First the surprising story appeared in the New York Times at the end of 2011, to be later picked up by MSNBC. The news was that resident parents of America’s most hi-tech population, Silicon Valley, California, are choosing the world’s most deliberately low-tech schools for their children. Their choice: the Waldorf Schools, where a low-tech philosophy has been pursued for 90 years, with children never rushed into engaging with the technology of the moment. Instead, at the core of the Waldorf system, based on the ideas of educator, scientist and philosopher Dr. Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925), is the idea that education is an artistic process, and that learning is best attained experientially as well as academically. Waldorf grade school students engage in active, hands-on learning, gaining an intimate experience of work that will inevitably be made faster by computers later in life. The questions of when and how students are taught are considered as important as the subject matter. With over 1,000 schools in 83 countries, Waldorf Education is the fastest growing independent educational movement in the world, preparing students for the most demanding high schools and colleges. The Housatonic Valley Waldorf School in Newtown is the only Waldorf grade school in Connecticut, and welcomes visitors who would like to experience first-hand Waldorf’s creative and holistic approach to education.

Housatonic Valley Waldorf School is at 40 Dodgingtown Road, Newtown. Contact Enrollment Director Therese Lederer at 203.364.1113 or visit WaldorfCT.org for more information.