Sunbridge Institute’s Waldorf Elementary Teacher Education program provides appropriate credentials and practical, artistic, and philosophical foundations for successful Waldorf teaching in grades one through eight classrooms.  Graduates are conferred a diploma in Waldorf Teacher Education.
Director: Winnie Stern, MA
This program enrolls every summer. The next cohort enters summer 2023 (intensive dates: July 10-28).
Highly experienced Waldorf elementary educators looking to apply their background toward completing their Waldorf teacher training in a shorter length of time may qualify for our Completion Track option.
The Program Experience
The goal of Sunbridge’s Elementary Teacher Education program is to help guide each new teacher in his or her development as a person and an educator. We strive to develop capacities that give you the means to teach out of yourself and, in turn, help you to develop the unique capacities of your own students.
Through course work and observation, you’ll come to know why Waldorf teachers do what they do, and out of this understanding you’ll come to learn what you need to do. Through experiences in the arts—learning how to play the recorder, perform eurythmy, sing, paint, draw, sculpt, and do handwork—you’ll develop meaningful insights into the role of the arts in human development. Through thoughtful dialogue, assigned reading, and guidance, you’ll have the opportunity to develop a contemplative inner practice that will enhance your teaching and assist you along the lifelong, transformative path of becoming a Waldorf teacher.
You’ll be given countless tools for your Waldorf teaching, including suggestions for curriculum, materials, and invaluable support in both Sunbridge classrooms and Waldorf teaching classrooms.
“This program is all-encompassing: spiritual, intellectual, and inspiring!”
– Sunbridge Elementary Teacher Education student
Key Program Goals
It is expected that this program will prepare students to:
• Design activities or lessons that address the appropriate development of children’s thinking, feeling, and willing (commonly called cognition, affect, and behavior)
• Understand, interpret, and apply the philosophy and contemplative practices of Rudolf Steiner to their own preparation and practice, and demonstrate discernment for what is health-promoting for a child’s environment
• Teach in an aesthetic manner that includes the arts to enliven and support children’s learning experiences, as well as their humanity, in developmentally appropriate ways
• Demonstrate the skills necessary to create healthy learning communities within a classroom, school, and learning environment, including working cooperatively and supportively with colleagues and parents
• Regard teaching as ongoing research, and investigate questions using appropriate methods including observation, contemplative practice, and academic research skills
Program Components
Length
Sunbridge’s low-residency Elementary Teacher Education program is divided into nine terms of on-campus study:
| First Year | Second Year | Third Year | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Summer | Three Weeks | Three Weeks | Three Weeks |
| Fall | One Week | One Week | One Week |
| Spring | One Week | One Week | One Week |
Curriculum
The program consists of courses in the following areas: basic Waldorf pedagogy and child development, subject curriculum and methods, inner development of the teacher, fundamentals for the teacher, anthroposophy, and artistic development.
Coursework
Besides attending 15 weeks of on-campus classes, every course has assignments to complete while on campus or at home before the end of that term.
Included in their tuition, all first-year students are also required to attend The Art of Organization and Preparation for Waldorf Teachers, a sequence of online classes containing both asynchronous and synchronous activities and conversations designed to assist new and experienced teachers with skills and strategies for executive functioning and the art of lesson preparation; also considered will be parent communications and effective student assessment, grading, and report-writing.
Practical Work in the Classroom
This program carries requirements for students to engage in 15 weeks of practical experiences in Waldorf classrooms during the course of their Sunbridge studies. The specific requirements for these experiences — comprised of observation, student teaching, and mentored teaching — will vary, according to each student’s work status as a Waldorf teacher. The following chart illustrates the time commitment required.
| Overview of School Year Commitments | ||||||
| In-Service Students (currently-practicing, full-time Waldorf teachers) |
Pre-Service Students (not yet practicing Waldorf teachers) |
|||||
| Year One | Year Two | Year Three | Year One | Year Two | Year Three | |
| On Sunbridge Institute Campus (as permitted; otherwise, in virtual classrooms) | 5 weeks: – 3 summer – 1 fall – 1 spring |
5 weeks: – 3 summer – 1 fall – 1 spring |
5 weeks: – 3 summer – 1 fall – 1 spring |
5 weeks: – 3 summer – 1 fall – 1 spring |
5 weeks: – 3 summer – 1 fall – 1 spring |
5 weeks: – 3 summer – 1 fall – 1 spring |
| Observation | 5 days non-consecutive | 5 days non-consecutive and 4 consecutive weeks |
1 consecutive week | 1 consecutive week | ||
| Student Teaching | 1 consecutive week | 1 consecutive week | 4 consecutive weeks | 4 consecutive weeks | ||
| At-School Mentoring | 4 week main lesson block including 2-day mentor visit | 4 week main lesson block including 2-day mentor visit | 4 week main lesson block including 2-day mentor visit | |||
Please refer to the curriculum section for a detailed explanation of practica requirements and course descriptions.
Subject Area Specialization
Combine your Elementary Teacher Education studies with coursework from one of our specialized subject intensives (Elementary Music Teaching or Grades 1-12 World Language Teaching) and graduate with a diploma in Waldorf Elementary Teacher Education with a concentration in either Music or World Language teaching. For more information on this opportunity, contact our admissions office at [email protected] / 845-425-0055 x20.
Master’s Degree Option
Successful completion of their Sunbridge studies enables our Elementary program students and graduates who hold a bachelor’s degree from a regionally-accredited institution to receive 12 credits toward a 30- or 36-credit, fully-accredited SUNY master of education or master of arts in liberal studies degree with self-designed concentration in Waldorf education, through our partnership with Empire State College of the State University of New York.
The Sunbridge Diploma
Completion of or enrollment in a Waldorf teacher education program is generally a prerequisite of employment for Waldorf class teachers. Sunbridge Institute is a full member of AWSNA (the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America) and our Elementary Teacher Education program offers a full teacher training.
Please note that our diplomas are not academic degrees, as they reflect clock hours, not credits. Due to fluctuations and variations from state-to-state in the U.S. regarding requirements for  teaching credentials, it is important to research your state’s regulations regarding requirements to be licensed to teach in a private or public school.
2022-2023 Academic Calendar
Summer 2022 Intensive
Monday, July 4 – Friday, July 22
Fall 2022 Intensive
Monday, November 7 – Friday, November 11
Spring 2023 Intensive
Monday, March 6 – Friday, March 10
2023-2024 Academic Calendar
Summer 2023 Intensive
Monday, July 10 – Friday, July 28
Note: First-year students are expected to attend a Sunday afternoon welcome/orientation prior to Monday’s start of classÂ
Fall 2023 Intensive
Monday, November 6 – Friday, November 10
Spring 2024 Intensive
Monday, March 4 – Friday, March 8
For Further Assistance
Please see our Teacher Education Program Overview for more information on Waldorf teacher education at Sunbridge Institute.
Learn more about Waldorf education.
Read a Sunbridge article in the Fall 2016 issue of Lilipoh magazine on Waldorf teaching and grades teacher education.
If you have any questions, please contact us or reach out to our admissions office at [email protected] / 845-425-0055 x20
Please Note:Â 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.
