Everyone Has a Role

Waldorf schools are known for having governing structures that include parents, faculty and community members in a non-hierarchical framework. At the Santa Cruz Waldorf School, teachers and staff meet weekly to conduct school business. A smaller group of faculty and staff serve on the College of Teachers. Parents are organized in the Parent Association. The Board of Trustees is a representative body composed of parents, teachers and at-large community members. There is no headmaster or principal. The governance structure of the school is, thus, horizontal rather than vertical.

The Board of Trustees

The Board is responsible for the financial and legal well-being of the school and is the legal embodiment of the not-for-profit corporation that is the Santa Cruz Waldorf School Association. The Board is also the representative body that includes both parents and teachers in decisions that affect the school, and may include members who are neither parents nor teachers. Elections for parent representatives are held prior to the All School Annual Meeting held in March of each year.

The Faculty

The faculty is composed of individuals with varied social, geographical, and educational backgrounds. Full time teachers have studied anthroposophy and Waldorf education. They continue to study together on a practical and philosophical level during weekly meetings. Beginning teachers receive support and guidance from mentors, as well as from visiting master teachers. Part-time specialty teachers and staff join the faculty in meetings designed to balance intellectual, artistic and practical endeavors. Together with parents, teachers work on festivals, programs, and committees that nurture and fulfill the ideals of the school community.

The Parent Association

The Parent Association is the principal vehicle for parent involvement in the school beyond parent attendance at class meetings and school activities. All parents of students at the school are automatically members of the Parent Association. The Parent Association enriches the social, economic, and cultural health of the school through its support of class teachers and class activities, all-school festivals, fundraising, social and educational events, and our libraries and gardens.

The Parent Association is led by a Parent Association Council (PAC), which consists of at least one parent from each class at the school. Monthly PAC meetings are open to all interested parents at the school. These PAC meetings serve as both a time to learn about activities in various classes and as an organizational meeting to coordinate upcoming festivals and events.

Parent Involvement in the Classroom

Each class at the Santa Cruz Waldorf School is unique and every class teacher offers parents opportunities to help in classroom and outdoor activities throughout the year. Help is often needed in gardening, painting and handwork classes. As children progress through the grades, field trips often add to the richness of the curriculum. These field trips are one excellent way in which parents can contribute to class work. Each class usually selects one Class Parent to help support individual class teachers and another one to serve as representative at the Parent Association Council meetings.