Rudolf Steiner School

Celebrating Our 35th Year:
Two Roots of the Great Barrington Rudolf Steiner School
by Stephen Sagarin, Faculty Administrator

The Great Barrington Rudolf Steiner School, the eleventh oldest existing Waldorf school in the U.S., celebrates its 35th year beginning in January 2006. The school opened in January 1971 with a small kindergarten class in Betty and Bernie Krainis's converted barn, now our library. Betty, who knew John Gardner, longtime Faculty Chair at the Garden City, NY, Waldorf School when she lived in Rockville Centre, and who later sent her children to the Rudolf Steiner School in New York City, was the founder of the school.

Given Mrs. Krainis's familiarity with the NYC school and the Garden City school, it may be said that Great Barrington represents a healthy, hardy hybrid of two slightly different forms of Waldorf schools. The New York school, founded by artists and teachers in 1928, had a more Bohemian, European, flavor, while the Garden City school, founded as an experimental school for Adelphi University in 1947, had a more traditional, authoritarian, professional flavor. Among our teachers, Mrs. Giles attended the NYC school and Mr. Sagarin and Mrs. Palmer attended the Garden City school. Mrs. Brennan and Mr. Sblendorio arrived in Great Barrington following at least brief interludes in NYC. (Graduates of other Waldorf schools on our faculty include Mrs. Inglis, who attended the New School at King's Langley in the U.K.)

In what ways does our school manifest its pedigree? What strengths does it derive from its roots? For one thing, our school has had many teachers competently complete teaching all eight grades. At many other Waldorf schools, by choice and by necessity, some teachers teach only the first few grades or end up specializing in the middle grades. (I will not consider here whether or not Rudolf Steiner intended teachers to hold that it was ideal to remain with a class for eight years.) This longevity and competence speaks to the strength of our school.

Acknowledging room for improvement, our school is remarkably balanced between academic and artistic learning. Many Waldorf schools may claim greater proficiency in the artwork of their students, but few have balanced the many demands of a Waldorf school curriculum as well as we have.

Finally, having two traditions on which to draw, our school must listen to a variety of opinions and insights; at faculty and Council meetings it is not pulled too far in one direction or the other. Again, its background and roots lend it balance.

As we enter our 35th year, we can be thankful for the gifts of the past as we work toward recovering Steiner's social mission for Waldorf education, completing our school with a high school, and continuing to teach children in a humanizing, holistic way.