At Summerfield Waldorf High School, challenging college-prep academics go hand in hand with practical skills and social growth. Mentoring, athletics, choir and chamber music, drama, blacksmithing, pottery, and week-long Open Week trips bring students together to explore their interests and build relationships.
Rigorous academics and personal growth for Grades 9 through 12
Our rigorous academic curriculum is a comprehensive whole, so that after a four-year journey, our students graduate with the ability to critically examine any topic set before them, with the skills to engage and participate in an individual or group project, to confidently understand their relationship to the Humanities, Math, Sciences, and Arts.
Students are asked to take on age-appropriate tasks within the classroom, on campus, in the community, and in their lives, allowing them to move into more freedom of responsibility with appropriate support and encouragement. Through these opportunities, they hone important social skills, learning and continually practicing how to work in teams, to prioritize tasks, meet deadlines, and to recognize what it takes to achieve their goals and accomplish the desired results.
High School at a glance
- Grades: 9 through 12 (ages 14–18)
- Class size: typical class of 15 students per grade; 6:1 student-to-teacher ratio
- Daily hours: 8:15am – 3:00pm, Monday–Friday
- Highlights: Main Lesson blocks, Open Week field trips, Senior Project, International Exchange included with tuition, Athletics, Drama and Music
See our High School Profile below for SAT scores, accreditation, college acceptances, graduation credits, and the seven learning goals.
Highlights of the Summerfield Waldorf High School experience
Small class size
Our teacher-to-student ratio is low by design (6:1 ratio with typical class sizes of 15 students per grade). We know our students: what their passions, interests, and challenges are, and can therefore bring content that is rich and exciting to them. In this environment, students discover that they are not just passively taking in information but engaging with the content, dynamically working alongside their peers and teachers to deepen their understanding of who they are, how they learn, what they love, and how to overcome their own challenges. The students are well prepared for their post-high school path – our academically rigorous coursework primes them for selective colleges, a vocation of their choice, or an alternate learning path.
Open Week
“In my freshman year, I was new and, admittedly, intimidated by the prospect of a change. What undoubtedly helped make the change smoother was an annual high school event called, ‘Open Week’.”
— SWSF Graduate
Open Week was established to help the four high school classes mingle and build bonds between the students and their new teachers. Open Week opportunities have ranged from kayaking in Tomales Bay among the seals, otters and sharks; backpacking for 60 miles culminating in a summit of Mt. Whitney; a Zen Meditation retreat in the Trinity Alps; sailing in San Francisco Bay; a drama/poetry week-long intensive in Sonoma County; working on Jughandle farm in Mendocino County; and horse camping in Pt. Reyes. Not only do students gain new perspective and friends on these Open Week trips, but they are also given the great opportunity to explore the wonders of the world around them.
International Exchange Program — included with tuition
This life-changing opportunity for your Summerfield student to study abroad is included in your tuition fees. The program works as a direct student swap with a student from another country. You will live with a host family from another school, and, in return, their student will come to live with your family. (Flights are not included.)
Our Summerfield Exchange Program:
- Students go on an exchange for 5 weeks to 5 months at another Waldorf school.
- Students are eligible for the exchange in either 10th or 11th grade.
- Students have traveled to Germany, Argentina, Chile, Spain, France, and Japan.
- If a student is interested in a location where an exchange has not been done before, the school will support them in making it happen.
See the full International & Exchange Program page for details.
Athletics
Summerfield Waldorf High School is a member of the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF), which partners our school with other independent and public schools in the Bay Area to form the Small School Bridge League. Students who remain in good academic standing are eligible to participate in any sport, regardless of experience or ability. All High School teams compete at the Varsity level.
Our athletic program is dedicated to the development of supportive team concepts and individual growth through exploration of physical conditioning, time management, application of skill sets, and discovery of learning modalities.
Current sports include:
- Fall: Girls Volleyball, Coed Soccer
- Winter: Boys’ Basketball, Girls’ Basketball
- Spring: Boys Baseball, Coed Track and Field
Senior Projects
Senior Projects are an opportunity for students to practice self-initiated activity, leading our young adults into the culmination of the arc of our Waldorf curriculum and preparing them for the task of lifelong self-education that lies ahead. By senior year, our students are empowered to make their own choices, think independently, and create in the real world what they can imagine in their minds. Seniors choose an area of exploration that they are passionate about and then spend a minimum of 200 hours working on: they create goals and a formal proposal for their body of work, and are assigned faculty advisors to help them through the process. Students are expected to find community mentors within their chosen field of discipline to work, research, and study alongside throughout the year. They then craft this experience into a Senior Project Paper that centers around a thesis question or statement. Finally, they share their experience in a 10-minute live presentation with the wider community. See the Class of 2026 presentations.
