Belonging

We at Waldorf School Orange County support the statement of equity and inclusion put forth by the Associated Waldorf Schools of North America (AWSNA). We denounce social injustice in all its forms. We condemn racism, intolerance of people’s gender identities or sexual orientations, religious intolerance, bigotry, xenophobia, and all forms of injustice and expressions of inequality.

As a community we must work against hate. We must reject attacks on individuals based on ignorance and intolerance.

At Waldorf School Orange County, we are committed to working earnestly to sustain a welcoming community that reflects the diverse range of cultures and nationalities in Southern California. We will continuously review and strengthen our efforts to be a diverse, inclusive, equitable, and just community.

Waldorf School Orange County is an open and affirming community. We welcome and value students, families, faculty, and staff, regardless of spiritual beliefs, religious practices, race, gender identity, sexual orientation, country of origin, or socio-economic status, and we support all family structures.

We strongly believe that by supporting diversity in our school, we prepare our students for a diverse world – a global community that sees itself reflected in each of our students and is all the more vital and resilient because of them.

In our commitment to these values, our school has formed a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee to promote diversity, equity, and social inclusion at every level of our community. This is our ongoing commitment and we will work to address the issues facing our world that are reflected in our community.

Faculty and staff members will continue their professional development with training on diversity, equity and inclusion topics, including institutional racism, white supremacy culture, and what is required of each individual, and of the greater whole, to be an open and inclusive institution.
We will work together with our community to address the injustices in our society, and how these injustices manifest in our interactions in the school. We will listen to the many voices at Waldorf School Orange County. We will get comfortable with being uncomfortable until such time as everyone can be comfortable.

We expect every member of our community to support and engage in this essential work to bring about meaningful change. Together, we can and must build a community where we celebrate each other; a community where every member is valued and respected; a community where everyone can thrive.

Waldorf School Orange County is committed to building a diverse, equitable and inclusive community. We, the faculty, administration and Board of Trustees, recognize that our efficacy in realizing this commitment hinges upon our active intervention. We refuse complicity in the pervasive indignities of systemic inequality.

We patently reject any essentialist understanding of race, gender, or religion that subsumes individual differences hierarchically or evolutionarily in the early lectures of Rudolf Steiner.
As an accredited member of the AWSNA, Waldorf School Orange County stands behind the following AWSNA statement:

“Waldorf education espouses principles of respect for human dignity. Narratives or indications made by Rudolf Steiner that are in contradiction to these principles are not the basis for Waldorf education and we unequivocally denounce such statements.”