There is a lot of talk of wonder at The Denver Waldorf School. As we celebrate our school's 50th anniversary this year, wonder has been the theme throughout - for our "Wonders of Waldorf" Michaelmas event, for our annual giving campaign to "The Wonder Fund," and for our upcoming gala celebrating "50 Years of Wonder." In this week’s episode, Kelly Molinet (School Director) and Charlie Orphanides (Education Director) discuss the deeper underpinnings of this concept of wonder and how it is beneath all that we do in Waldorf education. They will also share how we as parents can support the cultivation of wonder

Imagine asking your high schooler, “how was school today?” and receiving an engaged and enthusiastic response. That is the wonder of The Denver Waldorf High School. In this week’s episode, Kelly Molinet (School Director) and Charlie Orphanides (Education Director) take a deep dive into what makes our high school such an engaging, unique, and fulfilling experience. High school should be challenging, not a grind, and it should open up new opportunities, not foreclose possibilities. Listen to their conversation to hear how we cultivate a learning environment with depth, purposeful intensity, curiosity, and joy as our students prepare for their journeys beyond DWS.

On this week's episode, Kelly Mollinet (our School Director) and Charlie Orphanides (our Educational Director) discuss the question: "what's up with community at The Denver Waldorf School?" Our families, our students, and our educators choose this community with love and intentionality. But what does it mean to join a diverse community? How can we move from curiosity and interest to deep enthusiasm for the journey of our fellow community members? And where do we find the courage, heart, and vulnerability to show up as our authentic selves? Join Kelly and Charlie for an exploration of the ways in which community serves as the glue for everything we do at The Denver Waldorf School!

For this week's podcast episode, we are grateful to be able to catch up with DWS alum, Ian Connolly from the class of 2015. He is a legal scholar, a whitewater river rafting guide, and a key contributor to community environmental nonprofits. He was recently awarded the Wyss Scholarship, which seeks to support a new generation of leaders focused on land conservation issues. Ian is currently a third-year law student at Lewis & Clark Law School with a focus on environmental and Native American law. We appreciated the chance to sit down with Ian and hear his reflections on how his Waldorf journey shaped who he is today.

Episode notes referenced by Ian: https://canyonsinc.com/rivers/main-salmon/

On this week's podcast, DWS high school students ask and answer the tough questions about smartphone use -- and some of their answers may surprise you! Rising 12th grader, Oscar, interviews his fellow high school students on the positives and negatives of smartphone use, the appropriate age for a student to receive that first device, and advice

What's up with technology at DWS? The Waldorf approach to education has always emphasized the importance of giving room to our children's imaginations to blossom - to be open to receive the beauty of the world we live in, to be free to grow into their unique selves, to nurture their creative spirits - and time away from technology is a significant part of this belief.

At the same time, our Waldorf school is not inherently anti-technology. Yes, you will not find iPads or computers in our kindergartens or lower grades. Yes, our students are asked to leave any phones that come to

On this week's episode of What's up with That?, Kelly Molinet (School Director) and Charlie Orphanides (Education Director) speak on the school's essential work and commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Together, they identify and dismantle the barriers that often impede progress when it comes to addressing issues of race, ethnicity, and other identities within our Waldorf community. Recognizing that DEI work can be both essential and frightening, they offer practical advice for how to cross the threshold, embrace learning moments, and strive to create an inclusive community.

What's up with homework at DWS - what is the nature of it, how much, how often? On this week's episode, Kelly Molinet (School Director) and Charlie Orphanides (Educational Director) discuss our Waldorf approach and goals with homework. In elementary school and even leading into middle school, we want children to experience childhood - to play, to interact with nature, to interact with their family and friends - and so the assignment of homework must be carefully considered. While you may see some math practice coming home or vocabulary, the usual rhythm of homework in our younger grades consists of reading and instrument practice. What we value most in a lesson is engagement, creativity, deep learning, and a meaningful lesson within our classrooms.

On this week's episode of What's up with That?, Kelly

At The Denver Waldorf School, teachers are attuned to each and every student's neuro and physical development, across multiple environments, on a daily basis. Charlies describes "teaching as an art form," in which an educator continually assesses each student as an individual, based upon a relationship of trust and growth over the years. Instead of just measuring a child's learning and progress through incremental assessments manufactured by outside companies, Waldorf teachers assess the whole child, in particular each child's readiness to learn and ability to digest class material and bring that knowledge back into the world. The Waldorf model allows students to flourish while aiming to remove the anxiety out of assessments.

In a recent New York Times article by Adam Grant, the power of "looping" was discussed as a key educational component in being able to unlock hidden potential in each student. In Waldorf education, this is something we have always understood and implemented - our students stay with the same main lesson teacher for multiple years through two loops- one teacher is with our students for main lesson from grades 1 through 4, and then the next loop follows from grades 5 through 8.

In this episode, School Director Kelly Molinet and Education Director Charlie Orphanides discuss the value of these deep, connected relationships with our teachers, and how they benefit our students in receiving a social education- an education where they learn not just content, but a way of being in the world.