Testimonials & Quotes

“Yuba River Charter School knew what its mission was from its inception: to bring a quality Waldorf-inspired educational program to the children of Nevada County regardless of financial circumstances. As the first Waldorf-inspired public charter school in the United States, it has been an award-winning model of how charter schools can strengthen communities and bring innovation and renewal to public education. By creating an intentional culture of shared values, the school community exemplifies what Margaret Wheatley meant when she said, ‘There is no power for change greater than a community discovering what it cares about.”
– George Hoffecker, HoffeckerBurgess Consulting and former director, Yuba River Charter School

“You cannot teach a man anything; you can only help him discover it in himself.”
– Galileo Galilei

“Students who come here from YRCS tend to be great students and just, in general, remarkable people. The students graduating from the school are a bit older which lends itself to maturity, both socially and academically. And there is also something qualitatively unique in regards to Yuba River Charter students. In our experience of YRCS students, educating the whole child does in fact parlay into academically strong, socially aware, conscious, happy, fun high school students. This has been fairly consistent so far, in my experience as an instructor, and now dean, of Bitney Prep College Prep High School.”
–Dave Peterson, MA former YRCS parent

“You couldn’t pay me to take away a minute of my daughter’s Waldorf education. As a result of her love of learning, my daughter sees education as a vehicle of empowerment. She sees herself as limitless and knows she can make positive change in the world.”
– Susan Egan, mother of Samantha Egan, graduated from UC Berkeley in 2009 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Economics and the London School of Economics in 2011 with a Master’s Degree in Global Politics.

“I have two sons who began at YRCS in preschool and are now in the second and fourth grades. In the seven years we have attended the school, I have watched the teachers with joy and amazement as the curriculum unfolded with an artistic approach full of soul-enriching story, verse, and song. The children’s academic and social needs are always met at every stage of development. I really appreciate the way the Virtues Project has been integrated, encouraging values such as patience, courage, integrity, and valor. Reverence for nature is also instilled as they learn to respect the environment by recycling and other green practices. These are challenging times in our world, and I know YRCS is the perfect place for my boys to be educated.”
– Martee Seuss, YRCS parent

“This is the time when people will be more engaged with their immediate environment. The finished buildings, in a way, will be an anticlimax, because people will look back on this era of development in the school and think: that was the time to be at that school.”
– Caleb Buckley, YRCS former director

“Never doubt that a handful of committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
– Margaret Mead

“I have been a parent, kindergarten assistant, class teacher, and specialty teacher at Yuba River Charter School. In each of these roles I have been fortunate to be an integral member of this unique learning community. As a parent I watched my daughter blossom into a capable and caring young adult who excels in all she does. Each of my roles has helped me to define myself within this community, to continue to grow and learn and to serve in a way that I feel truly makes a difference in the world.”
– Patricia Montijo, YRCS specialty teacher and former parent

“We feel so fortunate that our three children were able to get such an exceptional, well-rounded education at Yuba River. We have especially appreciated the art and music programs, which are so rare in today’s educational system. We credit Yuba River for beginning our children’s love of music—each one of them will take that joy of music with them wherever they go throughout their lives!”
– Joanne Hild, YRCS former parent

“With the building of this new school, Yuba River Charter School has the opportunity to bring together its community to clarify their core values regarding education, sustainability, and community and manifest them for current and future generations.”

“Together, we will create a place where children are nourished in a healthy environment—connected to the world and their higher selves. The new Yuba River Charter School facility will embody a strong sense of place, reverence, community, and love for learning. It will be a pioneering, exemplary, sustainable facility, created by and for the Waldorf community.”
– Richard Parker and David Bushnell, 450 Architects, Inc.

“What is beautiful and most important about Yuba River Charter School is what goes into the learning. It is about the children’s whole life, not just school life. Yuba River Charter School is not separate from the family. What is learned in school is valued and integrated in the home, and vice versa. Raising the whole child: the school connects their life. When we [parents] are not with them, they are with a teacher who presents our children with new learning we could not teach with so much ease. When we get them back at the end of the day, they are more fulfilled and we can feel them as ‘whole,’ having integrated new information in a loving environment. There is a continuous improvement in the life of the child. The school truly lives by its mission of ‘inspiring a love of life and learning for the whole child.’ We can feel our children’s love of life and learning every night at the dinner table. We feel very fortunate to be able to provide our children with such a beautiful life experience.”
– Pierre Chatelain, Education Foundation president 2007–2008