Denver Waldorf School

2100 South Pennsylvania Street

Denver, CO 80210

19 Reviews

School District
Grade

PK-12
Type

private

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Reviews

Submitted by student on January 28, 2025

I’d say this school is great. There are tutors and special education is great. You are provided with great opportunities and knowledge to learn. The teachers are friendly and helpful. I’d recommend this school for extra education and also great resources to learn
Submitted by parent on September 29, 2024

The Denver Waldorf School was a monumental disappointment as the school is more concerned with promoting an ideal image than helping children learn. Main lesson was absolute chaos, there has been no eurythmy for 6 years, and the math teacher referred many in the class for private tutoring because they were behind. Kids were in the halls doing cartwheels or fighting over balance boards during lessons. Due to parent unrest, a short-lived program meant to boost its image had parents standing in the back of the class where we observed the teacher frantically searching for worksheets hidden by a student. Kids throw a fit when learning something new - they spent 2 years learning decimals! Due to lack of class management, Teacher #1 was replaced with Teacher #2 who, fresh out of school himself, was fired in his first year. Hard to be successful with a new assistant every year and the school prohibiting all forms of class management as “public shaming”.A group of 4 bullies would repeatedly instigate a confrontation and lie about it with no consequences, even if 2 admitted to lying afterward. “Physical abuse” and “sexual abuse” were two such accusations yelled by the bully group. After many of these conflicts, all revolving around the same group, the school rarely caught on or cared to investigate because, sadly, DWS just follows the easiest path which is to pretend no problem exists. My child was forced to apologize individually to 4 liars for “physical abuse”. This is the school’s idea of “restorative justice” and “reflection”.Multiple parents were upset about the bullying problem and repeated incidents. The school addressed this by calling a class meeting and passing out a handout with “bullying” vs “not bullying” and tried to argue that technically there was no bullying. They then said that “parents should stop gossiping with each other and talk only to us”. What kind of school would tell parents to NOT talk to each other!? This was their way of controlling their manufactured image. It’s for good reason that the class has declined in enrollment over 6 years from 25 to barely double digits!At another school now, I see my daughter’s confidence and self-esteem returning, and a notably better mood. It’s sad to think about just how much DWS pushed her down. The Denver Waldorf School is academically AND socially worse than many public alternatives and certainly not worth the annual $20k+ (plus the therapy and tutoring costs many in the class required)!
Submitted by other on September 29, 2024

I was a student at the Denver Waldorf School from 1st through 6th grade.One of the main problems with the school is the teachers ignore problems. They blame it on students, parents, and everyone leaving the school, or just say there are not any problems at all! The teachers punish the entire class when a few students misbehave. One time, 2 subject classes were chaotic, so everyone in the class had to write letters, apologizing for misbehaving. The main teacher said even if you were not misbehaving, you should have been a leader and told the kids who were misbehaving to stop. Another time, 3 kids were doing gymnastics during quiet reading time, so the teacher threatened to take away library time for the whole class. Sometimes, they do not punish at all. They just reward. We had a yardstick with a clothespin clipped to it. Every time a class went well, the teacher moved it an inch. Once we reached 36 inches, we got a reward like a bake sale, an ice cream day, or an extra recess. The problem is, we won rewards all the time because they moved the pin even when the class was absolutely horrible.There are behavior problems at DWS. Students are constantly out of their seats and touching and playing with everything. Sometimes, they also run out of the classroom. There are some kids, where if they get in trouble, they say it is not fair or the teacher is singling them out. If teachers ever say anything back, the kids yell at them.There are a few students who start whining whenever we learn something new. They cry, yell, and stomp their feet. They start all over again if the teacher brings that concept up. When we do writing assignments, a lot of kids raise their hands and say “What do I write?” Most teachers actually give them sentences to write. They do it over and over again, so the teacher ends up writing the whole thing for them. I am going into 7th grade and most of my class can not even write an essay. Last time we were supposed to, people were complaining, even though it was 2 paragraphs and fill-in-the-blank. We worked on it for weeks, and a lot of kids never finished. Our math worksheets say 5th grade on them even though we were in 6th grade. The class got that far behind because of a few people whining, and the teachers slow the whole class down because of them.Right now, the class has about 12 kids because more than half have left since 1st grade. A lot of people left because of class behavior, bullying, and teachers ignoring all the problems.
Submitted by parent on September 28, 2024

