“The healthy social life is found when in the mirror of each human soul the whole community finds its reflection, and when in the community the strength of each human soul is living.”
— Rudolf Steiner
Maple Village Waldorf School has its home in one of the most diverse cities in the United States. We welcome the wide array of cultures, races, economic backgrounds, cognitive variations, religious affiliations, abilities, gender identities, and sexual orientations represented in the body of our faculty, staff, parent/guardians and students. We value this multiplicity and consistently work to ensure that the population of our school reflects that of our community, and we strive to cultivate an multicultural curriculum that reflects and meets our students with respect, relevance, cultural awareness and inclusion.
Maple Village maintains collaborative relationships with diverse community groups locally and globally. Our faculty and staff are committed to teaching respect for everyone. All children receive stories of people and cultures from across the globe in an intentional and developmentally appropriate manner, mindful of true history. Teachers actively work to see each child in front of them to ensure they are represented in the curriculum, activities, and classroom materials.
We acknowledge that some of Steiner’s writings contain racist ideas. Our school wholeheartedly rejects these, and they are not a basis of our curriculum or pedagogical approach. Our curriculum offers students both a window into the experiences of others and a mirror to reflect on their own lives. We know that the work of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is a journey, and that we may not always get it right. Waldorf education teaches that individual work toward conscious evolution and the pursuit of truth are necessary for human development.
We celebrate our diversity through seasonal festivities that contribute to the integration and stability of our community. These festivals and holidays help to renew our awareness of the rhythm of the year and relationship to the earth, while reminding us of the commonalities between us.
We are committed to engaging and nurturing the whole child resulting in a balance of heart, mind, body and spirit. Our work in diversity, and inclusion provides an environment that helps usher into the world well rounded individuals – learned, inwardly confident, responsible, and self-motivated – with reverence for others and their environment.
Land Acknowledgment
AWSNA Statement of Inclusion & Equity
The Association of Waldorf Schools of North America recognizes the historic and ongoing impact of racism on our continent and the injustice and discrimination faced by Black, Indigenous and People of Color. We understand that inclusivity and equity is a journey of both moral and educational imperative. As such, we take seriously our responsibility to bear witness to what is happening in the world, to center the voices of color in racial justice work, to change the course of inequities, and to identify and break down structural racism in all forms where it exists, particularly in Waldorf education.
Waldorf education espouses principles of respect for human dignity. Any narratives or indications made by Rudolf Steiner that are in contradiction to these principles are not the basis for Waldorf education and we unequivocally denounce such statements.
We know that we have far to go as an association and as individuals in our understanding of racial oppression and social justice. Advancing the principles of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) is one of the compelling forces behind AWSNA’s strategic priorities. These priorities make equity and inclusion central to our work and aim to bring us closer to the world that we want for our youth.
The AWSNA executive team is spending more time than ever asking the following questions:
How do we participate, consciously or unconsciously, in systemic racism?
What meaningful actions will we take in service to the leadership and agency of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color?
Where are the possibilities for each of us to prioritize racial justice in our work to further Waldorf education?
How do we actively engage in anti-racism both personally and professionally’?
We invite you to join us in exploring these questions and in elevating your own commitment to social justice.