CHICAGO WALDORF SCHOOL
IINNOVATING TRADITION SINCE 1919
Our approach is rooted in Waldorf education, which has been innovating tradition since 1919, applying time-tested practices to develop the capacities today’s world demands: work ethic, a sense of wonder, and the wisdom of critical thinking. In practice, this can look like a fraction lesson beginning with a chalk drawing, a first grader learning to knit, and an intentionally screen-free classroom. Students engage with each subject directly and demonstrate mastery through applied work.
Research links embodied and physically active learning with improved learning performance, working memory, and other executive functions that support learning. These experiences help build the foundational skills students need for long-term academic success.
why chicago waldorf school?
In a Waldorf classroom, learning is something students can see, hear, feel, and do. It comes alive through stories, movement, music, meaningful work, and shared discovery. These daily experiences shape not only what students know, but how they think, create, collaborate, and grow.
Everyone Does Everything
Students participate fully in a wide range of subjects and experiences and are not tracked at any point in their CWS education. This helps them move beyond narrow labels, discover new strengths, and develop confidence in areas they may not have expected.
Slow Technology APPROACH
CWS gives students the space to grow without constant reliance on screens. With a screen-free early childhood and grade school experience, and thoughtful technology use introduced later, students develop focus, imagination, social connection, and independent thinking.
Hands-On Experiences
Learning at CWS is active, experiential and firsthand. Students do not just read about the world, they engage with it through building, making, observing, exploring, and applying what they learn in meaningful ways.
Arts-IntegratED ACADEMICS
The arts are woven throughout the curriculum as a way of deepening understanding, not simply decorating it. Students sing, draw, paint, move, model, perform, and create as part of how they process ideas, strengthen memory, and bring every subject to life.
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