Dear Early Childhood Parents,
 
We know that you have been closely monitoring how COVID-19 may impact the reopening plans of our school, so we are writing to you in light of the mandates shared by Governor Newsom in his School Reopening press conference today. 
 
Under current guidelines, our Early Childhood Program is considered essential, so please know, first and foremost, that  we will be able to open our Early Childhood classrooms at both campuses as planned in the fall . We thought it might be helpful to review some of our school’s adjustments to the latest directives:
 
  • Plan to have class sizes of a maximum of ten children.
  • Siblings are placed together in the same class.
  • Aftercare provided in class by the class teacher/assistant teacher (no co-mingling).
  • Individual supplies for each child (crayons, dishes, etc.)
  • Increased handwashing throughout the daily rhythm guided with song.
  • Teachers and children will wear face coverings/shields pending further LA county guidelines. 
  • Increased outdoor times/outdoor days. 
  • Increased cleaning/disinfecting of classrooms and equipment. 
  • All parent meetings, parent conferences, faculty meetings will take place online.
  • Contactless sign-in (i.e. no sharing pens).
  • Daily health checks for all employees and students including contactless temperature checks.
 
All of these are the more practical considerations, due to COVID-19.
 
What has not changed is our dedication to provide our students with everything that we know a young, growing child needs to thrive—Waldorf Education is, after all, a healing education! We know our teachers will receive your children in reverence and enfold them in days spent in harmonious rhythm, with lots of healthy movement. We will provide ample opportunity for creative free play, and continue to nourish their imaginations with beautiful stories, puppet shows, fingerplays, and much more.
 
Our Values:
We are committed to protecting and nurturing childhood as a foundation for healthy development. 
We do this by providing young children with the essentials of a healthy childhood:
 
  • Close, loving relationships with engaged and competent adults.
  • Outdoor activity, nature exploration, gardening, and other direct encounters with nature.
  • Time for unstructured play, especially make-believe play.
  • Music, drama, puppetry, dance, painting, and the other arts.
  • Hands-on experiences and handicrafts and other physically engaging activities.
  • Conversation, poetry, storytelling, and books read aloud by beloved adults.
  • Waldorf education is a healing education!
  • The Waldorf curriculum's main task is the healthy development of the “whole child“ - their physical body, healthy sense organs, healthy brain, and to free them up for later faculties. 
  • We recognize that healthy child development takes place best in the context of a community based upon healthy social relationships among parents, teachers, and children. We strive to create such conscious, collaborative communities around our care for children.
 
We plan to send you updates in the coming weeks, as needed. Should you have any questions, please do reach out to the Leadership Council at leadershipcouncil@wswaldorf.org .
 
Warmly,
The College of Teachers and the Leadership Council