Journey to Waldorf
Every school, person, and thing goes through a process of becoming. This is ours.
Answering the Call
Rachael Sparhawk chose to initiate Rooted Meadows, guided by Waldorf principals and a deep sense of knowing that her journey created the foundation for something beautiful.
“Things in life have no real beginning, though our stories about them always do.”
The story of Rooted Meadows begins with a tale shared by a dear friend from Chile—one that described the ways in which each path we walk quietly prepares us for the next. This wisdom, this story, would come to shape our lives in ways we might never have imagined.
After returning to the United States, I convinced my husband to take a leap and enroll our children in a private Waldorf school. What we found there: the calm and joyful community, the deep collaboration between teachers, children, and parents, and the holistic academic approach — was transformative and worth every sacrifice. Though we cherished those years, a longing to return home to our roots in Idaho and Wyoming remained. Standing at that crossroads, the story from Chile returned to guide us forward. It became clear that our own winding journey had prepared us with the experiences, skills, and courage needed to start a Waldorf school.
Today, Rooted Meadows is growing; shaped by learning, sacrifice, and the generous mentorship of new friends and guides along the way. My hope is that it becomes a haven where families come together with courage and intention, reclaiming childhood, family time, and the freedom to walk a different path—becoming, together, a force of goodness in the world.
Looking back, there is no single beginning. Yet key steps shine clearly: choosing to homeschool, our children attending a nature-filled school in Colombia, and discovering The Seven Core Principles of Waldorf Education. Suddenly, the beauty and vitality we had witnessed before came into focus. This vision, rooted in goodness, beauty, unity, and peace, was exactly what we hoped to nurture in our children, and now, in our wider community.
The process of becoming an accredited Waldorf school through AWSNA is long and rigorous — as it should be. Until we complete the journey, we will remain functioning as a Waldorf-informed and inspired school. We are thrilled to be learning from and growing with the best of the best.
Becoming Waldorf
The AWSNA Accreditation Journey
“Waldorf” is a trademarked name and pedagogical approach for education. As such, one can only call themselves a “Waldorf" school after gaining approval from the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America (AWSNA). The approval and accreditation process is lengthy and rigorous, but with that comes a high standard to which Waldorf schools are held. We are honored and excited to be working in partnership with AWSNA to go through this process. As we do, we will continue to refer to ourselves as a “Waldorf-Informed” or “Waldorf-Guided” school.
Once a school decides to become a Waldorf school, they must first apply to be a Registered Initiative (RI). We are happy to say that we did this in 2025. As a “registered initiative” the school may not refer to themselves as a Waldorf school as they have not yet demonstrated embodied alignment between their work, AWSNA principles and the Policies/Practices required for Waldorf schools.
To become accredited, schools are expected to demonstrate congruence as described above through a process that involves self-study (reflection) and peer review. Schools are assessed in an on-going 7 year cycle outlined below including seasons of self-study and peer review.
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Schools initiate the cycle by submitting an application with the request. Next they will have an orientation meeting with AWSNA, establish a steering committee to complete the following tasks.
Year 1 Tasks:
Schedule remote orientation with the AWSNA director of accreditation.
See that the school and board review, revise (as necessary), and re-endorse the school's statements of mission, philosophy, and goals.
See that the policy documents are revised and current.
Undertake a survey of constituents (parents, board, faculty, staff, and others as applicable and appropriate). This survey can inform your self-study. It is a requirement of many co-accrediting agencies, and recommended but not required for AWSNA only accreditation processes.
Create appropriate committees and assignments necessary to complete all elements of the self-study report required for year 2.
Create a calendar for the self-study that includes all assignments and due dates and allows for meeting time.
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Year 2 is devoted to the self-study process, culminating in the self-study report. Guided by the requirements of the report, the school will establish a structure that facilitates conversations and research around the various requirements including:
The school explores their mission and Waldorf identity. The focus is on the AWSNA Principles for Waldorf Schools.
The school evaluates its policies and practices. The focus is on the AWSNA Policies and Practices for Waldorf Schools.
The school reflects on what it has learned in the self-study process and looks at plans for the future.
The entire report could be up to 60 pages plus supporting documents and include sections on:
Declaration and description of the school’s mission and identity
Description of how the AWSNA Principles are living in the school (14-35 pages)
Completed Principles Assessment Form
Response to Policies and Practices
Completed Policies and Practices Inventory and Assessment Spreadsheet
List of documents necessary to support responses on the Policies and Practices
Summary description of the school’s major strengths
Description of priorities for future work
Summary of self-study process
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The principal purpose of the visiting team is to review, assess, and validate or modify the school’s own findings as generated by the school’s self-study process. Therefore, the visiting team will begin its work with the school’s self-study report. The visiting team is looking to confirm that the school does what it says it does, that it is living the AWSNA Principles, and that the policies exist and are being practiced.
At the conclusion of the peer review visit, the visiting team determines whether it will recommend to AWSNA that the school should be granted accreditation, and whether they recommend any conditions.
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In the year following the AWSNA visit, the AWSNA visiting team report is reviewed by the administration, faculty, and trustees of the school, and the school develops a plan for school improvement, building upon what it has learned from its self-study and the visiting team report (especially the major priorities). The school reports back to AWSNA, including the following components:
Cover letter, including any major changes since the team visit
First Response Report: Responses to each of the major priorities in the team report
Responses to any additional requirements noted in the ARC decision letter
Plan for school improvement through the priorities plan
The priorities action plan should directly address the major priorities listed in the Visiting Team Report. The plan should include the steps the school will be taking to address the concern that led to the priority.
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The school is expected to make progress on all major priorities. If there were conditions on accreditation, there will likely be additional reports due in Year 5. This is also the year that any required mid-cycle visits are usually scheduled.
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At the end of the third year following the team visit, the school submits the Second Response report and Priorities Action Plan to the accreditation office. In this report, the school describes progress made on all major and minor priorities. The report is reviewed by the Accreditation and Review Committee. In most instances, this completes the school’s responsibility for reporting to AWSNA for this accreditation cycle, but AWSNA may require a supplementary, or later report, or other form of follow-up, if serious concerns remain about the school or demonstrable lack of attention to opportunities for self-improvement is apparent. The action by AWSNA on the report and required follow-up or remediation, if any, is reported promptly to the school.
The second follow-up report includes the following components:
Cover letter, including any major changes since the first follow-up report.
For each of the major and minor recommendations, indicate whether it is: Complete, In-progress, Not implemented. (Include a brief explanation for non-implementation.)
Responses to any additional requirements noted in the ARC decision letter.
Updated plan for school improvement with priorities action plan.
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The school is expected to complete all priorities. Submission of the annual survey (DASL), including reporting of substantive changes, is required.
To maintain accreditation, a school must remain in good standing, which includes timely payment of AWSNA dues, completion of the AWSNA annual survey (DASL), and fulfilling membership requirements as outlined in the Path to Membership.