Waldorf School of Lexington
Reviews
My son attended this school for 3 years, 1st to 3rd grade (Mrs. Wayland's class). At the time he started there, we just arrived from Israel, where he attended Waldorf kindergarten. So we thought that staying in the same system will make his transition easier. How wrong we were! Not only the school didn't provide extra support with language and culture, it was on-going criticism of his behavior, habits and skills (fast forward to high school: the kid scored very high on all portions of his SAT). The teacher made an opposite you would expect a professional educator to do: instead of supporting and uniting, she made sure my child was always an outsider in her class. It was also a lot of labeling - like expressing concern that my son has an ADD: well, we tested him, and it was negative. There was no guidance counselor evadable and all child's needs are at the total care of the class teacher. They are pretty good there to project a glow of caring and warmth, which turns to be very pretentious. At the moment we switched to Bedford public school system, the kid was blossoming, and our perception of American education was changed dramatically. Now, when he is 22 and on his way to become a successful professional, when we bring up his Waldorf school experience, he acknowledges that it was a big mistake. Well, we all agree on it. Just a recommendation: Utilize great public schools with all their resources that our part of MA has to offer. Be aware: you never know what your kid might encounter and what kind of support he might need. And this place is not equipped to deal with any deviations from their assumed "norm".
Read about Waldorf education in the New York Times. And check it out on MSNBC. Then come to the Waldorf School of Lexington and see it in action.
