Rudolf Steiner School

Parent Educaton

Study groups, lectures, and workshops on Waldorf education, parenting, anthroposophy and related topics are offered on a regular basis by teachers, parents and friends of the school. Sometimes a group of people with a particular interest will begin meeting together. Early childhood discussion groups explore the joys and difficulties of parenting young children.

Who and What is the Parent Education Committee?
by Suzi Baum, Parent

At GBRSS, the Parents' Association (PA) provides support, hospitality, welcome, beautification and parent education events. The work of planning Parent Education events falls to the Parent Education committee, whose current members are parents Anna Stanton and Suzi Baum, and faculty representative Pamela Giles. We are advised by Marily Ruppart, Kathi Weinstein and Krista Palmer.

Our calendar of events is planned in the summer before the school year begins. We gather suggestions from faculty and parents, consider concerns facing the school as expressed by the Council of Teachers, and do our best to offer a roster of events that provides nourishment and encouragement to parents of children of all ages. This year we were asked to scale back our evening offerings to three events. The "Conversations With..." morning talk series arose out of a desire to continue to give parents frequent opportunities to discuss with faculty, staff and community members issues and topics pertinent to our life as a Waldorf school community. All of our events are paid for by funds the PA raises, and some are co-sponsored. Last year the Faculty Development Committee helped to sponsor Jack Petrash's workshop. Often our topics are of interest to a wider community and we try to spread the word through poster distribution and news releases.

We are always looking for more participation and suggestions. If you read something in Renewal magazine or hear about an interesting speaker, let us know. Or better yet, join the committee and help plan these events. Some great ideas for next year are already in the works, thanks to enthusiastic help from our faculty. Because our community ranges from parents of young children to early adolescents, we have a wide area to serve. It is our hope that all parents can find something of interest in our offerings.