"Our highest endeavour must be to develop free human beings who are able of themselves, to impart purpose and direction to their lives." ~Rudolf Steiner
Founded by Rudolf Steiner
Pine Forest Charter School, made possible in 1995 by Arizona Charter legislation, is modeled upon the Waldorf approach to education in an effort to make available to Northern Arizona families a successful edu cational system previously found only in private school settings.
Waldorf education was founded in Germany in 1919 by Dr. Rudolf Steiner, educator and philosopher. Born out of a social impulse after World War I with the intention to nurture all dimensions of the human being, the first Waldorf School opened at the Waldorf Astoria cigarette factory in Stuttgart for children of the company’s employees.
The goal of Waldorf education is the development of the whole child. The curriculum is based on the emotional, social, psychological, cognitive and physical development and is a truly comprehensive balance of academic, practical, and artistic activi ties. Teachers are dedicated to generating an enthusiasm for learning within every child.
Waldorf education offers the following:
- Multi-sensory environment
- Encouragement of active learning
- Rich humanities curriculum
- Sciences taught experientially
- Site based management
- 2 foreign languages taught beginning in Kindergarten
- Strong multicultural and interdisciplinary emphasis throughout grades
- Teacher remains with the same class from grade multiple years often 1-8
- Large share of administrative responsibility for school in hands of teaching faculty
- Largest independent educational movement in the world