Mentors
Every Summerfield High School Student has a faculty mentor to help guide the them through the high school years. The mentor checks in with their students at the end of each school day and is available for questions regarding courses, schedules, extracurricular activities, school agreements, and social, mental health, and personal issues. When the nature of the question exceeds the faculty member’s scope, the student is referred to the school’s guidance counselor.
Every month there is a mentor meeting in which each mentor meets with all the students that he or she currently mentors, in a group setting. Discussions of issues such as studentship, plagiarism, and progress through the grades arise in this forum. Mentor groups are also responsible for working together to care for the classrooms and campus at the end of the day, including recycling. A mentor is intended to be an ‘elder’ for the student, a person to be there for him/her when needed.
Connection to lower grades
Having a campus where children attending preschool through Grade 12 allows for the interaction and mentoring of the younger children by the older students. Summerfield has a 1st and 12th grade “buddy system” where on the first day of school 12th graders welcome 1st graders into the “grades”. Throughout the year high school students and lower school students (and sometimes early childhood students) do projects or activities together. The 1st-12th grade buddies maintain their relationship throughout the year, when on the last day of school the 1st graders send their 12th grade buddies off into the world as they graduate from their beloved school. Some buddy relationships are still maintained many years after students graduate.
The presence of younger children reminds high school students of their past, of their role in the culture of the school and their responsibility to be a role model. The presence of the older students for the younger children gives them young adults to look up to, and recognize capacities they can look forward to developing.
Robust music program
Music represents a core part of the curriculum as every student in the high school is enrolled in a music class. Students are offered the choice between High School Choir, Songwriting/Guitar, and the High School Chamber Ensemble. Students are encouraged to continue with their lower school instruments whenever possible.
By offering a choice between three music classes, we aim to help students to develop musical proficiency from both a technical, social, and emotional perspective as they learn to collaborate, communicate, and share their work in an environment designed to foster a lifelong love and sense for music through a curriculum that meets their individually developing gifts and tastes.
See the full Arts and Music Program for more.
Performing arts (drama)
A required series of courses at Summerfield Waldorf High School, all students in Grade 9-12 prepare and perform plays, either for their classes alone (e.g. the ninth grade Tragedy and Comedy main lesson), or for the entire school community, as exemplified by the 12th grade play that is traditionally performed for the public at the end of school year. In Summerfield’s High School, dramatic productions are considered an important component of the academic program because their success requires both focus and intense personal commitment.
Students are called upon to put forward their best efforts as they collaborate with their fellows in many ways: rehearsing, creating costumes, designing and building sets, acquiring props, and managing the myriad aspects of staging.
Inevitably, the work the students undertake in the performing arts area of the curriculum helps to build the feeling of community within a class through the highly interactive tasks of theater production.
Visual and practical arts
The arts curriculum at Summerfield encompasses both practical and fine arts. There is always an eye towards stimulating the Will of the student to produce a beautiful, well-made piece of work, presenting goals that the student must strongly reach for to achieve. Some might assume from this that Waldorf schools graduates would largely become “artists” or “musicians”, which is not the case.
The arts curriculum actually serves to illuminate the academic subjects in a way that enhances and brings more relevance to their truth and lawfulness. The artistic capabilities developed in the students build their confidence, aid them in all their life endeavors, and provide them with a connection to beauty and craftsmanship.
Printing • Drawing: Black-and-White, Color, Life, Self-Portrait • Blacksmithing • Pottery • Painting: Watercolor & Acrylic • Weaving • Bookbinding • Jewelry-making
Curriculum overview
Waldorf education strives to educate the whole person with a developmentally appropriate and integrated curriculum that challenges the student intellectually, physically, socially, artistically, and spiritually. To support these goals, the Summerfield High School curriculum immerses students in a variety of disciplines including drama, music, the arts, language, mathematics, humanities, sciences, and physical education.
There are many elements in the Waldorf education curriculum — all designed with a multi-sensory approach in mind and a goal to meet the teenager where they are developmentally in every stage.
Main Lesson — a block learning format where students focus on one academic subject for 90 minutes at the start of their day. Teachers engage students using lecture, movement, art, music, recitation, lab work and more to make learning academic subjects relevant and engaging.
