The Detroit Waldorf School is a private PreK-8 Waldorf school located at 2555 Burns, Detroit, Michigan, United States, in an Albert Kahn-designed school in the historic Indian Village neighborhood. In 2016, the building was designated a Michigan State Historic Site.[3] The school is the only remaining private independent school in Detroit,[4] and is one of the city's highest-rated schools, receiving five stars on GreatSchools.org.[1] As of 2016, 240 students were enrolled in the school.[5]
Eastern Liggett School c. 1916, showing the original 1913 building
In 1878, Rev. James D. Liggett settled in Detroit and established a small, independent school for girls, originally known as The Detroit Home and Day School, and later as The Liggett School.[6] The school was originally located at Grand River and Broadway in Detroit, and quickly established itself with many of Detroit's most prominent families. The school incorporated in 1881, with a board of directors that included Dexter M. Ferry, Jacob S. Farrand, and David Whitney, Jr. By 1883, the school had grown from 57 students to 194, and had outgrown its first home. The school moved to a new location at Cass and Stimson.[7] The school continued to grow steadily, and by 1897 had annexed an adjacent house.[8] The next year, the school contracted Albert Kahn to design a gymnasium and other additions to the school, one of Kahn's first professional jobs.[7]
In 1913, the school decided to develop an eastern branch campus to serve students on the city's east side.[7] This site in Indian Village along Charlevoix was chosen, and the school again contracted Albert Kahn to design a new building.[8][9] The building is one of only three schools designed by Kahn, and the only one still extant.[10] Kahn's design for the school drew from then-popular English influences,[11] and was a radical departure from previous school designs, both in his extravagant use of windows and use of stucco rather than brick.[9] The building opened the following year as the "Eastern Liggett" branch.[8] In 1916, landscape architect O. C. Simonds designed a landscape plan for the school.[12]
Enrollment at the Eastern Liggett School was 88 in 1913, which rose to 200 by 1919. By the early 1920s, changes in the neighborhood around the Cass Avenue campus led to declining enrollment there. In 1923, the school decided to enlarge the Eastern Liggett building and close the original one.[7] An addition to the school, also designed by Kahn, was constructed in 1924, and houses an auditorium and additional classroom space.[9] The addition so closely follows the style of the original building that the difference is nearly imperceptible. Enrollment rose to a high of around 300 students in 1929; although the Great Depression reduced enrollment, the Liggett School continued to occupy the building until the early 1960s, when the changing nature of Detroit caused the school to decide to move. In 1964, construction began on a new school, and in early 1965, Liggett moved from the Indian Village campus to Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan. In 1969, The Liggett School merged with Grosse Pointe University School to form what is now University Liggett School.[7]
Detroit Waldorf history
Detroit Waldorf School north side, 2015
The Detroit Waldorf School was founded in 1965 by Rudolf and Amelia Wilhelm,[1] who wanted to provide Detroiters more choices in educating their children.[13] Other private schools in the area at the time were not integrated, and the Wilhelms and their supporters sought to provide a diverse educational experience to children.[5] The school approached the board of the Central United Methodist Church about allocating space to open a nursery school. An impassioned speech by African-American Junius Harris, where he reminded Board members that families of color had far fewer educational choices for their children, convinced the board to allow the Waldorf nursery school to open in their building.[13] The school opened as a nursery school in the Central United Methodist Church in 1965, and was deliberately integrated from its founding.[3] However, space in the church was limited, and later that year the school acquired the just-vacated Liggett campus.[10] Classes for elementary students began at the present school building in September 1966.[13] The Detroit Waldorf School was one of the first nine Waldorf schools in North America, and a founding member of the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America (AWSNA).[14]
In 1967, Werner and Barbara Glas founded the Waldorf Institute at the school.[15] The Waldorf Institute was the first Waldorf teacher-training institution in the United States, and only the second English-speaking one. In 1979, the Waldorf Institute moved to Southfield, Michigan, and in 1986 moved to Chestnut Ridge, New York.[16] It is now the Sunbridge Institute.
In 2011, the school was selected by the National Trust for Historic Preservation as one of 100 "places that matter" in the United States.[10] In 2013, businessman Jeff Adler donated $750,000 to various Detroit organizations, including $100,000 to the Detroit Waldorf School.[17] In 2016, at the time of the Detroit Waldorf School's 50th anniversary, the school was designated a Michigan State Historic Site A state of Michigan historical marker was erected at the school commemorating both the original occupant of the building, Eastern Liggett School, and Detroit Waldorf School.[3]
The Detroit Waldorf School has maintained a commitment to providing a strong Waldorf education children in Detroit,[1] and to racial, ethnic, geographic, and social-economic diversity in its student body.[5][3] The school has remained at its present location since 1966.
