Alliance e-News

Dear Colleagues,

Our work in public high school education began over 20 years ago, in 2002, at Desert Marigold School in Phoenix, Arizona. Today, we have six high schools: Desert Marigold, George Washington Carver School of Arts and Science in Sacramento, CA (opened in 2008), Credo High School in Rohnert Park, CA (2011), Gathering Waters Charter School in Keene, NH (2021), Desert Sage School in Tucson, AZ (2022), and Central Sands Community High School in Amherst, WI (2022). Two of these schools are part of K-12 schools: Desert Marigold and Gathering Waters. The others are stand-alone high schools. Between them, they are educating over 800 teenagers.

Credo was our first “full-member” high school, completing a positive self-study and peer review process prior to the pandemic. A visit to Credo is an exciting walk into a vibrant community, with a wide variety of activity, art work, crafts, music, social engagement, and academic classes on display at any time in the school day. The size of the school allows for many choices - socially and programmatically - with many options for students to follow their interests, talents - and to confront their challenges! They provide innovative arts classes such as 'Art and Activism' or 'Biomimicry,' and they are on the brink of introducing a Career and Technical Education (CTE) track.

The school is located within a large complex called SOMO Village that is committed to “green” principles and operations. It has a partnership with Bioregional, a worldwide non-profit that develops and works with One Planet Communities on six continents, including Credo’s setting. Within this framework, Credo is a One Planet School with a One Planet Action Plan and commitment to supporting students in engaging in the ten One Planet principles, including, protecting the planet, minimizing their footprint and environmental impact, and working locally to increase ecological awareness. The school finds this approach to be very compatible with Waldorf principles.

The school has the unique advantage of being near a North Bay light rail line and within commuting distance of 7 or 8 public and independent Waldorf schools. Students are a mix of local and commuting, with many families coming from a distance so their young people can attend the school. They work to integrate students with prior experience of Waldorf education with those for whom this is brand new to create a cohesive whole.

Credo is by far the largest high school in the Waldorf community in North America. As such, it has been a pioneer in innovation including flexible scheduling (how do you make maximum use of classrooms and teachers while holding onto a main lesson and track class/elective class model?), curriculum (no eurythmy instructor available right now? Try different forms of dance!), effective student support including college and career counseling, learning support, social-emotional counseling, and teacher support and professional development. Credo designed and completed an in-house cycle of teacher education before the pandemic and is planning to restart this important work to ensure that they can maintain their commitment to a high-quality Public Waldorf education for their students. They continue to explore and provide examples of building and maintaining school culture when, even with the many surrounding K-8 schools, many students come to them with no prior Waldorf experience and they must constantly address an acute shortage of “Waldorf-trained: high school teachers.

Credo can list many successes: of current note is a strong, popular, robotics program with dedicated, well-equipped space. Last year, the school’s robotics team competed in the World Robotics Championships! www.pressdemocrat.com/article

In addition to their robotics lab, other aspects of their campus are enviable, including a black box theater, choir room, and large, central open space where students can socialize or work in small groups. The school makes ample use of its outdoor space - as one small snapshot, at one moment in a visit, there were students in a movement class, students working in small groups, and a class engaging in a trust walk.

Credo also works hard to address some limitations and challenges. Several of these are common to everyone working in the high school space, including the impact of graduation requirements on curriculum, the aforementioned shortage of teachers, the need for credentialed subject specialists in high school, college counseling, and preparations for life after high school. Others are specific to the school; a lack of athletic space means forging partnerships with the city for facilities and the need to transport students to practices and games. Budget challenges are constant, impacting all areas of operations including salaries.

Despite inevitable challenges, Credo is committed to continuing to deepen and enrich its work as an innovative Public Waldorf High School and to supporting our other high schools. This commitment is palpable as soon as you walk into the school. Thank you to everyone at Credo for your pioneering work in realizing your mission!

At Credo High School our goal is to support young people to be creative thinkers, effective communicators and caring human beings who have a solid foundation of knowledge and the depth and breadth of capacities to meet the world’s challenges head on with empathy and compassion.

Discover more about Credo High School at https://credohigh.org/

Professional Development and Teacher Preparation

A listing by the Alliance is for information only and does not imply recommendation or endorsement. We encourage school leaders and teachers to fully research offerings before enrollment to ensure they align with their goals and needs. We recommend that you research familiarity with the unique needs and demands of Public Waldorf education. This is particularly important if public funds are used for professional development or teacher preparation.