A previous reviewer on greatschools.org summed it up perfectly with “DWS was spectacular at what they did well, and terrible at what they did poorly, with little receptivity to feedback and change” and “behavioral issues got worse as the years progressed”. Sadly, I can attest the school has done absolutely nothing to address these issues since that review was written in 2015. In recent years, DWS has become a haven for children with serious behavior problems and their delusional parents. Why? They are unwilling to acknowledge their own problems, much less deal with them. The fundamental conceit of DWS is that the Waldorf philosophy is beyond reproach. The “logic” goes something like this: (1) Waldorf is the best and only way of educating children. (2) There are no problems in Waldorf because (1). (3) Therefore, if you feel that there is bullying or misbehavior at Waldorf, then you are wrong because (2) and YOU must be the problem because of your lack of devotion to principle (1). That’s right, this school literally has no tools to rely on other than denial, victim-blaming, and gaslighting because (1).The lesson that I and many other parents learned the hard way is that the Waldorf experience varies wildly by class. From my observations over the six years my child spent at DWS, your experience has a 25% chance of being phenomenal, a 50% chance of being acceptable if you’re really into Waldorf but not worth the tuition otherwise, and a 25% chance of being a complete disaster that ends with your child in therapy. The best decision I ever made for my child was enrolling at Parzival Shield Waldorf Kindergarten, and the worst was keeping them in an unhealthy nightmare of a class at DWS because I desperately hoped things would get better. I still believe Waldorf is the best educational model for my child, but I no longer believe DWS is capable of delivering. If Waldorf resonates with you, my best advice is to be ready and willing to remove your child immediately if there is a problem with the teacher or any student in the class. Do not look wistfully at well-formed and properly functioning classes and think that too can be your child’s experience. If your child is enrolling after first grade, I suggest you take a hard look at the class size. If it seems unusually low, be warned that there is probably a very good reason. My child’s class lost 25% of its students two years in a row. This school has a significant retention issue, hence the ever increasing tuition.
Submitted by parent on March 03, 2020

This is an incredible school. The philosophy and curriculum really help develop the whole child in thinking, feeling and acting. I feel that ingenuity, collaboration, and developing new ways of finding solutions are becoming more critical to success than ever before and the Denver Waldorf school provides that to my kids.
Submitted by parent on June 28, 2018

Excellent! We love this school. We love that it offers music and art as part of the curriculum. The academics are steong with the plus being that kids are exposed to woodworking and eurythmy as part of the daily lessons. Amazing experience.
Submitted by parent on June 28, 2018

Good Experience...Each school has issues and problems, however not each school is willing to learn, grow and attempt to make their school better for their students.
Submitted by parent on April 26, 2018

Neutral seems to be the message, but that's not really fair. I want to strongly disagree with some of our experience and strongly agree with others. It seems like if the teacher or employee is good at what they do, then it works, but if anyone is struggling--teacher, student, parent, administrator, there isn't a way to get passed that. You'd think some things about how to run a school would be automatically in place for a school this old, but it doesn't happen here. It's sad because there are some real gems--the philosophy behind the education seems intriguing (and slightly hidden, can't figure out if they don't know what they're talking about or they just don't know how to tell me what they're talking about) and some of the teachers my kids have had should be awarded teacher of the year. But some of our other experiences have been so awful I can't believe these folks haven't lost their accreditation. Definitely some very happy families at the school, and some very unhappy ones.
Submitted by other on January 30, 2018

This is one of the worst schools you could attend. The teachers are confusing and mean, they show very clear favoritism of certain students and the academics are awful in 10th grade I was learning 7th grade math.
Submitted by parent on November 02, 2016

