City Of Lakes Waldorf School

This school has been a great choice for us. We love the curriculum which is very rich, deep and comprehensive. The teaching is not to achieve speed and high scores on standardized tests but rather on gaining breadth of knowledge in each subject area. The administration and faculty are constantly asking for feedback and striving to improve the organization and communication with parents. Would highly recommend this school.

When my son started in first grade at CLWS, he had come from a "progressive" charter school (MI) with traditional academics. He came to me one night and asked if he could call his previous teacher at the charter school. I asked why and his answer was that, "I like the way they teach me at this school better... At the old school we had just letters and black lines. At this school, I like the colorful letters!" Both of my children, K and first, are developing a strong, articulate vocabulary and listening aptitude, reverence for what is good and beautiful, physical development woven into learning, love of natural world, care and attention to detail, fine motor skills through crafts and games that they love, care for their classmates, ear for music, poetry and stories, ear for other languages, in a sense of safety and security. My first grader has never asked to stay home from school. Sometimes they want to stay longer. We have had babysitters from this school and met other grads and are always impressed with their poise and ability to connect with us, and they seem successful at their current school/work. We plan for our family to continue at this school for the full course through 8th grade.

We left a high functioning Minneapolis Public School for City of Lakes Waldorf School four years ago and have never looked back. Our two children have been challenged academically on every level and more importantly they have been challenged to be of the highest quality in their deeds and intentions toward others. They demonstrate a profound curiosity that their extended family members and others notice. We have found the staff and faculty to be high quality and open to any concerns or questions we may have. This school is one of the things in my top five list of what I'm most thankful.

Although City of Lakes, like most schools, has its share of governance-related challenges, the review listed above isn't reflective of the current parent population at the school. As one of the parents, I am immensely impressed with the teaching staff and their ability to provide such an incredibly meaningful, rich, diverse, and age-appropriate education for my child. I do not want him to be anywhere else! As long as my child loves coming to school every day and truly benefits from what is being offered, I am grateful. There are no do-overs, but I would make the decision to attend City of Lakes again and again!

We love City of Lakes Waldorf School! My three kids have been here since Kindergarten, and we have been with the school for eight years. The school has been a wonderful learning environment for our children, a lovely parent community in which to form lifelong friendships, and a place for our family to grow. The teachers are deeply committed to the children and their learning with a developmentally appropriate curriculum which focuses on the whole child. We have been impressed by how well-rounded our kids have become -- academically, artistically, musically, physically, emotionally, in every way they are healthy and thriving here at CLWS.

Philosophically the Waldorf education is wonderful. The works of Rudolph Steiner provide a superior learning experience.

However the current administration at the City of Lakes Waldorf School in the 2010 school year, lacks integrity with many of the decisions that they make. The administrator of the school is making decisions and guiding policies that benefit those that are close to her. Many of these decisions are to the detriment of the student population. With a change of leadership at the school, things would improve. It is questionable whether they'll be able to make these changes.