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This document serves a function internal to The Denver Waldorf School (DWS) and a directly related function external to it. Internally, this document is part of a process of goal-clarification and consensus building about the aspirations of the school. While it specifically concerns the goals and needs in relationship to the physical facilities--the buildings and grounds--it is but one part of the larger strategic planning effort that is in process.
DWS underwent accreditation by the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America (AWSNA) in October 2006. One of the recommendations of the accrediting team was to develop and implement a strategic plan. A core team commenced the planning process in September 2006 and presented the draft plan in June 2007. The College of Teachers and Board of Trustees affirmed a final plan in August 2007. An outcome of the final plan was the recommendation to develop a comprehensive master plan for the building and grounds in conjunction with an academic plan for a fully realized Waldorf curriculum. Thus a task force was formed to create a Comprehensive Master Plan (CMP) that will guide all capital improvements, acquisitions, long-and short-term maintenance, and future considerations for our inside and outdoor spaces.
This document is a preliminary sketch for the CMP. Already we know that the plan will need to demonstrate fiscal soundness, environmental stewardship, and community leadership. Most importantly, it must embody the core principles of Waldorf education as outlined by the founder, Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925), and summarized in the strategic plan vision statement and the mission statement of DWS.
As Steiner said to the group of Waldorf teachers as they prepared to found the first Waldorf school in 1919,
Imbue thyself with the power of imagination,
Have courage for the truth,
Sharpen thy feeling for responsibility of soul.
With these words we intend to inspire the creation of a physical space that will serve as a living representation of Waldorf education. We envision that visitors from all over the world will come to experience an educational space that embodies Waldorf's 100-year-old curriculum and commitment to social renewal in the 21st Century. As they walk through the hallways, visit the classrooms, wander through the landscape, they will sense the symbiotic relationship between the fine arts and the academic curriculum that grows daily. They will notice a merging of the inside spaces and the greater outdoors; they will discover an education that is based on the wisdom and knowledge of human development.
Rudolf Steiner built the curriculum of Waldorf education around a clear understanding both of the child’s needs at each stage of development and of society's need for an approach to education that prepares children to make a difference in this world. As we develop this master plan for The Denver Waldorf School, we must lead by the example that we can make a difference. The master plan will begin the process of creating a beautiful site that provides the spaces required by the education, respects the environment, honors the architecture of the neighborhood, and is financially responsible.
Thus, from a Waldorf point of view, there is no hard-and-fast distinction between internal and external, whether of the school and the community, the pedagogy and the building, or the soul and the body. With this in mind, the "external" function of this document is to inform the wider community about our efforts and to invite parents, donors, neighbors, and professional planners and architects to join us in fulfilling the promise of Waldorf education in Denver. We strive to join the external to the internal.
Click on this link to view the complete Comprehensive Master Planning Foundation Document. |
