Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Spring Garden Waldorf School believes people of any racial identification, ancestry, nationality, socioeconomic background, family structure, age, religion, belief system, gender, sexual orientation and appearance should feel welcome at our school. We strive to ensure students and community members feel respected and celebrated while seeing themselves reflected in the school’s culture, curriculum and policy. Our school has no tolerance for intolerance, bigotry and oppression. 

Waldorf pedagogy invites us to study and understand all of humanity. Spring Garden Waldorf School has a duty to the world and our children to study subjects objectively and ensure our curriculum connects students to many cultures and people. Our students deserve to learn about diverse peoples and learn within a school where they see themselves, their families, and the wider community reflected in curriculum and experiences.

We take responsibility for ourselves, our choices and our mistakes, as individuals and as an institution. We are committed to the ongoing work of cultivating a diverse, equitable and inclusive environment. We are committed to leveraging our strengths as a school to create structural, cultural and institutional change. 

We promise to use our gift of community to create opportunities to express diverse, equitable and inclusive viewpoints and give constructive feedback without fear of recrimination. We promise to use community resources to offer opportunities for people to experience diversity and unity. We promise to use our fiscal responsibility to invest in this work through Seeking Education Equity and Diversity training for the community, updating resources supporting our DEI work, and expanding DEI initiatives and professional development opportunities.

We promise to leverage our rich community life, relationships and resources to:

  • Ensure our curriculum is diverse, reflective and responsive 
  • Engage the Board of Trustees, Faculty and Staff in DEI training and policy accountability
  • Reform school policy to reflect diversity, equity, and inclusion work
  • Establish BIPOC, LGBTQIA, and other diverse voices in leadership
  • Report to and be held accountable for DEI work through AWSNA Accreditation
  • Center inclusive language and thought in our classrooms
  • Attract and retain diverse hires through intentional hiring practices; appointing diverse hiring committee members; and providing a supportive workplace for all employees.
  • Address and change systemic discrimination that exists in our policies and procedures
  • Develop and articulate our DEI work clearly, transparently, and in community
  • Celebrate tolerance, inclusivity and difference in community
  • Teach empathy, compassion, moral strength and courage
  • Learn from communities including SGWS ( Spring Garden Waldorf School), AWSNA(Association of Waldorf Schools of North America), WECAN (Waldorf Early Childhood Association of North America), SEED (Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity), and more.
  • Never stop prioritizing this work and remain accountable to its fruition