Accreditation

Accreditation supports the school in its endeavor to provide a quality educational experience for all students. The accreditation process engages the school in assessment, planning and implementation. The self-study is the product of an extensive process that began by focusing on the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America’s Shared Principles, then was expanded to include Western Association of Schools and Colleges’ high quality criteria for an effective educational program. Our self-study process has been inclusive, thoughtful and insightful. The faculty, board of trustees, staff, parents, students and focus groups spent many hours discussing, brainstorming, analyzing and assessing all aspects of our school. The self-study process helped us identify our strengths and challenges and was used to develop an action plan that addresses our future growth needs.

At the meeting of the AWSNA Accreditation Review Committee held in May 2003, our school was granted a seven-year provisional term of accreditation. In June 2003 the WASC Accrediting Commission for Schools granted us a six-year term of accreditation. Waldorf School of the Peninsula is the first Waldorf school in California to receive full membership and the highest levels of accreditation from both AWSNA and WASC in the same year. Accreditation certifies to other educational institutions and to the general public that an institution meets established criteria or standards and is achieving its own stated objectives.

Association of Waldorf Schools of North America

The Association of Waldorf Schools of North America (AWSNA) is a non-profit tax-exempt membership organization, currently recognizing as full members thirty-seven Waldorf schools (sometimes called Steiner schools) and four Waldorf teacher-training institutes. Beginning in 1965 as an informal group of eight such schools, AWSNA became a legally constituted association in 1979. Over the years, it has grown in proportion to the growing number of Waldorf schools in North America. In addition to the full members, there are an additional fifty-five schools and institutes affiliated with AWSNA as spon-sored or federate members.

The primary purpose of AWSNA is to aid each member and affiliated school to improve the quality of the education it offers. The Association seeks to support and encourage the work of schools whose teachers are committed to working out of Rudolf Steiner's philosophy of education. This educational philosophy seeks to address the full and harmoni-ous development of the child's spiritual, emotional and physical capacities, so that he may act in life as a self-disciplined and morally responsible human being. Since its inception, AWSNA has extended advice and encouragement to Waldorf schools in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

A secondary purpose of AWSNA is to function as an information source and focal point for persons or organizations that are interested in knowing more about Waldorf education as it is developing in North America. Through surveys, questionnaires and other means, AWSNA strives to maintain current information that is useful to the public; through newsletters and publications this information is shared with all interested parties.

Waldorf schools have doubled in number during each of the last three decades. This rapid growth and the continuous overwhelming demand for Waldorf education bring challenges for the future: the need to increase teacher recruitment and training; the ability to provide continuing education for teachers; research into child development; and securing the fi-nancial resources necessary for each school's stability and growth.

AWSNA delegates from each member school meet twice yearly to undertake the business of the association, share ideas and discuss emerging challenges. A Chairperson coordinates the work of AWSNA in concert with officers and Regional Chairs, and in conjunction with the board of trustees. Specific tasks are frequently assigned to committees. AWSNA participates in a worldwide network of schools and institutions.