.

Our son attended for 7 months and just graduated. He definitely loves his time here…read more The lead teacher, Cindy, is incredible. She's warm, professional, and our 2-year-old was always excited to see her and can't wait to hug her. I love that they prioritize healthy / organic food. Handmade bread is always our son's favoriate. They are very open for communication and taking feedbacks. There is a great variety of cool activities every day, and weekly themed projects to keep active toddlers busy. So glad we found this place for our son!

I love every art project brought back by my little one!! Not only learning knowledge, but also my…read morelittle one has been learning kindness. After the school teaching the phrase "I love you" and the "heart" body gesture, expressing "I love you" has become the good night routine for our family:)

I attended Summerfield for thirteen years, and my education prepared me exceedingly well -- not…read moreonly for college and law school, but for life itself. In many ways, SWSF served me better than higher education: the academics were rigorous in a way that required genuine thinking and original ideas, rather than the passive reproduction of others' thoughts. I learned how to collaborate with people different from myself, a necessary skill in any job. My teachers challenged my assumptions and helped me grow as a writer, mathematician, and scientist -- and as a human being. The arts and music, although no longer central to my daily life, broadened my perspective and made learning feel beautiful and meaningful. I am deeply grateful for this education and for all the paths it has allowed me to travel.

Please take the two negative reviews with a big grain of salt. Clearly these families are upset…read morewith their experiences, but it's extremely misleading and incorrect to say that this wonderful school does not value diversity or is some kind of cult. I am a parent of a child there and I couldn't be happier. This school is oriented around Waldorf methods of education, which are all about honoring and supporting the diverse experiences and opportunities of a natural childhood for all children, and minimizing the homogenizing cultural effects of screens and media that are around us all the time. What's more diverse: 20 kids doing 10 different things outside in trees or fields, or 20 kids all talking about the same video game? Families are encouraged to embrace this approach to support their children's growth, and to avoid putting children in a position where they may feel tension or conflict between school and home. It can be distracting and disruptive for kids to come to school talking obsessively about superhero movies or video games when they can instead focus on the biodynamic farm on campus, sing songs, do handwork projects, learn to walk on stilts, or create games together using the natural materials around them. There's even a circus program available for kids. This approach inspires children to be creative, curious, and engaged with the world around them; to develop confidence and practical skills; to minimize peer pressure to conform with unhealthy standards of popular culture; and to avoid the proven negative impacts of screens and social media. Everyone in the class benefits when families are willing to make efforts to embrace this approach, regardless of the extent to which they are successful; and, while there is always some variation in the degree to which families adhere to these principles at home, the school and the school community warmly welcome all families who are choosing Waldorf methods for their children. For anyone who values the Waldorf approach in their child's school experience, there is no better place than Summerfield.

The high school is exceptional. The classes are small with faculty who are both incredibly well…read morequalified (many have PhDs or other terminal degrees in their fields) and are incredibly kind and caring. No one is a number here. Faculty and staff know students well and are very invested in students' intellectual and emotional growth. The school has a wonderful theater program and everyone who wishes to participate may. This is also the case for all other extracurricular offerings -- Speech and Debate, Athletics, etc. I don't think enough people are aware this wonderful school is here, and that needs to change. This is the kind of school that changes and enriches your life.

It'a an amazing school with great teachers and a beautiful campus! I go to school there and it's…read moresafe to say it's one of my favorite places. Any chance I get to stay after school I try and take.Love this school so much!