Admissions

Begin the Journey

Thank you for your interest in the Santa Cruz Waldorf School. Below you will find specific steps necessary to apply, based on your child’s age or grade level. For our Early Childhood programs, applications open in the fall for the following school year. We accept Grades applications year round.

If your child is walking to 3.5 years old:

Sign up for next session of Parent-Child Class Here

Admissions: Preschool and Kindergarten

  • Parents are warmly invited to learn about the world of Early Childhood at the Santa Cruz Waldorf School. 
  • Experienced Kindergarten, Preschool, and Parent-Child teachers will present aspects of our rich and child-centered curriculum to give you an understanding of our program offerings and how we meet the developmental needs of the young child at each stage. This event is for adults only.
  • Attending An Introduction to Waldorf Early Childhood is a required step in the admissions process for our Preschool and Kindergarten programs.
  • Please contact enrollment@santacruzwaldorf.org if you would like to register for this event. Please note for our in person tours space is extremely limited. Adults and babes in arms only please.
  • Register HERE for upcoming tours: Sept 26th 9am |Oct 21st 6pm| Nov 21st 9am

Once you have attended a tour, please fill out an application online. 

You may also submit an application if you have registered for one of our upcoming tours but have yet to attend.

  • Once we receive your application we  will contact you to schedule an interview at SCWS.
  • The interview will be in a group setting in the classroom with other children who are applying, their parents and the  Preschool or Kindergarten teacher. It is a great opportunity for your child to perhaps play with the other children, with the all-natural objects in the classroom and familiarize themselves with the environment. Whilst this is happening the adults are able to talk and the teacher can answer any further questions you may have.

Following our re-enrollment period completion in mid- March, a letter communicating the admissions decision is sent to the parents from the Enrollment Coordinator. 

The letter may include recommendations to prepare your child to join the class based on the assessment taken during the interview. 

You will also be sent an email from FACTS with an invitation to enroll online. You will have a week to enroll unless you are applying for Flexible Tuition. 

Admissions: Grades 1-8

  • Join us for a guided tour of the campus and classrooms followed by a talk describing Waldorf education and our curriculum. We will conclude with Q&A.
  • Please contact enrollment@santacruzwaldorf.org if you would like to register for one of these events. Adults only with the exception of babes in arms please.

To apply please fill out an application online

When applying for Grades 2 through 8, you will be asked to release copies of school records and obtain a Teacher Recommendation from your child’s current teacher. Copies of previous assessments are always considered helpful.

Upon receipt of your application, the Enrollment Coordinator or a class teacher will contact you to schedule an interview. All grades interviews are conducted by two class teachers.

 For grades 2 through 8, acceptance is based on a review of academic records, personal interviews, teacher recommendations and a school visit. During this visit, the child may have a limited assessment. Faculty members make observations and provide feedback to the class teacher and an admissions decision is then made.

Grades 2- 8: After the interview, moving forward with the application, your child will be invited to shadow in the grades class for a few days to experience life at SCWS. 

Grade 1: First grade applicants will be invited for a 1st grade readiness assessment. There is no shadow for entering this grade

A letter communicating the admissions decision is sent to the parents from the Enrollment Coordinator. You will also be sent an email from FACTS with an invitation to enroll online. You will have a week to enroll unless you are applying for Flexible Tuition.

Tuition

Tuition Rates for 2026-2027
Preschool: main program until 12:45pm $17, 430 (5 day program)
Preschool: w/aftercare until 3pm $21,866 (5 day program)
Kindergarten: $21,410 (5 day program)
Grades 1-8 : $26,410

Aftercare until 5pm is available at $15.75/hour

Sibling Discount Plan
Younger siblings’ tuition will be discounted.

Activity Fees
Activity fees are used for field trips and class activities. Activity fees are non-refundable and not eligible for flexible tuition. Activity fees will be included with tuition payments and spread across payments if tuition is paid in installments.

Preschool
Supplies Fee: $725
Grades
3rd – 4th Grade Activity Fee: $500
5th Grade Activity Fee: $525
6th  Grade Activity Fee: $1100
7th Grade Activity Fee: $1200
8th Grade Activity Fee: $1450

Flexible Tuition

One important way we strengthen the Santa Cruz Waldorf School community is by making the SCWS experience accessible to families from diverse economic backgrounds.This philosophy has been at the heart of our school’s culture since 1976. Our Flexible Tuition program is based on demonstrated financial need and the availability of funds.

We use the CLARITY Application to determine a family’s level of financial need based on the information that families share in the application which includes assets, income, expenses, and debts.

The privacy and security of your personal information is taken very seriously. Clarity is certified for both GDPR and SOC2 and uses enterprise-level security standards including end-to-end encryption of all personally identifiable information. For more information, please refer to Clarity’s Privacy Policy.

The deadline for completing the financial aid application including relevant supplemental documents is January 31st for returning families and one week after acceptance for families who are new to the school.

