Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Justice

Commitment to Equity

At SWS, we don’t see DEIJ values as antithetical to Waldorf school values, nor do we see Waldorf school values at all opposed to DEIJ values. Together, we are striving to discover and build the third space between these two oftentimes entrenched camps, which, in recent years, have caused rifts in school communities and many broken relationships. Out of the wisdom of anthroposophy and of antiracism—to which we add freedom, equality, and interdependence—we strive to transcend the binary of either/or thinking and feeling to become the community we know we can be together.

Sacramento Waldorf School's mission recognizes that each student is a unique individual with body, soul, and spirit. When we fail to acknowledge and confront the material and spiritual impacts of racial and other injustices on children of all identities, we betray this mission. Our Faculty, Staff, Leadership, and Board consider racism and any form of discrimination unacceptable.  We fundamentally reject any view that questions an individual’s equal value. We celebrate and uplift the goodness, beauty, and truth of the human experience in all its expressions, including but not limited to race, sex, gender identity, ethnicity, national origin, neurotype, documentation status, culture, sexual orientation, religion, age, socioeconomic status, and ability. We acknowledge the urgent responsibility for institutions, especially schools, to act in support of justice and healing. As an independent Waldorf school, we assert that racism and patriarchy are at the foundation of injustice and inequity in our community. Our pedagogy originates from the guiding principles of Rudolf Steiner and has historically centered white European perspectives while failing to fully reflect the ethnic and cultural diversity of our school community and the world at large. Eurocentrism fails to educate members of our community in the ways necessary to fully equip them as members of our current society confronting injustices with deep historical roots.  We denounce any racial doctrine attributed to or inferred from the ideas of Rudolf Steiner. We offer our sincere commitment to deepening this work together and becoming more courageous in confronting injustice in the classroom, curriculum, and community.

Approved jointly by College of Teachers and Board of Trustees on 2021 August 01

DEIJ work in schools, as cultural institutions, is both top-down (creating policy) and bottom-up (building school culture). This ensures that social change is rooted in living practices that foster inclusive and equitable community life. Below is a summary of recent and current DEIJ projects at our school.

• The Faculty and Staff at SWS are focusing on professional development with the guidance of an equity consultant for developing sensitivity & responsiveness to trauma; recognizing the ways in which systemic forms of oppression impact students and the broader community; and investigating together the impacts of that system on each of us that can interfere with our intentions to be fair and loving.

• The Equity Committee, which reformed in 2020 as a Board-chartered and College of Teachers-mandated committee and with new guidance from the Antiracism Taskforce, began working towards recommendations, forming subcommittees to take up each recommendation from the Taskforce.

• Professional Development for Whole-School Faculty Meetings

• Curriculum

• School-wide Policies

• Grievances

• SWS engaged parents, students, staff, and faculty in reviewing school culture, using the NAIS Assessment of Inclusivity and Multiculturalism (AIM) survey; data from the survey is being used to revise policies and processes to improve accessibility and inclusivity in areas such as race, socioeconomics, neurodiversity, and gender.

• The Library Committee, led by our School Librarian and faculty, is auditing and refreshing our collection to increase representation in curricular materials.

• Bias Incident Protocol was drafted and adopted as a formal grievance policy to support all community members with guidance from Alma Partners.

• Equity Committee drafted Theory of Change to guide committee work and community support in making DEIJ goals part of our living practice at SWS.

• Curriculum review for bias, inclusion, and representation began in 2021–22 and is continuing summer of 2023 with support from AWSNA (via their Art of Teaching Tool) and Alma Partners.

• SWS Code of Conduct was published in 2024. This living document arose from collaborative efforts by the faculty, administraton, and trustees. Our Code of Conduct is informed by our own action research and professional development learnings on antiracist and trauma-informed Waldorf pedagogy and policies.

• Faculty and Staff began Restorative Justice Practices training with Dr. Sherry Congrave and The Town Project in Spring 2024.