High School

ABOUT HIGHLAND HALL WALDORF SCHOOL

Highland Hall Waldorf School is an independent, coeducational day school based on the educational principles of Dr. Rudolf Steiner, Austrian philosopher and social scientist. Dr. Steiner established the first Waldorf school in Stuttgart, Germany in 1919.

The oldest Waldorf School in the western United States, Highland Hall opened its doors in 1955 to students from the San Fernando Valley, Hollywood, the Westside, and Pasadena. Today we continue to enjoy the vitality and diversity of a multi-ethnic student population representing local communities from Venice to Palmdale, from Malibu to Glendale. In addition, our foreign exchange students, who come to us from Japan, Europe, South America and Australia, bring an intercultural awareness to our campus.

While academic standards at Highland Hall surpass University of California entrance requirements, scholastic discipline is balanced by artistic values and practical skills. High school students (Grades 9 through 12) study academic subjects in three- or four-week blocks during main lesson, the first 13/4 hours of the day, followed by track classes in foreign language, mathematics and English. The day concludes with artistic and physical education electives.

Instructors, who are specialists in their fields, conduct classes in a seminar format of lecture and discussion. Rather than relying on textbooks and workbooks, students take notes from lectures and discussions, then create a book which contains academic content and illustrations of the subject material for each block. The instructor assesses the student's work according to the intellectual and artistic content of this book, participation in classroom discussion, and performance on quizzes and tests.

Main lesson and English classes are scheduled by grade and reflect the mixed abilities of students in each grade. In mathematics and foreign language classes, however, students qualify for different levels according to their ability and experience. We require each student to participate in physical education and artistic electives.

Although the environment at Highland Hall is deliberately non-competitive, we expect students to perform to their maximum potential in all academic and social situations. We encourage students to feel secure, not only in what they know, but that they know. Our athletic program emphasizes a relaxed atmosphere in which students enjoy the activity itself as well as the win. We foster a social awareness which promotes interdependence and empowers each student with the possibility to emerge as a leader. Our students learn the balance between individual striving and concern for the group as a whole.

In 1975, the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) accredited Highland Hall School.

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