Our Mission & Core Values

Portland Waldorf High School educates adolescents for the whole of life in order to uplift humanity. Out of the insights of anthroposophy, the school nurtures the imagination, cultivates the intellect, and recognizes the unique spirit of each person in the community.

In this way, children and adolescents are surrounded by striving adults and strengthened individually and socially to meet the challenges of life. Students emerge as creative, independent thinkers who meet the world with initiative and purpose.

Our Mission

Our Core Values

  • Educate the whole self to be healthy and balanced

  • Honor place and care for our home

  • Nurture relationship and care for humanity

  • Connect with spirit through reverence and seeking our true purpose with initiative

Portland Waldorf School strives to advance equity in education and nurture a diverse learning community of adolescents, teachers, families, and staff. We value individual differences while promoting and celebrating the richness in our community.

Diversity Statement

At Portland Waldorf School, we seek to create an inclusive community where our differences are both valued and acknowledged. Celebrating our shared humanity and striving to be our best selves is a priority. 

We commit to being a community that is inclusive of people of diverse culture, race, gender, sexual orientation, age, ability, economic background, political view, and spiritual orientation.

To address the needs of our students and the issues of our current world, we commit to making ongoing innovations in our curriculum, festivals, policies, and practices in order to better reflect, support, and expand our evolving community. 

We welcome open dialogue and acknowledge that mistakes and discomfort are part of the process, which also provide an opportunity for growth. We seek to embrace diversity because: only if we welcome and incorporate a variety of experiences can we live fully in our shared humanity. 

On-going Action at PWHS

In 2022, our faculty and staff participated in multiple sessions of SEED training, where we expanded our skills of deepening our conversations as a community and reflecting on our goals as a school. We continue to review our curriculum with an eye on inclusion, representation and diverse narratives. With the help of members of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, we have both a living and a written Land Acknowledgement, as well as ongoing community education.

Currently our staff DEIJ committee meets twice a month.

We are actively seeking community members to form and facilitate a community DEIJ committee. Please contact us for meeting information.