Special subjects and topics — Foreign Language (Spanish, German) • Farming/Gardening • Eurythmy (movement) • Physical Education • Painting • Sculpting • Metalwork • Music (instrument & vocal) • Drama/Musicals
Curriculum by grade
Jump to a grade: 9 · 10 · 11 · 12
Grade 9 (Age 14-15) – The Year of Polarities
As apprentices, 9th grade students look at the world with new eyes, gathering insights from their observations. As journeymen, they practice finding the balance between opposites. The are eager to learn and will work hard to make new ideas their own. Their skills and experiences from previous years provide a foundation as they test the world to find their own truth. In black and white drawing they create a picture in which light and dark exist in relationship to one another, while finding all of the shades in-between. In blacksmithing they give form to the heated iron and in the process must find inner form. Their question, “What am I and the world made of?” moves them towards a journey of interest in the world. With each year, their capacity for self-reliance increases, as does their interest and empathy for each other.
FOCUS: Exploring contrasts and opposites (e.g., light/dark, comedy/tragedy, revolution/stability). MAIN LESSONS: History: Revolutions (French, American, Industrial)
SCIENCE: Thermodynamics, anatomy, geology MATH: Algebra, geometry (conic sections) LITERATURE: Tragedy and comedy ARTS: Black-and-white drawing, drama, metalwork
ONGOING COURSES:
Mathematics: Algebra I
Humanities: Freshman Composition, Les Miserables
Foreign Language: Spanish I – II and German I – II
Art: Black and White Drawing, Clay Modeling, Blacksmithing, Black and White Block Printing, Shoemaking
Drama: Improvisation and Speech
Eurythmy: Major/Minor, Expansion/Contraction, Pitch Music: Vocal or Instrumental
Gardening/Farming: Grafting/Pruning, Health/Nutrition, Herbal Studies, Farm Construction
Physical Education
Grade 10 (Age 15-16) – The Year of Processes
During the tenth grade, there is a shift in which the teenager turns their attention outward. With the whole heart, the student “befriends” the world and discovers a new ability to find connection with oneself and with the other through a deepened inner life.
When this longing for connection is born, a sense of loneliness can also arise. The tenth grader can become conscious of a sense of separation between themselves and the world and asks the question, “Is it possible that I am what I know?” As a method to find a balance in their thinking, tenth graders can gain confidence through the practice of comparison. They look at movement and tension between opposites and the work it takes to find harmony despite the tension. This impulse to seek balance can result in the student’s ability to make a new sense of connection between the self and the other that is born through a deepened and renewed understanding of the world.
FOCUS: Understanding dynamic changes and interconnections in the world. MAIN LESSONS: HISTORY: Ancient cultures through medieval times
SCIENCE: Mechanics, physiology, chemistry (acids & bases), embryology
MATH: Trigonometry, analytic geometry LITERATURE: Epic poetry, Shakespeare ARTS: Printmaking, poetry, calligraphy
ONGOING COURSES:
Mathematics: Geometry I
Humanities: Research Paper, The Double, Civil War
Foreign Language: Spanish I – IV and German I – IV
Art: Watercolor Painting, Weaving, Color Drawing, Woodwork-Dovetail, Pottery, Color Block Printing
Eurythmy: Thinking-Feeling-Willing, Styles of Poetry: epic, dramatic, lyric
Music: Vocal or Instrumental
Physical Education
Grade 11 (Age 16-17) - Developing Clarity
The eleventh grader is newly comfortable with ambiguity, complexity, and multiplicity of viewpoints and is able to truly enter into objectivity for the first time. They come to regard the self as a distinct entity, worthy of study, and capable of free choice.
FOCUS: Motivation changes from extrinsic (rewards-based) to intrinsic (what is meaningful to me?).
In response, the curriculum looks at unseen forces, encouraging students to develop thinking not restricted to the physical senses.
MAIN LESSONS: HISTORY: Comparative Religion
SCIENCE: Physics (electricity), Astronomy (the heavens), Chemistry (atom), Biology (botany)
MATH: Projective Geometry, Economics
LITERATURE: Parzival, with its Grail Quest to unknown realms, Shakespeare ARTS: Printmaking, poetry, Calligraphy
ONGOING COURSES:
Mathematics: Algebra II, Advanced Algebra II, Pre-Calculus Humanities: Creative Writing and College Essay, Comparative Religions, U.S. Expansion, Romanticism Foreign Language: Spanish I – IV and German I – IV Art: Acrylic Painting, Life Drawing, Jewelry, Book-Binding Eurythmy: Choreographic Principles and Musical Elements Music: Vocal or Instrumental Physical Education Electives: Drama, Creative Writing, Sports, Electronics, Cooking, Painting, Philosophy, Permaculture, Photography, Yearbook, Honors History, Honors Spanish, Debate
Grade 12 (Age 17-18) - Becoming Responsive and Resilient
Seniors desire meaningful challenges that test their inner drive for critical thinking while being a part of community that actively develops leadership capacities—empathy, compromise, and creative collaboration—traits necessary for innovative action in the world. The twelfth grade year encourages the development of an inner resolve for self-directed learning and leadership. Students begin to fully evaluate their answers to the questions, “What is my place in the world?” and “How can I contribute my gifts to the greater good?”