Education in the Early Childhood Center
The Detroit Waldorf School Early Childhood Center includes Pre-K classes for children 3-5 and full-day Kindergarten. The focus in the Early Childhood Center is on language and stories in circle/story time, and on indoor and outdoor creative free play. The school believes that free play is a fundamental part of early learning, fostering imagination, creativity, problem solving and social skills which aid in academic learning in later years. Children in the Early Childhood Center experience movement in play, including skipping, jumping rope, and eurythmy. They also do arts and handwork, including coloring, painting, modeling with beeswax, and baking bread.[18]
Elementary and middle school academics
Beginning in elementary school, the core academic subjects (language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies) are presented in a two-hour main lesson each day. The subject of the main lesson rotates every three to four weeks. The school believes that presenting material in blocks lets students explore the material more deeply.[19]
In addition to the core academic subjects, students also learn two foreign languages (Spanish and German),[20] as well as music, movement, arts, and handwork.[21] The curriculum integrates the traditional academic subjects with the arts to provide engaging experiences for the student. The school aims to not only educate students, but also to prepare them to be creative, critical thinkers with individual initiative.[22]
Language Arts begins with an introduction to letters, reading, and handwriting in the first grade. It continues through spelling and grammar, further reading, research and creative writing, poetry, and composition. Students read stories, fables, and literature, culminating in a Shakespearean play in eighth grade. Each grade also puts on a class play.[20][21][23]
Mathematics starts with basic arithmetic and the introduction to numbers, and continues with multiplication, division, fractions, exponents, and roots. Geometry is taught in the middle and upper grades. The upper grades begin studying business math, pre-algebra, and algebra, including graphing equations.[20][21][23]
Science is introduced in the lower grades through observation and experience with nature, as well as gardening and cooking. Science continues in the middle grades with zoology, botany, and astronomy, and in the upper grades with physics, chemistry, anatomy, mechanics, and meteorology.[20][21][23]
Social Studies begins in the earlier grades with legends, myths, and folklore. It segues to local and world geography, and history from ancient Greek history through Medieval and Renaissance times to the present.[20][21][23]
Foreign Language includes both Spanish and German. Teaching the languages parallels what students learn in Language Arts; this includes reading, conversation, and composition.[20][21][23]
Music begins with singing. Singing continues through later grades in chorus. All students also learn to play musical instruments. The early grades use a flute and recorder; the upper grades begin with stringed instruments and eventually into orchestra.[20][21][23]
Movement and Physical Education is introduced in the form of games and eurythmy. Gymnastics is introduced later, as well as dancing and team sports.[20][21][23]
Art and Handwork is introduced with painting, drawing, knitting, and beeswax modeling. As students progress, more sophisticated painting and drawing is introduced, as well as carving, pottery, sculpture, cross-stitch, sewing, carpentry, and woodworking.[20][21][23]
After school programs
The school offers various after-school programs for students. These include competitive sports, physical activities, musical instruction, and Games. 2015/2016 offerings include basketball, track, soccer, tennis, volleyball, circus arts, kinderharp, guitar, brain games, and chess.[24]
Accreditation
The Detroit Waldorf School is accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Central States (ISACS),[25] the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America (AWSNA),[26] and the Waldorf Early Childhood Association of North America (WECAN).[27]
Alumni
Notable alumni of the Detroit Waldorf School include:[28]
Big Sean, hip-hop artist: Big Sean credits the school with teaching him "to be open-minded and creative."[29][30]
Chestnut Ridge is a village in the town of Ramapo, Rockland County, New York, United States, located north of the state of New Jersey, east of Airmont, south of Spring Valley, and west of Nanuet. The population was 10,505 at the 2020 census.
Albert Kahn was an American industrial architect who designed industrial plant complexes such as the Ford River Rouge automobile complex. He designed the construction of Detroit skyscrapers and office buildings as well as mansions in the city suburbs. He led an organization of hundreds of architect associates and in 1937, designed 19% of all architect-designed industrial factories in the United States. Under a unique contract in 1929, Kahn established a design and training office in Moscow, sending twenty-five staff there to train Soviet architects and engineers, and to design hundreds of industrial buildings under their first five-year plan. They trained more than 4,000 architects and engineers using Kahn's concepts. In 1943, the Franklin Institute posthumously awarded Kahn the Frank P. Brown Medal.
