Directors: Nancy Blanning / Leslie Burchell-Fox, MSEd   Director Emerita: Susan Howard, MA, MEd

The Completion Track involves 8 weeks of on-campus coursework—a three-week intensive in the first summer followed by a one-week November intensive, a one-week March intensive, and a three-week intensive in the second summer—plus mentored teaching practice. It is designed to be completed over the course of 13 months.

The Completion Track utilizes our regular Early Childhood core and adjunct faculty. As a Sunbridge student, you’ll benefit from the wide array of resources available to us as part of the Threefold Educational Center community.

Curriculum

Anthroposophical Studies

• Inner Development of the Educator: working with one’s inner life and biography as a process of becoming
• Esoteric Science: Rudolf Steiner’s in-depth study of the spiritual nature of human and cosmic evolution
• Professional and Social Aspects of Education: Threefold Social Order and the Social Question, the art of working together

Child Development and Waldorf Education

• Early Childhood Development II/III/IV: including working with the lower senses, child study and observation, and first grade readiness
• Therapeutic Aspects of Waldorf Early Childhood Education
• Early Childhood Seminar and Independent Project Presentations

Art for the Educator

• Watercolor Painting
• Sculpture and Woodcarving
• Eurythmy
• Instrumental Music, Movement, and Singing

Practical Activities of Waldorf Early Childhood Education

• Rhythmic Games and Music in the Mood of the Fifth
• Hand Gesture Games of Wilma Ellersiek
• Handwork: working with wool, plant dyes, etc.
• Puppetry and Marionettes
• Gardening and Experiences in Nature

Mentored Early Childhood Teaching Practice

Each program student is assigned a faculty mentor—a master early childhood educator who will visit you in your work with young children each fall and spring during the length of the program to offer support and guidance in practical aspects of your work and in your development as an educator.

Please visit our Faculty page to read bios of our Early Childhood program directors and faculty.

The Completion Track is intended to serve Waldorf early childhood educators with both significant experience and prior, relevant coursework. Candidates must have a minimum of 5 years of lead-teaching experience in a WECAN-affiliated Waldorf setting, and 200+ hours of relevant coursework. This coursework may include, but is not limited to, trainings such as Waldorf Elementary Teacher Education, LifeWays, Sophia’s Hearth, or Foundation Studies, and should include studies in these categories:

• Anthroposophical studies
• Birth-to-age-three
• Arts for the educator
• Child development and Waldorf Education

You must be actively working in a Waldorf early childhood setting both at the time of your application and during your enrollment in our program. A high school diploma is required.

The Completion Track application process is two-tiered.

Tier 1: Eligibility Review

The purpose of the eligibility review is to confirm that your prior experience and coursework is aligned with the content and standards of Early Childhood Teacher Education at Sunbridge Institute.

To begin this review:

• Complete an Eligibility Review form, either online or via a downloadable PDF, and submit it along with the non-refundable $50 pre-application fee. Forms received without this fee will not be processed. Eligibility Review Forms for the summer 2021 cohort will be available October 1, 2020.
• A program director will review your background and, within two weeks of receipt, will set up a phone consultation to discuss your candidacy.
• If it is determined that you are an eligible candidate, our admissions coordinator will then forward you a link to the Completion Track application form (electronic or paper version).

Tier 2: Application

A completed application consists of:

• The Completion Track application form – completed, signed and dated
• Non-refundable $50 application fee. Applications submitted after May 1 must include a $50 late fee. 
• Current resumé
• Personal statement
• Two letters of recommendation. Letters should be sent from the recommenders directly to the Sunbridge Institute Admissions Office
• If applicable, a transcript from your degree-granting institution or any college attended. Otherwise, a high school transcript or diploma.
• If applicable, a copy of your program certificate and/or documentation listing prior relevant coursework (as indicated on the application form).

If mailing your materials, please send to:
Sunbridge Institute Office of Admissions
285 Hungry Hollow Road
Chestnut Ridge, NY 10977

See our tuition sheet.

Read about financial aid.

Sunbridge is approved by the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) to invite the transfer of foreign students into the United States to study at our Institute. We welcome students from all over the world to join our student body and engage in the pursuit of becoming a Waldorf teacher.

Applying for a visa with the support of Sunbridge Institute.

NOTE: All applicants whose first language is not English or who have taken their prior education in a non-English-speaking college or university must demonstrate oral and written proficiency in English during the admissions process (through a hand written personal statement and phone conversation). Taking the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) may be required.

Please contact our admissions office at info@sunbridge.edu / 845-425-0055 x20

Please Note: Sunbridge Institute Waldorf Teacher Education programs and intensives are recognized by AWSNA, the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America, and are licensed by BPSS, the Bureau of Proprietary School Supervision of the New York State Education Department. These offerings do not lead to New York State teaching certification.

Sunbridge Institute reserves the right to cancel or change any offering at any time and to make faculty or course substitutions when necessary.

In all of its dealings, including its admissions, educational, and employment practices, it is the policy of Sunbridge Institute, its Trustees, officers, employees and other duly authorized agents not to discriminate against any individual or group for reasons of race, color, creed, gender, age, culture, ethnicity, national origin, marital status, sexual orientation or identification, or mental or physical handicap.