FOCUS: Motivation changes from extrinsic (rewards-based) to intrinsic (what is meaningful to me?). In response, the curriculum looks at unseen forces, encouraging students to develop thinking not restricted to the physical senses.
MAIN LESSONS: HISTORY: History through Architecture
SCIENCE: Physics (light), Chemistry (bio-chem), Biology (evolution)
MATH: Calculus
LITERATURE: Faust, Transcendentalists ARTS: Printmaking, poetry, Calligraphy
OTHER: Africa, Senior Seminar, Senior Play, Senior Thesis/Project
ONGOING COURSES:
Mathematics: Calculus or Topics in Contemporary Mathematics Humanities: Grade 12 Project, College Essays, Contemp. Issues, Modern U.S. History, Russian Literature Foreign Language: Spanish I, II, III, IV and German I – IV Art: Self-Portraits in Clay, Self-Portraits in Oil Painting Eurythmy: Solo and Small Ensemble, Choreography Music: Vocal or Instrumental Physical Education Electives: Drama, Creative Writing, Sports, Electronics, Cooking, Painting, Philosophy, Permaculture, Photography, Yearbook, Honors History, Honors Spanish, Debate
Field trips
Waldorf Education emphasizes experiential learning, and field trips are an essential part of their curriculum. Each grade level takes specific field trips that align with the developmental stage of the students and the subjects they are studying. In Waldorf high schools, field trips serve an even deeper purpose than just supplementing classroom learning—they are integral to the holistic, experiential approach of Waldorf education. Field trips are carefully curated to support students’ academic, emotional, spiritual, and personal growth as they prepare for adulthood. Each trip enhances experiential learning, strengthens class bonds, and fosters personal development.
- 9th Grade: Outdoor adventure trips (e.g., rock climbing, backpacking) to build resilience and teamwork, often tied to earth sciences and geography.
- 10th Grade: Field studies in geology, literature, or history, often including visits to natural formations, cultural sites, or service-learning experiences.
- 11th Grade: Immersive trips focusing on social responsibility, such as community service projects, historical studies, or farm stays.
- 12th Grade: A culminating trip, often international or service-oriented, fostering independence, global awareness, and a transition into adulthood.
A glimpse into our high school
Our campus is a vibrant hub of activity where ideas, interests, relationships and connections are forming. Walk by the classrooms and you’ll hear conversations about Homer’s Odyssey, see students binding their own books, find the seniors preparing for a play, and witness other students researching mechanical engineering to build rockets.
From early in the morning until late in the afternoon, the high school is buzzing with activity that allows the adolescent to have a rich inner life, meaningful relationships with peers and adults, and the opportunity to try and fail, learn, and try again, all while developing the necessary foundation for college and beyond.
Extracurricular activities
Students are encouraged to join an existing club or program, or to create their own student-initiated activities. Extracurricular activities have included Student Council, Lit Club, the Entrepreneurial Club, the LGBTQIA+ Safe Space, the Green Team, musicals, and volunteer beach clean up days, as well as a full after-school circus program that includes a seasonal Big Top Tent with a flying trapeze. Students must complete a total of 80 hours of community service before they graduate.
Summerfield offers a balanced sports program, competing in the Small School Bridge League. Athletic offerings include boys’ soccer, baseball, basketball, track & field, and girls’ tennis, volleyball, and track & field…with several league wins for both boys’ and girls’ basketball teams. Summerfield athletes are student athletes, who are held to the same high standard in sports as they are in academics.
High School facilities
In addition to classrooms, our facilities include a library, physics and chemistry lab, biology lab, movement room, pottery studio, a new Art Tech Building for our extensive art program, which includes a black-smith forge and studio, weaving and wood-working studios, Sophia Hall – a beautiful performance hall, music practice rooms, outdoor basketball court, running track, soccer field and outdoor volleyball courts, full-sized circus tent and a working beyond organic, Biodynamic® farm.
