Comox Valley Waldorf School Closing
The CVWS Board has made the difficult decision to close our school at the end of the 2019-20 school year. To learn more about how this came to be, please read this article.
However, there are a group of dedicated parents that are eager to start a new version of our school and keep the Waldorf community alive. If you are interested in learning more, please join our mailing list by filling out the form below.
However, there are a group of dedicated parents that are eager to start a new version of our school and keep the Waldorf community alive. If you are interested in learning more, please join our mailing list by filling out the form below.
Our application process includes time for parents to get to know our school as well as our Waldorf educational philosophy and curriculum. When considering a new student, we seek to meet the needs of the child as well as continuing to meet the needs of the children in the class. The process for new families involves the following steps:
Curative Education Information
Waldorf education is inherently an integrative education. Comox Valley Waldorf School has limited resources for meeting specialized needs. We are willing to meet with families to assess whether we are able to meet the needs of a child with special requirements. Applicants for admission with a diagnosed learning disability and/or a current IEP will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. In determining what learners we can serve, we recognize our capabilities and limitations and our wish to meet each student’s needs with integrity.
As part of the Comox Valley Waldorf School enrollment conversation, parents are required to share any information from previous assessments. During the course of the admission process, the teacher may recommend further assessment from the Curative Education teacher on staff or an evaluator outside the school. The teachers will decide whether the student’s needs can be met within the range of the school resources and policies. Some students will be able to be successful at the school when they have support provided outside the school. While our approach appears to offer benefits to students with learning challenges (education through multiple modalities and emphasis on art and music), it has been our experience that the children who thrive in our environment are those who enjoy learning, do well in an auditory learning environment, are responsive to artistically rendering what has been presented orally in the lessons, can work independently and in groups, and can accept responsibly.
Few teachers at our school have extensive training in working with children with learning disabilities or emotional or behavioural challenges. Our resources for supporting special needs are limited and that, in turn, limits the range of needs that we can meet and the number of children with special needs we can effectively teach. Comox Valley Waldorf School must ensure that efforts to serve particular students do not impose undue hardship on teachers or detract from other students’ opportunity to learn.
Enrolled students requiring additional academic or social support may be identified in a number of ways including but not limited to: by teachers, the Curative Education teacher, a doctor, or by parents. While teachers may provide extra help on a short-term basis parents may be asked to provide additional support through outside services. A collaborative approach is taken in assisting teachers and parents in finding the additional support needed. At any point in the student’s schooling, if it appears that the student’s needs cannot be met at the school, there will be conversations with the parents over time, with the final decision resting with the school.
As part of the Comox Valley Waldorf School enrollment conversation, parents are required to share any information from previous assessments. During the course of the admission process, the teacher may recommend further assessment from the Curative Education teacher on staff or an evaluator outside the school. The teachers will decide whether the student’s needs can be met within the range of the school resources and policies. Some students will be able to be successful at the school when they have support provided outside the school. While our approach appears to offer benefits to students with learning challenges (education through multiple modalities and emphasis on art and music), it has been our experience that the children who thrive in our environment are those who enjoy learning, do well in an auditory learning environment, are responsive to artistically rendering what has been presented orally in the lessons, can work independently and in groups, and can accept responsibly.
Few teachers at our school have extensive training in working with children with learning disabilities or emotional or behavioural challenges. Our resources for supporting special needs are limited and that, in turn, limits the range of needs that we can meet and the number of children with special needs we can effectively teach. Comox Valley Waldorf School must ensure that efforts to serve particular students do not impose undue hardship on teachers or detract from other students’ opportunity to learn.
Enrolled students requiring additional academic or social support may be identified in a number of ways including but not limited to: by teachers, the Curative Education teacher, a doctor, or by parents. While teachers may provide extra help on a short-term basis parents may be asked to provide additional support through outside services. A collaborative approach is taken in assisting teachers and parents in finding the additional support needed. At any point in the student’s schooling, if it appears that the student’s needs cannot be met at the school, there will be conversations with the parents over time, with the final decision resting with the school.