 Toronto Waldorf School is part of a worldwide network of more than 2000 schools and kindergartens in over 50 countries. A wealth of resource books, websites, articles and research studies is available to help you deepen your understanding of human development, Waldorf education and how this educational model can meet the needs of your children.
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TWS Programs Receive High Commendations
AWSNA/CESI Accreditation Report Arrives
January 25, 2007
This past fall Toronto Waldorf School was the first Canadian Waldorf school to participate in a joint accreditation process with the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America and a non-Waldorf accrediting body – CESI (the Canadian Education Standards Institute). TWS has received a draft of the final 80 page report from the team that reviewed our programs. Below are some of the comments they made about our school.
The visiting committee was impressed with the scope and depth of the academic program at the Toronto Waldorf School. The students are challenged and engaged every day; what was most impressive was the rigour in the classrooms and the commitment to reach individual students at their individual levels and areas of interest.
The school is to be commended for the strength of its academic program.
Students were engaged in observed lessons and had multiple opportunities for critical thinking. Differentiated instruction, including an unusually high degree of physical activity, was employed by the teachers. Class management, and student commitment to solving very lengthy cross-strand problems, was impressive.
The advantage of the Toronto Waldorf science program is that it enables students to continue their studies in science and thus provides them with a better-rounded curriculum.
The faculty at TWS are to be commended for the degree to which they have so effectively integrated their programs to optimize learning.
Program integration is a core value in Waldorf philosophy, and it is alive and vibrant in the Toronto Waldorf High School to an extent that deserves special commendation. It is clearly a strength of the school.
TWS faculty are to be commended for their effective and aligned pedagogy which regularly engages students in critical thinking.
The visiting committee was impressed with the dedication of teachers to select readings that were of high interest to students. Such attention to individual students is commendable.
By creating their own 'textbooks', drawing their own maps and visually representing concepts learned throughout their subjects, it is evident that a majority of students achieve a level of artistic ability and confidence that is quite exceptional.
The quality of the music in the singing, drumming, orchestra, and recorder classes is exceptionally high and to be very highly commended.
The school has also worked for the past three years in incorporating Spacial Dynamics into the choir offering. By adding this movement discipline into singing, all the students seemed to have a strong sense of working in a group and were very engaged in singing with little distraction.
We have long been well regarded for our educational program in Waldorf circles, and it is very gratifying to now have this affirmed by other educational professionals who have also accredited some of the top schools in the nation.
We have been asked by CESI to contribute descriptions of our work in differentiated instruction for their website, so that it can be used as a resource for other schools. Differentiated instruction is when we present a subject matter in a variety of ways to suit the various learning styles represented in a class. Waldorf education has been a little-known leader in differentiated instruction for a very long time. We are pleased to be recognized and hope that our experience will help others striving to improve the way they meet the needs of their students.
CESI has also asked if we would be willing to join accreditation teams to visit other schools. All of this has made us walk a little taller these days.
- Todd Royer, Faculty Chair, Toronto Waldorf School
The "Reflecting on . . ." Series:
The school has published two instalments in an ongoing series of articles that elaborate on particular aspects of Waldorf education. We have archived them on this web site. Click on the links below to read them.
Reflecting on . . . Character, May 2004
Reflecting on . . . The Pace of Schooling, November 2004
A shorter version of Reflecting on . . . The Pace of Schooling
The article was accompanied by an interview with Alice Hietala, a June 2005 graduate
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