Grade School The Waldorf curriculum is carefully designed to follow the children's development throughout their eight year journey at our school. Ideally, the class teacher continues from year to year with the class, though this is not always the case. The Waldorf Curriculum is standardized across all Waldorf Schools, but each school is independent and every teacher develops their own teaching materials and decides how to bring the curriculum to his/her own students. As the children develop and change, so must the teacher change the approach used in the classroom. Thus there is considerable learning and excitement for students and teachers alike. This requires a great deal of inner flexibility and a broad understanding of the curriculum. Some teachers simply feel more comfortable teaching younger or older children, so it is not required that a teacher remain with his or her class for the eight grades. A Waldorf education has abundant richness to offer above and beyond a conventional education. Each child is encouraged to contribute their best effort and to express their own thoughts and feelings, but there are no grades until late middle school. Instead, teachers hold detailed parent conferences and write extensive reports on the children’s progress. In lieu of textbooks, the children create beautiful main lesson books alongside their block studies. There is no standardized testing, though students in seventh grade begin practicing for SSAT placement, and there are no computer or video aids in any classroom. Children entering or leaving a Waldorf school typically have little difficulty adjusting to their new environment. If a child enters the Waldorf grade school with no foreign language or musical training, extra tutoring may be required so the child can keep up with his/her classmates. Likewise, children leaving a Waldorf school may have no computer classes or little experience with multiple choice testing, but these skills are typically easy for students to acquire in a short period of time. For information on Waldorf Alumni, please visit the AWSNA website.