Bright Water School355

Our son is in First Grade and we are truly enjoying the transition from his three years of (wonderful) play-based preschool and kindergarten curriculum into the more structured world of the Grade School. If you are interested in an experiential curriculum for your child, this is definitely the place for your family! I see the graduating 8th Graders leave this school with a full understanding of science, math, language, music, history, art . . . based on a rich, experiential teaching method. Beware, your child will not be spitting out rote "facts and figures" or taking standardized tests, and if that's your standard for an "academic" education you should look elsewhere. If you want your child to develop creative thinking skills and real understanding of academic subjects, look into Bright Water School.

Our family has been involved with Bright Water School for some years and will not be continuing. The school has some good teachers and a great community. But many teachers are marginally qualified and some good teachers have left. The administration is the weakest part of the school, being defensive, deceptive, and authoritarian. The administration is at times hostile towards parents and certainly has no ability to work with parents for the mutual benefit of children. They say they encourage freethinking among children, but in reality children are required to conform to a rigid schedule of what Rudolf Steiner determined was "developmentally appropriate" 100 years ago. In the time we have been there the school has had one crisis after another and quite a bit of turnover. If you are "dead set" on Waldorf education for your kids you might be surprised to find out what that means in practice.

Our family loves Bright Water School. This is our fifth year at the school and our experience with the teachers, the administration, and the community has been very positive. Our children's teachers are highly experienced, having extensive public school teaching experience as well as complete Waldorf training, skill, and finesse. In addition, I feel we are especially lucky to be at this school, where the class teachers know our children so well -so deeply- in a way that builds unique connection between our children and each of their teachers, supporting and enhancing their learning. I see my children experiencing their education and development in a wonderful way. They bring what they learn home and apply it to their real-world experience; they are able to focus for a long time on a project and delve deeply into it, out of their own curiosity; they trust their environment and like to stop and observe what that they see happening, asking questions and creating solutions. My experience with medical issues at Bright Water School is very different from other reviews on this site so it might be helpful to get another perspective on that. When our son had a concussion, the school was very responsive and supportive. I received an email from the school director asking for complete instructions on what to tell the faculty to watch for and to help him with so he would be safe until he was “out of the woods.” Also, we have a student in one of our classes who has a life-threatening peanut allergy. The school, from the beginning, has taken this very seriously and, in spite of the seriousness, we, as a community, have happily helped to keep this student entirely safe by taking an Epi Pen on all outings and the teachers are all trained in using the Epi Pen. I have no reservations about this wonderful school.

My daughter attended this school for two years (1st and 2nd grades). I ended up pulling her out and placing her back in public school because the academics at Brightwater were not strong.

It was a hard decision because I loved the environment at the school, the community and the staff. In our short time there we built some great friendships especially with the teachers. However, the school was costly and I found myself having to suppliment her education there with tutors so that she had her basics. A number of other parents in her class were doing the same thing.

The staff is really dedicated to the school and students. The environment is creative. However, the school is very young and has some problems to work out (socially and academically).

It has been a few years since we've been there so I is worth checking out to see where they are now.

Beware! School uses warm and fuzzy words to draw in parents and students. The school's teachers and administration do not truely represent the Waldorf philosophy. Only one teacher of the 8 grade teachers actually has the education and ability to conduct herself as a true Waldorf teacher. The administration has made comments to draw in students, but when research is made on the statements it can be find that the statements are not always true. The administration also lacks respect for children in need of medicine for health emergencies. One parent stated to me that when she requested that the school keep an EpiPen for the daughter, she was laughted at by a member of the administration. If you are considering enrolling your child in Bright Water School, please think twice. There are others schools in the area that work within the true Waldorf philosophy and are truthful to enrolling families.