Directors: Rebecca Hays Nelson, MA, MSEd ’07 and Justin Trombly
Sunbridge’s Waldorf Elementary Teacher Education Completion Track is a unique opportunity for seasoned Waldorf elementary educators with a minimum of 5 years of full-time teaching experience in an AWSNA-affiliated school, as well as relevant prior coursework or training, to apply their background to earn an AWSNA-approved diploma in just 13 months.
This is an every-year offering. Now accepting applications for the class entering summer 2026 (session dates: July 5-July 24).Â
Come to our online Meet & Greet on Wednesday, October 22, to learn more.
The Program Experience
The Completion Track combines in-person coursework with synchronous online instruction, plus mentored teaching practice. The program is comprised of a three-week term of on-campus study during each of two summers, supported by five online weekend (Friday evening-Saturday) sessions that take place during the interim academic year, for a total of six weeks of in-person classes and ten weekend sessions of online instruction. Students complete study assignments and engage in asynchronous coursework between sessions. The Completion Track is designed to be completed over the course of 13 months.
The Completion Track utilizes our regular Elementary Teacher Education 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.
Admission Requirements
The Completion Track is intended to serve Waldorf elementary educators with both significant experience and relevant prior coursework who wish to acquire their full Waldorf teaching credentials.
Candidates for Completion Track admission must:
- Have a minimum of 5 consecutive years of full-time lead teaching experience in an AWSNA-affiliated Waldorf elementary (grades 1-8) classroom
- Be actively teaching in a Waldorf elementary classroom both at the time of your application and during your enrollment in our program (with exceptions for sabbaticals–speak to a program director for more information).
- Have completed a minimum of 60 bachelor’s degree credits at an accredited college or university (or the equivalent for international study) or be enrolled in a bachelor’s degree program and on track to complete these minimum 60 credits prior to their Sunbridge graduation.
- Have accrued 200 hours of relevant coursework through a variety of workshops, conferences, courses, guided studies, and/or programs delivered by AWSNA- or WECAN-affiliated institutions either in person or in real-time online classrooms, in the following categories:
- Anthroposophical studies and human development
- Child development and Waldorf education
- Curriculum coursework
- Arts and practical activities for the Waldorf elementary classroom
- Arts and practical activities for the educator
Graduates of Waldorf-related but non-WECAN- or AWSNA-affiliated courses or programs should contact our admissions office to see whether their prior coursework qualifies them for consideration of admission. Acceptance and allocation of previous coursework as satisfying the 200-hour requirement is at the discretion of the program directors.
Program Components
Curriculum
The Completion Track 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.
Practical Work in the Classroom
Mentored Teaching
As a Completion Track student, you will be connected to a Sunbridge mentor who is a highly experienced Waldorf elementary teacher. This mentor will observe you in your classroom setting for a two-day visit during the school year bounded by the program. This visit will be accompanied by two hours of telephone conferences as a precursor and/or follow-up to the visit. The mentored teaching course also includes a self-evaluation.
Observation
Other classroom observations may be required; the need for and length of these will be based on each student’s individual teaching, and teacher education, background.
Key Goals
It is expected that Sunbridge’s Elementary Teacher Education program—including its Completion Track—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
Faculty
The Completion Track utilizes our regular Elementary program core and adjunct faculty. Please visit our Faculty page to read bios of our Elementary program directors and faculty.
2025-26 Academic Calendar
Summer 2025 Term (In Person)
Monday, July 7 – Friday, July 25
Fall 2025-Winter 2026-Spring 2026 Term (Online)
Friday-Saturday, October 17-18
Friday-Saturday, November 21-22
Friday-Saturday, January 23-24
Friday-Saturday, February 27-28
Friday-Saturday, April 17-18
plus asynchronous online coursework
2026-27 Academic Calendar
Summer 2026 Term (In Person)
Monday, July 6 – Friday, July 24
Fall 2026-Winter 2027-Spring 2027 Term (Online)
Friday–Saturday, October 16-17
Friday–Saturday, November 20-21
Friday–Saturday, January 22-23
Friday-Saturday, February 26-27
Friday-Saturday, April 16-17
plus asynchronous online coursework
Student Benefits: Further Educational Opportunities
At Sunbridge, we recognize that teacher preparation takes many forms. That’s why, in addition to our coursework, fieldwork experiences, and advising support, we offer our students and graduates additional opportunities to further develop and hone their teaching expertise and acquire new insights and skills. These opportunities include:
- Highly-reduced discounts to our professional development courses and workshops while you are a student in our program and in the year immediately following graduation, plus lesser discounts in the years beyond that
- Being welcomed back to audit WETE classes free of charge once you are a program graduate (in good standing)
- (If you hold a bachelor’s degree from a regionally-accredited institution) being awarded 12 credits for your Sunbridge diploma toward earning a fully-accredited 30-credit master of education degree or 30- or 36-credit master of arts in liberal studies degree with self-designed concentration in Waldorf education through the Sunbridge/SUNY Empire State University partnership.
Application Process
The regular application deadline is June 1. Applicants are encouraged to apply as early as possible, especially those individuals seeking financial aid.
A completed application consists of:
- Completed application form
- Current résumé
- Two letters of recommendation (accompanied, if required, by signed letter-of-recommendation forms), and sent by your recommender directly to the Sunbridge Institute Admissions Office
- Letter/s from employer/s verifying your five consecutive years of Waldorf lead teaching
- Copies of certificate/s of completion or other documentation listing prior relevant coursework
- Either an official transcript from your degree-granting institution indicating your highest degree earned, or official transcript/s from degree-granting institution/s indicating 60 college credits earned
- Non-refundable $50 application fee. Applications submitted after June 1 must include a $50 late fee
If mailing any materials, please send to:
Sunbridge Institute Office of Admissions
285 Hungry Hollow Road
Chestnut Ridge, NY 10977
Once your application is filed and processed by our admissions office, you’ll receive a checklist in your account of all the items (still) needed. When your file is complete, it will be forwarded to a program director who will contact you for an interview. Admissions decisions are sent out soon thereafter, on a rolling basis.
Begin the application process.
Contact [email protected] if you need assistance with our application form.
Tuition and Financial Aid
Tuition for the 2026-27 Completion Track cohort.
Read about financing your Sunbridge studies.
International Students
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:Â 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.
For Assistance
Please contact our admissions office at [email protected] / 845-425-0055 x20
Please Note: Sunbridge 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.
Sunbridge Institute Waldorf teacher education programs 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.
Non-Discrimination Statement
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 disability.
