Thanks to our amazing and generous donors in the MWS community, we have reached a participation rate of 43%! It was so lovely to see so many of you at the May Festival last week at our kickoff table!
We have work to do this week! We are only 17% away from unlocking an incredible opportunity for our community to support our teachers. Any amount you give, whether $5 or $500, will get us one step closer to our goal of establishing a Teacher Training and Development Fund. Establishing this fund will provide opportunities for teachers to receive training, to bring in subject matter experts to educate our staff, and to begin the process of creating a Waldorf Teacher training program to assist our staff with the costs associated with completing their training.
Our very own Mr. Russell Harris, a first year Movement and Games teacher, shared with me
how these funds have impacted the way he works with our students. With funds from our 
current Teacher Development Budget, Mr. Harris went to the Austin Waldorf School in Texas to partake in a Pentathlon training in Fall of 2021. He received training on how to safely bring these games to our 5th graders, learned about the philosophy and pedagogy behind the pentathlon and why, developmentally, it is brought in the 5th grade. Russell was able to connect with other Movement teachers and learn about new games to bring to our students as well as see the same spirit and ideals that Waldorf Education holds, but in a different setting.
“It truly felt like an act of faith on behalf of the school to give me what I needed to do my job. This made me want to reflect and be worthy of the investment that the school made in me.” “Had I not been able to take this training, our Pentathlon programming would have been off to a much slower start,” said Mr. Harris. He learned how to work with our students to harness their athleticism, without direct competition with others, but with themselves. After coming back to MWS and applying his training, Mr. Harris told me that his favorite part is watching all of the students focus on the safety of the games. Even those that aren’t usually quick to pay attention, give the games their utmost attention.
“Being able to attend this training gave me the message that the school is here to support me with the training that I need to be the best Movement teacher I can be.”
We are here to support you, Mr. Harris, and all of our teachers. Please make a donation today to the MWS Spring Annual Fund to unlock the potential of our new Teacher Training and Development Fund.