After experiencing staffing and financial difficulties, the Sun Haven Waldorf School in Roberts Creek closed down in June – but a small group of society members are keen to see it reborn.
Sarah Schacte-Marshall is one of a handful of people investigating options, one of which could include a donor gifting some land or a building to the school.
“I have heard that a lot of other Waldorf schools have donated land and buildings, which makes a big difference,” Schacte-Marshall said.
Waldorf schools operate outside the regular school system and are funded at half the level of public schools, requiring them to charge tuition in order to pay their staff.
Sun Haven charged most of its students a reduced tuition during its 14 years on the Coast, Schacte-Marshall said, so that the school could be accessible to everyone.
That wasn’t an issue when there were over 70 students enrolled in kindergarten to Grade 5, but at the start of the last school year, there were just 35 students enrolled.
That, coupled with rising hydro costs and the loss of three teachers due to health issues and their children aging out of Sun Haven, spelled the closure of the school in June.
“We almost closed twice during the school year, but we didn’t. We were a small school but we were determined to keep open for the sake of the families we served,” Schacte-Marshall said. An anonymous donor ultimately kept the school afloat during the 2015-16 school year.
Schacte-Marshall is now looking to the public to see if there’s an appetite to restart the school in the future.
It won’t be an easy task as the school doesn’t have any start-up funds and would have to attract new teachers, but Schacte-Marshall is hopeful others on the Coast believe in the Waldorf vision and will want to support the school.
Waldorf education was established by Rudolf Steiner and Emil Molt in 1919 and is rooted in anthroposophy.
According to the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America: “At the heart of anthroposophy is the belief that humanity has the wisdom to transform itself and the world, through one’s own spiritual development. To that end, Waldorf education holds as its primary intention the ideal of bringing forth -– in every child – his or her unique potential in a way that serves the further development of humanity. The curriculum, pedagogy, and teaching methods are designed to nurture this potential.”
Find out more about Waldorf education at www.waldorfeducation.org.
If you would like to help re-establish Sun Haven on the Coast, contact Schacte-Marshall by email at [email protected]
