Lake Champlain Waldorf School

  • 3.5
(3 reviews)
Lake Champlain Waldorf School
359 Turtle Lane
Shelburne,  VT 05482
(802) 985-2827

Ages: 3 - 14+

Cost: Kindergarten $6,600; 1st - 8th grades $8,975; 9th - 12th grades $14,575.

Parking: Yes

Features:

The Lake Champlain Waldorf School is part of the international, independent Waldorf School movement, committed to realizing the unique possibilities of each child. For more about their school philosophy, click here.

They offer three programs:

Preschool
Morning garden (3-4 year olds) and Kindergarten (4-6 year olds) programs center on creative play.

Grade School
Students in first through eighth grades are educated in a way that develops and balances all aspects: intellectual, emotional, physical and spiritual.

High School
The curriculum helps students engage with the world, offering an integrated curriculum that weaves the arts into an excellent and demanding academic program.

Additionally, they offer summer day camps for boys and girls ages 5 - 15 on their Shelburne Campus location.

0.3

3 Reviews

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Lake Champlain Waldorf School
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lilycanter

  • 1

Reviewed on 09/18/2008

I had great hopes at Waldorf for our two children. Unfortunately, while I think the pedagogy is to be admired (lots of hands on art, music, nature), etc., theory and practice often differ.

It's a lovely idea to have the same teacher through all grades, but my experience is that the teachers were not qualified to teach some of the more rigorous courses at the 6th, 7th & 8th grades such as physics, anatomy, upper level mathematics, and writing. In fact, teachers that were not Steiner trained filled in.

I also found the lack of supervision on the grounds and on trips (including foreign trips) to be very disturbing. The woods are not as benign as one would imagine - as one student who fell through the ice into the river one year would know. When we were there, students were allowed to run willy-nilly and teachers were not aware when conflicts and bullying occurred.

And, as a minor irritation, I did find a certain amount of hypocrisy. I had maintained a TV free household and looked forward delaying the exposure of some information to my children. I got the impression that as long as one paid the hefty tuition, no one would comment on what families let their children view or listen to, or how they repeated it at school.

Additionally, there is (to me) a club mentality. If you can afford to devote extra time to the school (because both parents don't need to work or have very flexibile schedules) then you definitely earn "brownie points" for yourself and your children from the community leaders.

I very much approve of the Steiner methods of teaching (even as I disagree w/ anthroposophy), but I felt the LCWS was imbued w/ varying agendas other than education and community building.
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Lake Champlain Waldorf School 0.3
Lake Champlain Waldorf School
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espenshade

  • 5

Reviewed on 09/09/2008

My children have been there for the past 9 years. I love the school and the parent community. The teachers are just extraordinary--caring, bright, creative, love to teach. My children thrive there and love going to school each day.

Lake Champlain Waldorf School 0.3
Lake Champlain Waldorf School
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whimsy

  • 5

Reviewed on 04/17/2008

Our experience at the Lake Champlain Waldorf school has been such a positive one. Both our daughters have flourished there and we have made many wonderful friends.The community at the school is such a strong and inclusive one with many opportunities for parents to be involved.

Lake Champlain Waldorf School 0.3