Our Educational Program
LINKS FOR MORE INFORMATION
Waldorf in the News
Waldorf and Media
What is a Charter School that is Guided by the Core Principles of Waldorf Education?
Waldorf education began in Germany at the end of the First World War and is inspired by the educational philosophy of Dr. Rudolf Steiner. The Waldorf curriculum is designed to meet students’ readiness at each age and stage of development and helps nurture a lifelong love of learning. Today more than 1,090 Waldorf schools exist worldwide. Those outside the United States are predominantly public schools. In the United States, Waldorf education began as a private school movement, with annual tuition in the thousands of dollars.
In addition to being the first public charter school that is Guided by the Core Principles of Waldorf Education in the United States, Yuba River Charter School was one of the first 100 charter schools authorized by California. Our school embraced a unique mission to usher this unique form of education into the public sector, free of tuition. Our teachers hold both a California teaching credential and a Waldorf training certificate, and a number of them also have master’s degrees.
Our school meets both state standards and curriculum goals, which are guided by the principles of Waldorf Education while remaining open to all students regardless of economic status. Students from YRCS are known for their confidence, academic excellence, social skills, mastery of handwork, and Spanish-language skills. The faculty imparts a curriculum infused with the arts and music. Teachers develop a deep personal awareness and knowledge of each child’s journey.
YRCS: Pioneering Model of U.S. Public School’s Guided by the Core Principles of Waldorf Education
Yuba River Charter School is widely recognized as the pioneering model for a public school that is Guided by the Principles of Waldorf Education in the United States. Many of our leadership and administrative programs have been resourced and replicated by educational organizations endeavoring to establish similar educational models. YRCS was one of the founding schools in establishing the Alliance for Public Waldorf Education (APWE).
In 2002, YRCS received a project grant from the State of California to align our curriculum which is Guided by the Core Principles of Waldorf Education to state standards. Since its completion, this project has been used as a template for many other public charter schools throughout the country.
YRCS has also created a unique business model in the founding of the Nevada County Charter Cooperative. This model allows us, despite being a small school, to obtain business services in collaboration with other charter schools. The full range of services accessed includes payroll and accounting, and mandated state reporting assistance, all at a manageable cost. YRCS’s award-winning governance model also serves as an example for other charter schools. The YRCS Board of Directors is made up of faculty, administrators, parents, and community members, each with an equal voice. The Board of Directors approves budgets, the school calendar, curriculum, and policies while being responsible for oversight and accountability.
Our unique approach to special education includes providing peer mentoring, a classroom-based approach, and Student Success Teams and proactively supporting our special needs students.
In 2006, Rudolph Steiner College offered Waldorf teacher training at YRCS through our Community Learning Center (CLC). This program was open to staff and the public, and was recently followed by a partnership with the Centery for Anthroposophy and Antioch University in the school year 2019-2020, wherein we hosted 27 participants on our new campus to engage in the “Building Bridges to Waldorf Teacher Training”.
Yuba River Charter School continues to value and support ongoing community development through an Explorations program sponsored by the Center for Anthroposophy, as well as our Self-Study as we work through what it means to be a publicly funded Waldorf School, and how this is relevant to the children we currently serve.