Ashwood Waldorf School is committed to building a culture and learning environment that strives to offer a sense of belonging for all. The school seeks to know, embrace and celebrate the existing diversity within our school while also striving to better represent the myriad of cultures and human diversity of the world we live in through the education we offer and the community we continue to build.
Advancing diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) is a priority in the school’s 5-year strategic plan. Our ongoing work has many facets, please reach out to learn more.
Commitments and Responsibilities
Ashwood recognizes the historic and ongoing impact of racism on our continent and the injustice and discrimination faced by Black, Brown, Indigenous People and People of Color. We also acknowledge that the school is on the unceded ancestral homelands of the Wabanaki, the People of the Dawn, who have endured centuries of physical and cultural genocide. We bear witness to what is happening in the State of Maine and in the world, and seek to identify and break down structural racism in all forms.
We acknowledge that Rudolf Steiner, founder of Waldorf education (1919), offered many profound insights that support the value and dignity of each human being and form the foundation of our organization’s histories and worldview. Yet, he also made statements that reflect harmful assertions regarding race and ethnicity. Racism, explicit or implicit, stands in direct conflict to the fundamental principles of Waldorf education. We commit to working to address any dehumanizing or disparaging aspects of our history and practices.
Ashwood does not discriminate on the basis of any race, gender, religion, spiritual commitment, sexual orientation, ethnicity, nationality, immigration status, socioeconomic status, language, ability, identity, age, or political perspective in the administration of its educational programs, hiring, self-government, admissions, financial aid and all other school-related activities, and emphatically rejects discrimination in all its forms.