We have been involved with DWS since 2004 and both of our children attend. One myth about this approach to education is that it is a good fit for "artsy" kids. While children who are drawn to music, arts and drama will enjoy how steeped in these things the curriculum is, I feel strongly that children who are not inclined in these ways need this education as well. The goal is to grow well-rounded human beings, who are capable of flexible thinking, compassion and caring for others and a feeling of responsibility for the way we impact the earth. This is done through very intentional methods grounded in a deep understanding of child development. Recent trends in education discuss emotional intelligence, which is something Waldorf education has valued since its inception with its Head, Heart and Hands approach. Children develop capacities, as opposed to acquiring knowledge to be regurgitated. These capacities translate into creative thinking, a love of learning, problem solving and sensitivity badly needed in the world today. Waldorf graduates are sought after by many colleges because of the kind of human beings they are. When children are given too many choices and an ability to focus only on what they are naturally interested in, they become limited in the capacities they develop. Because students at DWS all take music, movement, art, history of all kinds, math and science, they enter the adult world capable of working a wide variety of jobs, with a wide variety of interests and skills. They simply make the world a better place and I am eternally grateful for the education, love and community our family has received from this amazing group of faculty and administrators.
Submitted by parent on November 02, 2016

We have three kids at the Denver Waldorf School, and have been involved with the school for 10 years.What drew us to Waldorf Education is the emphasis on cultivating capacities rather than simply teaching skills and information. There is skill work, of course, but the focus is on helping the children know how to observe accurately, think critically, be socially sensitive, emotionally intelligent, and self-disciplined. As a parent, I wonder about what the world will look like for my children and their children, and I can't quite wrap my head around why our approach to education is still teaching kids lots of information that's not relevant to solving tomorrow's problems. But I am frequently and overwhelmingly impressed by how strong my children's problem solving skills are, and how kind and compassionate they are to others. They are so much more socially aware than my husband and I are!We also really appreciate the educational support services at the school, because we have a child who is on the Autism Spectrum, NOS. He has taken really big strides because of the services he has access to through the school, and because of the strong interest knowledgeable teachers have in helping him thrive. He's very intellectually precocious, so there are times when he complains about being bored at school, but we've actually come to think that's okay. He's expected to participate in a wide range of subjects, including handwork and physical education, painting and singing--to name a few-- which have really helped to round out his natural tendencies. In addition to the support services he receives, I think this broad and varied curriculum has been a huge support in his continue to transform some of the challenges he has with an Autism diagnosis. He will have little problem in life intellectually, but I can see already how he is going to be more successful in accomplishing what he wants to because of the social intelligence he's developing.Best of all, perhaps, our kids are happy to go to school everyday! They are actively engaged in their learning and interested in the world. I think the ground is being set for them to continue to be interested in learning for the rest of their lives.
Submitted by parent on September 08, 2016

I have two children and a niece and nephew at DSW. They all started early education with DWS at 3 years old. Our experience has been wonderful in every manner. Our children have all thrived academically, physically and socially. I believe in the teaching staff, support staff and the learning philosophy whole-heartedly. I wouldn't think of sending my children any where else (especially pre-K -8th grade). It is a truly beautiful learning experience and we have fully embraced the community.
Submitted by parent on July 10, 2015

