Honolulu Waldorf School celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. Established in 1961, we are a coeducational, independent school serving more than 300 children from early childhood through high school. The original Nursery through Grade 8 school is on a beautiful monkey pod tree-shaded campus in Honolulu’s Niu Valley. The expanded High School moved this school year to its permanent home on a lovely nearby oceanfront property in Aina Haina. Based on the educational insights of Dr. Rudolf Steiner, Waldorf education is the fastest-growing independent educational movement in the world, with more than 1,000 Waldorf schools on six continents.
Honolulu Waldorf School supports each child in his or her intellectual, physical, emotional, and spiritual development by offering a curriculum that integrates academic, practical, experiential, and artistic work.
The school honors and protects the wonder of childhood. It offers a safe, secure and nurturing environment. As students grow they are presented with opportunities to contribute to their community and implement positive change in their greater society.
Underlying its curriculum is a consistent philosophy of child development, which responds to the developmental phases of childhood rather than to the demands of the government or economic forces. The curriculum encourages creativity and free-thinking.
Honolulu Waldorf School offers a full academic program, with mandatory foreign languages beginning in Grade 1. Fine and applied arts, music, movement, and drama are a daily part of each child's experience. Community service commitments build from smaller projects for lower school students, to required hours of service to the school and the great community in the high school years. High school foreign exchange programs are encouraged and arranged. The school produces graduates who are academically advantaged, and who consistently gain admission to top universities.
Student Goals:
In each student, the Honolulu Waldorf School seeks to develop a healthy balance of the following capacities:
- Intellectual flexibility, independent thinking, and an unquenchable curiosity, all supported by a strong foundation of academic achievement
- A strong and creative imagination
- The ability to reflect inwardly in a careful and thoughtful manner
- The social skills and understanding necessary to live compassionately, responsibly, and with moral courage in the community of humanity
- Aloha ‘aina for our island home, and a feeling of stewardship and caring for the earth
- Joy in the ability to express her/himself through a variety of artistic experiences
- A healthy, coordinated, and active physical body
Honolulu Waldorf School is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, and the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America, and a member of the Hawaii Association of Independent Schools. HWS is a member of the Interscholastic League of Honolulu. Many athletes also participate through the Pac-Five team, and teams with other small schools. For more information on Waldorf Education please visit the Why Waldorf Works website.