Indian Village is a neighborhood located in Detroit, Michigan, bounded to the north and south by Mack Avenue and East Jefferson Avenue, respectively, along the streets of Burns, Iroquois, and Seminole. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.
University Liggett School, also known as Liggett, is a private, independent, secular school in Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1878, it is Michigan's oldest independent coeducational day school.
Cass Technical High School is a magnet high school in Midtown Detroit, Michigan, United States. It was established in 1907 and is part of the Detroit Public Schools Community District. It is named after Lewis Cass.
Waldorf School of New Orleans is a private school based on the Waldorf philosophy. Founded in 2000, Waldorf School of New Orleans offers a developmentally appropriate, experiential approach to education, integrating the arts and academics for children from preschool through 8th grade. In 2005, the school's buildings were flooded in Hurricane Katrina.
Detroit Public Schools Community District (DPSCD) is a school district that serves Detroit, Michigan and high school students in Highland Park, Michigan. The district, which replaced the original Detroit Public Schools (DPS) in 2016, provides services to approximately 50,000 students, making it the largest school district in the state. The district has its headquarters in the Fisher Building of the New Center area of Detroit.
Established in 1959, the Sacramento Waldorf School is an American private school offering programs from pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. It is fully accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America.
Island Oak High School is located in Duncan, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, in Canada. It offers Grades 9 to 12. Enrollment is limited to between 30 and 50 students. The current enrollment is around twenty students split into two classes. There is a faculty of thirteen teachers, specialists, administrators, and assistants. In Feb. 2007 the school hosted the BC Waldorf Teachers Conference.
Sunbridge Institute is a not--for-profit adult learning center located in Chestnut Ridge, New York. The institute specializes in teacher training for Waldorf education, inspired by anthroposophy. Sunbridge is a full member of the Association of Waldorf Schools of North American (AWSNA) and the Waldorf Early Childhood Association of North America (WECAN) and is a partner of SUNY Empire State College.
Waldorf education, also known as Steiner education, is based on the educational philosophy of Rudolf Steiner, the founder of anthroposophy. Its educational style is holistic, intended to develop pupils' intellectual, artistic, and practical skills, with a focus on imagination and creativity. Individual teachers have a great deal of autonomy in curriculum content, teaching methods, and governance. Qualitative assessments of student work are integrated into the daily life of the classroom, with standardized testing limited to what is required to enter post-secondary education.
In the curriculum of the Waldorf schools, much of the education in academic subjects takes place in blocks, usually of 3–5 weeks duration. Each pupil generally writes and illustrates a self-created textbook representing the material learned in the block. These blocks are supported by on-going classes in subjects such as music, art and crafts, and foreign languages that continue throughout the year.
Novi Community School District (NCSD) is a school district with its headquarters located in Novi, Michigan, USA in Greater Detroit. It operates eight schools.
The Santa Cruz Waldorf High School was a private, non-denominational grade 9-12 educational institution. The school closed in 2009, due to a drop in enrollment.
Rudolf Steiner School Kings Langley was a Steiner School located in Kings Langley, Hertfordshire, England, formed in 1949.
Waldorf School of San Diego (WSSD) is an independent Waldorf school located in the Oak Park neighborhood of San Diego, California, United States. It offers preschool/kindergarten through 12th grade, and had an enrollment of 284 in 2011. Founded in 1981, it is one of approximately more than 250 independent North American and 1,000 worldwide Waldorf schools. The school is an accredited member school of the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America].
Maine Coast Waldorf School is a Waldorf school for students from early childhood through grade 12. It was founded in 1984 as Merriconeag Waldorf School and changed its name to Maine Coast Waldorf School in 2015. As a Waldorf school, Maine Coast's curricula are based on the educational philosophy of Rudolf Steiner.
San Francisco Waldorf School (SFWHS) is an independent preK–12 school in San Francisco, California. The school is based on the principles of Waldorf education. The kindergarten and grade school are located at 2938 Washington Street and the high school is located at 470 West Portal Avenue. About 50% of students at the high school also attended the grade school, the rest coming from public, parochial, and other independent schools. It is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) and the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America (AWSNA).
The Ringwood Waldorf School is a private alternative school standing on the borders of Dorset and Hampshire, with classes ranging from Kindergarten to the Upper school. It educates according to the principles of Steiner Waldorf Education and has an enrollment of over 240 students.
East Bay Waldorf School (EBWS) is an independent, non-sectarian Waldorf School in El Sobrante, California, on the east side of the San Francisco Bay. It is based on the principles of Waldorf education. Located on 91 acres of land, the school is adjacent to Wildcat Canyon, a regional park.
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