Anti-Discrimination

WIWS would like to reaffirm our commitment to creating and nurturing an inclusive, diverse and welcoming community for every student and family. We stand in support of each and every WIWS student and family, irregardless of race, immigration status, religious affiliation or LGBTQIA+ identity. We love and honor all of our students and families and feel blessed to have you all in our community.

Wait Pool

Any application received after the class has reached maximum enrollment will be placed In Process. No child will be added to the waiting pool without first successfully completing the admissions process.

Should an opening arise, you will be contacted. The child’s name will remain in the waiting pool until they are enrolled, or the child’s removal from the list following refusal of an opening offered. Please contact us periodically for the waiting pool status.

Generally, the school utilizes the following criteria to determine the wait pool ranking:

  • First Priority: Students already enrolled in Whidbey Island Waldorf School have first priority for the subsequent year. Re-enrollment agreements, tuition deposits, and an initial payment are typically due February 28 of each year.

  • Second Priority: Siblings of currently enrolled students and faculty members wishing to newly enroll their child.

  • Third Priority: Students who have attended other Waldorf Schools, have a commitment to Waldorf education and/or who have been enrolled in our Polliwog Caregiver and Child program for at least one program session.

admissions/Student Support Group

Every enrollment application is considered individually and carefully evaluated with regards to the child and the class as a whole. The reviewing teacher must consider whether they have the resources to adequately serve each potential student. It may be that any particular Waldorf school will have neither the staff nor special resources to adequately meet the needs of students with severe difficulties. However, any given school may accept a child with any range of challenges if the faculty believes the child will do well at the school with proper supports in place.

Waldorf schools hesitate to categorize children, particularly in terms such as "slow" or "gifted". A given child's challenges in one area, whether cognitive, emotional or physical, will usually be balanced by strengths in another area. It is the teacher's role to try to bring the child's whole being into balance.

WIWS supplies Title 1 tutoring in language arts and perhaps math to the Grades students. The school may require families to find additional supports - ie a one to one aide - for their child in the classroom. Additional tutoring might also be required by the family.

Correspondingly, a child who picks up the material quickly might be given harder problems to work on, or might be asked to help a classmate who is progressing more slowly.

If you are concerned about your child having a delay in language, motor, social-emotional development or you suspect learning difficulties that may affect their ability to learn, please also see here for very helpful information through the South Whidbey school district: https://www.sw.wednet.edu/school-programs/special-education/child-find

Social Inclusion

Social Inclusion is a multi-faceted approach to preventing and relieving social isolation. It involves the whole community – a “village spirit” of teachers, parents, and students that tends to the social health of our school and its members. It aims to foster a felt sense of inclusion, vital to our children’s development – indeed vital to the soul and spirit of our community.

Whidbey Island Waldorf School is committed to healthy and successful students and healthy social relationships among students, teachers and all members of the school community. This value is reflected throughout the curriculum and implicit in the working of the school.

Our school has adopted a student support process based on the social inclusion work brought to us by Kim John Payne, who is respected worldwide for his work in helping children navigate challenge as well as conflict through a no blame approach. To learn more about how are school supports Social Inclusion, please see our Parent Handbook.

Parent Engagement

Parent engagement is the life-blood of our school. Whidbey Island Waldorf School relies on parents to volunteer regularly to fulfill classroom and teacher needs. Our dedicated parents and guardians fuel the energetic engine that manifests our committee work, festivals, outreach and fundraising, and provides support for the teachers in creating special experiences for our students.

Everything you do matters and contributes to the vitality and strength of our school and community. We expect that families will volunteer regularly to the best of their ability.

Other Expectations for Parent Engagement

Whidbey Island Waldorf School relies on its Annual Giving Campaign, Spring Fundraiser, and other fund raising efforts to supplement tuition revenues and cover basic operating expenses in its annual budget. We depend on each family to support these activities to the best of their ability.

Whidbey Island Waldorf School expects parents to keep informed regarding classroom and school activities; this requires regularly reading teacher and class coordinator emails, emails from the administrative office, and the bimonthly newsletter.

Whidbey Island Waldorf School can best meet the needs of the children when parents educate themselves regarding the curriculum and the Waldorf philosophy and approach. The school provides numerous opportunities for that self-education, including regular class parent meetings, the Annual All-School Meeting, the Open House and Curriculum Tour, and guest speakers and workshops. We expect that parents will attend such events to the best of their ability.

Attendance

Our curriculum is created to promote a rhythmical unfolding of the day, the week, and the year that then allows learning to take place in a balanced way. Because of the experiential nature of the Waldorf lessons, it is difficult to fully “make up” work missed. By promoting regular attendance, we allow the student to experience what has been designed for him or her.

Missed Work

In Grades Four through Eight, missed work from absences, regardless of whether the absence is excused or not, must be fulfilled. A student who has not made up missed work will receive an “incomplete” in their block or year-end report. It is the responsibility of students and their parents to obtain missed work from the teachers. Students who are not able to make up missed work will receive an “incomplete” on their school transcript. Excessive absences (excused or unexcused) could result in a loss of credit for the year.

Tardiness

To support the rhythmic life of each student, on-time arrival to school is imperative. To begin the school day as a unified whole is a committed effort that profoundly affects the habit life of the class and the individual student. This effort will help the students establish good habits, a rhythmic relationship to time, and a strong will that can serve them in their educational journey. WIWS tracks and follows up on attendance and tardiness concerns.