I have waited a long time to write a review on this school to make sure I am completely objective and unbiased by emotion. In general, I would say that our experience was that DWS was spectacular at what they did well, and terrible at what they did poorly, with little receptivity to feedback and change. The staff as generally unmanaged, and do not receive any performance reviews, and parents were never given an opportunity to give feedback on teachers, administrators or staff members. In fact, every time it was even suggested that one of the staff were sub-par performers, the leaders fell into a tail spin of ugly defensiveness. Perhaps that has changed since we left the school several years ago. They do certain things beautifully: creativity, arts, music, dance, physical exercise, outdoor play time, unstructured play time, independent thought, and harmonious relationships with students. Academically, based on all of my research, I believe they deliver a modified version of Waldorf methodology. The kids get terrifically proficient at knitting, playing the lyre, and illustrating letters and numbers, while true academic functions are taught in an unorthodox manner. This approach works really well for certain kids and not so well for others. For kids who are natural-born readers and who just learn by osmosis, they do well. Anyone who needs more structure will lag far, far behind. When we left, our child was three years behind in both reading and math, which seemed of little or no concern to the teachers or staff. Their theory was that the child would "simply catch up by 12th grade", a chance we ultimately were not wiling to take. If I had to do it again, I would do Parzival pre-school and 1st and 2nd grade at DWS and then get my child into a more academically structured environment. We have heard from parents who stayed and left later that they regretted the decision, and behavioral issues got worse as the years progressed. In sum, great, great school for young kids, pull them out by 3rd grade if you have any aspirations for your child to attend competitive schools in the future.
Submitted by student on May 07, 2015

I have attended Denver Waldorf since I was six. I love the curriculum and the artistic ways the students are taught, but your experience all depends on the class teacher and classmates you get. If you get stuck with a teacher who is mean, or doesn't like you, then your learning is put at risk. I have been bullied before, and the teachers don't step in. If I could go back to first grade, I would not go to Denver Waldorf. Some people have really good experiences with Denver Waldorf, and others don't.
Submitted by parent on September 03, 2014

Denver Waldorf School certainly is a kind and loving place. However, it is also a SCHOOL. It needs to shift a lot of focus to academic rigor so that it balances out the social/emotional/spiritual curriculum. Any private (and well compensated) school faced with a student clamoring for more learning and more engagement academically should meet that kid, should stretch to push her and give her the expansion she seeks. Waldorf did the exact opposite with our kid, so much so that she concluded on her own that it couldn't possibly be serious (in high school or otherwise) about academic excellence or even academics generally. If a child begs for challenge or rigor or higher standards from 6th, 7th, and 8th grade, and the school ignores her, then there is something terribly wrong. The school is run by committee and is nearly paralyzed from the start of every decision of consequence. The "head of school" is solely a figure head and has little power to make any significant or important policy (or frankly otherwise) decisions. I love the Waldorf education. This version of it at the Denver Waldorf, however, sadly leaves a lot to be desired.
Submitted by parent on April 30, 2014

This is a great school where the teachers and administration really care about the children. They show great respect and understanding for each child and create the type of environment needed so that children can learn and become happy, well adjusted, caring, educated, conscious human beings.
Submitted by parent on September 20, 2012

We just started pre-school at the Waldorf. We are extremely happy with everything and our son (3) seems very happy and comfortable. My son commented "There are no bad kids in my class". What he means is that the kids are gentle, caring, and well behaved. This is credit to the Waldorf phylosophy and the wonderful implementation by the DWS. I do not know how doing the full curriculum at the Waldorf works out but this is an excellent start.
Submitted by parent on May 21, 2012

Both of my children have attended DWS since they were preschool age (one currently in first grade, the other in fifth). It has been a wonderful choice for our family, with nurturing community and a focus on creative and artistic expression in learning. Both of my kids have tested gifted and have thrived without any sort of "special program" here at Waldorf. The teachers, which stay with the kids from 1st to 8th, are the reason for their excellence. Their love for the children and for teaching really shines through.
Submitted by parent on April 10, 2012

We love this school. I feel like my daughter is getting a superb education, not just in academia but as a human (polite, working together, nature). The faculty is like family to us, we speak openly on many topics both in the school and at home. My daughter is a kinetic learner that requires interaction, she loves the movement, art and storyline based approach to learning. Another great advantage Waldorf has is having the older kids (3-6, aftercare) mixed with the younger kids. The older students are fine role models and very caring. The entire approach to learning is very unique, with a mix of tradition and progressive methodologies. 100% happy with Denver Waldorf, it's worth every cent.