Co-Directors: Jana Hawley, MSEd /Stephen Sagarin PhD
Sunbridge’s Waldorf Elementary Teacher Education Completion Track is an opportunity for elementary educators with substantial experience as lead teachers in Waldorf grades 1-8 classrooms, as well as prior, relevant coursework or training, to apply their background to earn a Sunbridge diploma.
This is an every year offering and will next enroll summer 2020 (intensive dates: July 6-24). Applications are now available.
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
The low-residency Completion Track involves 8 weeks of on-campus coursework—comprised of a three-week intensive in the first summer, a one-week intensive in November and a one-week intensive in March of the following school year, and a three-week intensive in the second summer—plus practical work in the classroom. It is designed to be completed over the course of 13 months.
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.
Coursework
Besides attending 8 weeks of on-campus classes, every course has assignments to complete while on campus or at home before the end of that term.
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
Observations may be required; the need for and length of these will be based on each student’s individual teaching, and teacher education, background.
Faculty
The Completion Track utilizes our regular Elementary core and adjunct faculty. Please visit our Faculty page to read bios of our Elementary program directors and faculty.
Admission Requirements
Sunbridge’s Elementary Teacher Education program’s Completion Track is intended to serve Waldorf elementary educators with both significant experience and prior, relevant coursework. Candidates must have a minimum of 5 consecutive years of full-time, lead teaching experience in a Waldorf elementary (grades 1-8) classroom, be currently teaching (or on sabbatical), and have 300 hours of relevant on-site, in-person coursework 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
Additionally, Completion Track applicants must have completed a minimum of 60 bachelor’s degree credits at an accredited college or university or be enrolled in a bachelor’s degree program and on track to complete these minimum 60 credits prior to their Sunbridge graduation.
For questions regarding these requirements, contact our director of education, Linda Ogden-Wolgemuth, PhD, at logden@sunbridge.edu / 845-425-0055 x10
Application Process
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 Elementary 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:
- Current resumé
- Certificates of Completion or other documentation listing prior relevant coursework
- Letter/s from employer/s verifying your five consecutive years of lead teaching
- Non-refundable $50 pre-application fee. Eligibility forms received without this fee will not be processed.
- 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.
- Personal statement
- Two letters of recommendation. Letters should be sent from the recommenders directly to the Sunbridge Institute Admissions Office
- A transcript from your degree-granting institution or any college attended.
If mailing your materials, please send to:
Sunbridge Institute Office of Admissions
285 Hungry Hollow Road
Chestnut Ridge, NY 10977
Upon receipt of all materials, the program director will contact you for a phone interview. After the interview takes place, admissions decisions are sent out on a rolling basis. Applicants, especially those applying for financial aid, are encouraged to apply before the May 1 deadline.
Tuition and Financial Aid
Please see our tuition sheet for the 2020-21 Completion Track cohort.
Read about financial aid.
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: 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 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.
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.