Summerfield’s new commercial kitchen provides delicious hot lunches, with many of the organic produce ingredients harvested right from our Biodynamic® farm. Available for students in Grade 1-12.
High School Profile
The best snapshot of Summerfield’s academic excellence is our High School Profile — the report we send to colleges each year.
- High School Profile 2025-26 (opens in a new tab) (PDF) — the current edition, with Class of 2025 matriculation and the full list of colleges.
- High School Profile 2024-25 (opens in a new tab) (PDF) — with Class of 2024 matriculation and the full list of colleges.
- High School Profile 2023-24 (opens in a new tab) (PDF) — with Class of 2023 results and the full list of colleges.
Our High School Counseling Program, along with our Mentor Program, offers students academic, college, as well as social-emotional support.
The school at a glance
Summerfield Waldorf School and Farm is a small, independent preschool through Grade 12 school founded in 1974. Our High School was founded in 1987 and graduated its first senior class in 1991; 70 students are currently enrolled. Our 38-acre campus sits on rolling farmland between Santa Rosa and Sebastopol.
- Accreditation: full, dual accreditation from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) and the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America (AWSNA). Our farm is certified Biodynamic® through the Demeter Association.
- Faculty: a majority hold master’s degrees in the subject they teach.
- College-prep courses: classes designated (P) are approved college-preparatory courses that meet or exceed college requirements. Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Earth Sciences all have full labs.
- Honors and AP: because of the depth and rigor of the curriculum, 11th- and 12th-grade academics are on par with honors courses, and we offer no AP classes. GPAs are unweighted, and Summerfield does not rank its students.
- Main Lesson blocks: begin every three to four weeks, nine blocks across the year, each reported under the trimester in which it is taken.
Seven learning goals
Summerfield graduates will have:
- A clear sense of their strengths and weaknesses, gifts and challenges, and will have developed the tools to work with them.
- A solid understanding of the methods and contemporary issues in science, mathematics, history, and the English language, as well as proficiency in a foreign language.
- Explored various fields of artistic expression and gained proficiency in at least one of these.
- Gained a sense of contemporary social issues as well as an understanding of how they have come into being. Ideally, the two together have come to life within the soul of each student, creating a sense of social responsibility and the tools to live accordingly.
- Had the opportunity to explore, in-depth, those questions that lie at the foundation of human experience: life, death, friendship, spirituality, and vocation.
- Acquired life skills needed for interpersonal communication and conflict management, decision-making, parenting, time management, the art of entertainment, and the ability to play.
- Gained the ability to form judgments independently. This means that they will have acquired the skills of thinking and can apply these to enhance their understanding. This thinking should be as richly textured and as individually colored as possible. Students are now able to take on the task of self-education.
High standards of writing, critical thinking, and independent research help students acquire the skills and knowledge needed to succeed in post-secondary education and in life.
Graduation credits
| Subject | Minimum years | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| History / Social Science | 4+ | 40+ |
| English | 4+ | 40+ |
| Math | 3+ | 40+ |
| Science | 4+ | 40+ |
| Language other than English | 3+ | 30+ |
| Visual & Performing Arts | 4+ | 50+ |
| College-prep elective | 1 | 5+ |
| Physical Education | 4 | 20+ |
| Eurythmy | 4 | 20+ |
| Farming | 3+ | 30+ |
Every graduate also completes a Senior Project, an apprenticeship, and 80 hours of community service. Credit distribution is 3.33 or 2.5 depending on classroom hours.
SAT scores
The Class of 2024 graduated 16 students. The highest GPA in the class was 4.12 unweighted, with an average of 3.65.
| Class of 2024 | |
|---|---|
| 1290 | highest total SAT score |
| 1160 | average total SAT score |
| 680 | highest Reading & Writing score |
| 670 | highest Math score |
Across the classes of 2010–2024, SAT averages are 604 Reading & Writing and 547 Math.
College attendance
We continue to send highly qualified students to many liberal arts colleges, as well as Santa Rosa Junior College, many with full Doyle Scholarships. Those who choose to attend the SRJC routinely go on to the four-year college of their choice. Those students who start off at four-year private colleges often receive merit scholarships of up to $20,000 or more per year. Summerfield High School graduates have attended over 200 colleges all over the world!
| Summerfield graduates (five years reported in the 2025–26 profile) | |
|---|---|
| 97% | college attendance directly out of high school |
| 83% | attended 4-year colleges |
| 14% | attended 2-year or vocational colleges |
The attendance figures and full list of colleges that have accepted Summerfield graduates are in the High School Profile 2025–26 (opens in a new tab).