To get started, please go to the CLARITY Application and create an account. The application typically takes less than 30 minutes to complete. The Clarity Application is also mobile-friendly so you can complete it from anywhere. During the application process, you are able to save your progress and return at any time. At the end of the application, there is a $60 fee to submit, and you can share your application with additional schools that accept the Clarity Application for no additional charge. Simply use the dropdown menu in the application to select those schools.

Please remember to return to your dashboard after you complete and submit your Clarity Application, as we require you to upload 2023 tax documentation and a most recent pay stub for those who receive one.

Click here for a Family Application Guide in English

Haga clic aquí para acceder a la Guía de Solicitud para Familias en español.

If you need support during the process of completing your application, there is in-app support available through the “Help” button in the bottom left of the Clarity screen, as well as email and phone support at support@clarityapp.com or 206-210-3752, in both English and Spanish. The application itself is also fully translated into Spanish.

Once you receive the outcome of your application, if receiving an award, you will then have one week to accept the award and enroll your child(ren).

Immunization Policy

At Santa Cruz Waldorf School, our students’ overall health is always a priority and concern. Like all public and private schools in California, our school must follow the immunization requirements put in place by the state. California requires all students to be immunized before attending school; therefore, families must provide immunization records before the student begins classes. Here is the immunization schedule for students in California. In California, immunization records are checked when a child enters a preschool, kindergarten, seventh grade or when transferring to a new school. Children may not attend a school or a childcare facility until they have received all required immunizations for their age or have a valid medical exemption. The state allows for medical exemptions in specific circumstances. Please visit the California Department of Public Health website for the state’s exemption policy.

Click arrows to view our VIDEO LIBRARY

 

Campus Tour

If you do not live close by and are unable to visit us in person this video is a wonderful opportunity to experience the magic of our campus in the redwoods. The video begins with an experience of the school garden (named Marisol) followed by a visit to the preschool and a peek into both the preschool and kindergarten classrooms. The second half the video takes a wander through the grades campus and ends in our Redwood Grove where we host school plays, school assemblies and community events. It is our outdoor auditorium and it’s peace and serenity is the jewel of our land.

8th Grade Graduation Performance

8th Grade graduating class of 2023 performs “Where is the Love”.

Outdoor Learning (during Covid)

This video was made in Fall of 2020 when we returned to the campus after the Covid 19 shutdown. It is an example of both the teachers’ and administration’s adaptiveness to the situation and how we were able to continue in person learning throughout the school year thanks to our large campus and outdoor classroom set up. Our students were minimally impacted by the shutdown and we are so grateful for that.

Walk Through the Grades (during Covid)

This video was made in 2020-21 school year, during the Covid pandemic, and shows our flexibility for both indoor and outdoor learning in an effort to keep everyone healthy during this time. We are so happy that our students were able to come to campus for the entire school year, resulting in minimal impact to their learning. The children also loved having both indoor and outdoor classrooms!

An Education for the Future

On September 19, 2019, Waldorf education celebrates 100 years. Across the globe, Waldorf schools are engaging in creative, social and environmental actions. With these initiatives, Waldorf communities are seeding the future. 100 years is only the beginning. Visit waldorfeducation.org/waldorf100 to learn more.

Kindergarten Hike Day

Take a hike with the kindergarteners through the redwoods that back onto our campus. You will experience Newt Crossing and the sheer wonder of our Santa Cruz mountain wildlife along with the Lavender Kindergarten class.

Learn to Change the World Part 1

This is a beautiful film giving a glimpse of the profound work being undertaken by Waldorf schools that is going on on a global scale. Part 1

In 2019, to celebrate 100 years of the Waldorf education, more than 1,000 schools, and twice as many Kindergartens, in almost 90 countries on all continents, celebrated a worldwide festival, sharing their thoughts and initiatives for the pedagogical needs of our time.

Learn to Change the World Part 2

Becoming

“Becoming” is the third film in a series of short films produced on the occasion of the centenary of Waldorf Education under the direction of the award-winning Californian documentary filmmaker Paul Zehrer, and which provide an insight into the inclusive diversity of Waldorf Education under the most diverse cultural, social, religious and economic conditions around the globe. No age has a deeper impact on the whole of life than the first years of childhood. “During those first seven years, children develop their bodily foundation for life. They explore and experience the world with their senses and through meeting the other. These early encounters in life have a deep influence and long lasting effect on the making of their own being,” says Clara Aerts, coordinating member of IASWECE and co-producer of the film, which was shot in the USA, Israel, Japan, India, South Africa, Guatemala, the Czech Republic, Switzerland and Germany. “The experiences that we make possible – or withhold – for our children at this age form the most elementary basis for their further lives and thus ultimately for the future of humanity.”

Media and Waldorf Education

100 Years of Waldorf

In 2019 Santa Cruz Waldorf School celebrated 100 years of Waldorf education by planting 100 trees

“Waldorf has a nurturing environment and the kids are thriving! They are learning how to be capable, responsible people and enjoy what they are studying. The staff is wonderful! We love that our kids can’t wait to go to school and are happy!”

Nate and Julie

parents