Upper Valley Waldorf School Innovates to Keep Students On-Campus and Engaged

By Julia Pellegrino, Class Teacher, Grade 7/8

The Covid-19 pandemic isn’t the first time we’ve faced hardship at UVWS.

In August of 2011, Hurricane Irene hit Vermont with force and destruction. Our school community was not spared, as the Outtauquechee River overflowed its banks. The Quechee Green—the field where our upper grades students go for Movement class— became one large lake—the riverbank completely disappeared. 

Our own Quechee Covered Bridge—we can see it from grade 1-8 classrooms —was pushed off its foundations by the savage, roiling waters. The damage made it unusable. For months we all drove the curvy detour around Dewey’s Pond to get to school until the bridge was lovingly repaired.

Many suffered in the wake of the destruction that Irene left behind. 

But Vermonters across the state rose up. Neighbor helped neighbor. Strangers reached out to others in need with compassion and good will. Out of this hardship, the true spirit of Vermonters shone out with light and hope and strength. 

And . . . a new Vermont State front license plate captured this spirit — Vermont Strong! Vermonters drove with this front plate on their cars with pride. And nine years later, this plate is still commonly seen on Vermont cars.  

Now in 2020, Covid-19 challenges us with hardships once again. Fear for the health and safety of our loved ones rises to the top, along with unpredictable financial security and social isolation. All of these threaten our sense of well-being.

But like our state-wide response nine years ago, Covid is giving our school community the opportunity to show that we are “UVWS-Strong”. 

In spite of Covid, we are rising up to deliver strong and vibrant Waldorf Education in Vermont. As the world shifts unpredictably around our children, we continue with our mission to “prepare students to engage with a changing world”.

The Waldorf Approach: Strong Student-Teacher Relationships

A recent report from the Learning Policy Institute entitled “Restarting and Reinventing Schools" identifies key elements for learning success during Covid and beyond. The Upper Valley Waldorf School, by its very nature, weaves many of these elements into its work with children. And it has done so long before Covid instigated this nation-wide scrutiny of education.

Two key elements for successful learning during the pandemic are—

• promoting strong relationships with caring adults.

• ensuring that children receive support for social and emotional learning

At UVWS we understand the importance of the warm, caring relationships between students and teachers. As students stay with the same teacher from one year to the next, sometimes for 8 years, a deep bond forms that supports children and their families in weathering all types of challenges . . . academic, social . . . and worldwide pandemics.

The social and emotional aspect of child development in Waldorf schools has always been nurtured in every grade level right along with the academic, artistic, and practical elements of the education.

Upper Valley: A Caring School Community

We know that children learn and thrive best through meaningful relationships and interactions with others.

In order to keep our school open for in-person learning, we’ve had to change and rethink how we do things. Our daily routine looks a little different. But our education is still characterized by the spirit of caring, helping, and innovation that is the foundation of this Waldorf School.

New routines for entering the school each day ensure the health and safety of students, teachers, and staff.

From the morning check-in and screening . . .

…to the rotation of cleaning bathrooms, classrooms, and playground equipment . . . keeping our learning environment safe for our students is our top priority. 

Wearing masks has become second nature in every classroom, from the youngest nursery children to the oldest middle-school students.

Whether sitting at desks, recess on the upper field, or free-play in the kindergarten, students protect each other with good cheer from behind their masks!

The Upper Valley Waldorf School is Reinventing Outdoor Learning

Waldorf education at UVWS was rich in outdoor learning experiences long before Covid hit our community. 

In sun, rain, snow, and wind . . . whether harvesting carrots and garlic with the 3rd graders, examining plants with 5th graders in botany, studying cloud formation with 8th grade meteorology . . . the natural world has always been an extension of the classroom for UVWS children. 

And because we know being outdoors dramatically reduces the risk of Covid spreading, our faculty has committed to leading learning outdoors whenever possible.

• Each classroom has a designated outdoor space that other classes do not share.

• Every grade had a tent to protect children from the weather throughout the fall.

• Every grade has special equipment and supplies to make the transition from indoors to outdoors as smooth as possible.

We offer our upper grades students a hybrid model of learning. They come to school in person three days a week and learn remotely from home the other two days. Even on remote days they receive live instruction from teachers through Zoom.

With individual outdoor tables that can be spaced safely under the tents and binder bags to hold and carry all their supplies, academic routines have shifted. These students are learning strong organization skills, time management, flexibility, and accountability in addition to chemistry, history, writing, and geometry.

Our middle grades students have lap desks and special carrying cases for their supplies. Tree stumps are their chairs under their tents in the upper woods and field. Every morning they can be seen filing up the hill to their outdoor space, carrying  their lap desks, supplies, and fully dressed for the weather of the day.

Our first and second grade students gather for their morning circle and movement activities in the front of the school. Jumping rope, reciting poems with gesture, playing games for balance and coordination— all of these continue without a hitch in our outdoor spaces with colorful hula hoops placed strategically to help them remember their spots for maintaining social distancing.

Our youngest children in the early childhood classes thrive outdoors, with the woods nearby for play and outdoor tables for crafts and painting. Circle, story and snack all take place in the healthy natural world with the utmost joy.

The pandemic has given us many unexpected hardships. But the light and strength of Waldorf Education continues to shine from UVWS as we adapt and pivot to meet each challenge. We are a strong community, and we will weather this storm together. 

We are UVWS-Strong!