HIGH SCHOOL CURRICULUM
Educating youth through:
Innovative and rigorous academics.
Inclusive, diverse, and positive school culture.
Integration of music, movement, and art.
Outdoor educational experiences and adventures.
In High School, our main lesson blocks are the heart of the curriculum, where one main subject is focused on for three to four weeks at a time for two hours daily. The rest of the day is filled with specialty subjects where students are immersed in courses such as math, music, language, chorus, movement, and art.
Sciences are primarily taught in the laboratory and in the field, where observation and experimentation with the phenomena are the basis for the development of the laws and theories that modern scientists use to make sense of their observations.
In the humanities and social sciences, students are taught using primary source materials: the original versions of the great works of literature, and original historical documents.
Writing is an important part of the curriculum in all subject areas as students keep notes, laboratory records, and journals of their observations and use them to write reports, essays, and poetry.
Work in the arts supports the academic curriculum by developing the capacity to solve problems creatively.
Through the creative arts, we aim to help students cultivate imaginative thinking, perseverance, and attention to detail. Practicing the performing arts develops self-discipline, focus, and the ability to work effectively in a group.
Our School
Our small class sizes allow our master teachers to be up close to the growth and development of each student's learning. Between community service, experiential education trips, hands-on learning, and cutting-edge, science-based educational practices, we are laying the foundation to awaken resilience, compassion, independent thinking and initiative.
We want to meet you and the steps to enrolling are easy! You can call us to hear more, schedule a tour, come to an Open House, or send us a message. Click here for next steps.
Curriculum
Our curriculum is dynamic, flexible, curated, and customized to each classroom. Core educational concepts are integrated with real world practice. We are ever-growing in our development of anti-racist and inclusive educational practices and pedagogy. Art and student-based creative projects are the center of class work. Students are learning for college, for careers, and for life.
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What are your COVID-19 precautions?CWS currently follows guidelines approved by the CDC and the Hamilton County Health Department. Our school re-opening plan was submitted to and approved by the Health Department in July of 2020. Our students and faculty wear masks at all times, unless outside more than 6 feet away from others, our indoor desks are distanced, our rooms are well-ventilated, and most eating takes place outdoors. During temperate months of the year, a large portion of our classroom time is outside. Our class "pods" remain separate from each other, ensuring that there is no potential virus spread among different classes.
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Are you an accredited school?Yes! The Cincinnati Waldorf School is a full member school of the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America (AWSNA). We are also accredited through the state of Ohio.
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How diverse is your school?CWS is a diverse community. Our student body includes children of many different religious and socio-economic backgrounds with 25% minority enrollment. Diversity is valued here.
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What are the qualifications of your faculty?All of our lead teachers have at least a Bachelor’s Degree and additional Waldorf teacher training. The majority of our teachers hold post-graduate degrees and all are licensed teachers in the state of Ohio.
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When did CWS open and how many students are enrolled?The Cincinnati Waldorf School was founded in 1973. It began as an early childhood program and grew gradually to a full grade school (preschool-8) by 2006. Our high school opened in 2018. We currently have over 250 students enrolled in CWS from preschool through 12th grade!
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Where do students go when they graduate from CWS?The short answer is everywhere! Our students currently go on to many public, private, and parochial high schools including: Cincinnati Waldorf High School, School for the Creative and Performing Arts, Walnut Hills, Clark Montessori, Sycamore, Anderson, Mason, St. Xavier, Highlands, and many others. Soon we'll be able to answer questions about where our Cincinnati Waldorf High School students go for college! Check out the AWSNA Waldorf Alumni Survey.
STUDENT LIFE AT CWHS
Student-Teacher Ratio:
3:2
Every student takes music, art, theater, and world language classes.
A focus on outdoor education.
Yearly canoe, ski, and camping trips.
Basketball, Cross-Country, and Volleyball teams for all grades.
After school clubs such as Anime Club.
Frequent field trips.
