Leadership and Governance
Message from Our Leadership
Highland Hall is the oldest Waldorf school in the western United States. We provide a holistic, developmentally-based program that consciously integrates the academic and the artistic, cultivating both creative and critical thinking.
Our rich curriculum includes gardening, woodwork, two languages, music, and art. Teachers seek to spark academic zeal by teaching in a lively and creative manner. Imagine a school that welcomes the opportunity for anyone with an interest in sports to play on a team, and anyone can participate in the school’s drama department. Students are given the freedom to explore their interests with teachers who care.
We invite you to learn more about Highland Hall and the genius of Waldorf education. Visit our campus and find out how your family too can be part of an educational community committed to “receiving the children with reverence, educating them with love, and sending them forth in freedom.”
Ken Lavner
Pedagogical Chair For the Collegium
School Mission Statement
To guide students through the Waldorf curriculum, striving to awaken in each student discernment in thought and action, a joy of learning, a sense of wonder, and reverence for life.
School-Wide Learning Goals
Academic Competency
A. Students will strive toward developing life-long interests as well as deepening relationships to academic subjects.
B. Students will be able to initiate their own self-education.
C. Students will demonstrate academic skills commensurate with their developmental stage and capacity.
Social Competency
A. Students will learn to communicate effectively.
B. Students will cultivate and show emotional intelligence through their interactions and relationships with others.
C. Students will develop an awareness and appreciation for global cultures.
Individual Competency
A. Students will develop critical thinking skills so that they can engage actively in the world.
B. Students will cultivate perseverance in order to reach a resolution.
C. Students will become active participants in the world by finding meaningful connections.
Board of Trustees
Highland Hall’s Board of Trustees is mandated to act in the best interests of the community and ensure that the school operates in a way that is legally sound, fiscally responsible, and that it achieves its overarching purpose. That purpose is reflected in the Ends statement of John Carver’s Policy Governance, created by the Board in collaboration with the Collegium.
The members of the Board include parents, teachers, alumni and friends of the school. The Board is not involved in day-to-day management or pedagogical decisions. Rather, it grants authority to the Pedagogical Chair. At its monthly meetings, the Board discusses, and accepts or responds to reports from the Director of Advancement and Operations and the Pedagogical Chair, providing counsel when requested. The Board approves major financial and capital improvement decisions and focuses its time on policies and strategies that are future oriented. The school is deeply grateful for the work of its trustees.
The Collegium
The Collegium of Highland Hall Waldorf School works out of anthroposophy and strives to hold the spiritual inspiration of the school. It works to ensure the strength of the pedagogy and the quality of instruction throughout the school.
The Collegium has responsibility for receiving and holding the pedagogical aspects of the school. It affirms teacher hiring recommendations, supports the ongoing mentoring and professional development of teachers, and makes teacher termination decisions.
Working in collaboration with Operations, the Collegium sets the direction of the school and provides guidance for the pedagogical aspects of the operating budget.
Parents enrolled at Highland Hall have access to the names and contact information of our leadership in Parent Square. Please contact outreach@highlandhall.org if you need further information.
