Denver Waldorf School in Denver | Military Town Advisor

Posted: May 7, 2026

My daughter has had such a beautiful experience and time at the Denver Waldorf School this year. She is currently in an Early Childhood classroom and the teachers are absolutely incredible! Such a dedicated humans showing so much patience, kindness and care. My daughter is so well taken care of and feels seen! The stories told and embodied through puppet shows, songs and dances are so lovely, enchanting and connected to Mother Earth, respectful of others and imaginative. We absolutely love it. There is no other place like it.

Posted: May 7, 2026

Posted: February 16, 2026

As a current student I can honestly say that I have been served incredibly well. The staff and teachers are amazing and very knowledgeable on their subjects. Their classes are engaging and informative while also encouraging students to connect if they need extra help. While some students may struggle to keep up with the high quality and rigorous academics. I am currently a senior and feel that I could not be better prepared for the next phase of life.

Posted: January 20, 2026

I attended the Denver Waldorf school from kindergarten until I was a senior in high school.

When I think about my Waldorf education, I have nothing but positive memories. Even when there were difficult times, I knew that I had a solid foundation of friends and family in my class, community and especially teachers. If you get the full 1st -12th experience At Waldorf, your Friends become your family. This is a truly underrated aspect of the Waldorf education, and having such a small class size, the people that start first grade with you or even if you join later in fourth or fifth grade, are gifted a diverse, and wonderful family.

In middle school, I often interacted with students outside of the school as I was part of extracurricular activities, such as basketball and baseball. There was never a time where I felt I lacked sufficient education. After I graduated from high school at the Denver Waldorf school, I went on to college and found myself immersed in everything college had to offer. During college, I realized in my experience, Waldorf teaches you how to learn, and college teaches you what to learn. It really is true that waldorf prepares you for the world, regardless of how messed up the world can be. When you are teed up with such an excellent introduction to being an adult, you are destined for greatness. Now that I have been outside of school for a while now, I constantly think back and remember my Waldorf education and how it affects my general sense of happiness and fulfillment in my life. This general sense of happiness and fulfillment in the workforce stems all the way back to the younger grades when you are given small tasks or volunteer opportunities that are fun because you are working with your group of friends. Learning that working is fun if you are collaborating with others at such a young age transfers to adulthood beautifully and allows for me to enjoy what I do.

Posted: January 20, 2026

Posted: September 30, 2025

This was a terrible place to send my Black son. The cultural competency was nonexistent. His third grade teacher didnt seem to even like our child. The philosophy of the school and the experience didnt intersect at all. It was a waste of finances and overall poor experience

Posted: September 30, 2025

Posted: January 28, 2025

Id say this school is great. There are tutors and special education is great. You are provided with great opportunities and knowledge to learn. The teachers are friendly and helpful. Id recommend this school for extra education and also great resources to learn

Posted: January 28, 2025

Posted: September 29, 2024

The Denver Waldorf School was a monumental disappointment as the school is more concerned with promoting an ideal image than helping children learn.

Main lesson was absolute chaos, there has been no eurythmy for 6 years, and the math teacher referred many in the class for private tutoring because they were behind. Kids were in the halls doing cartwheels or fighting over balance boards during lessons. Due to parent unrest, a short-lived program meant to boost its image had parents standing in the back of the class where we observed the teacher frantically searching for worksheets hidden by a student. Kids throw a fit when learning something new - they spent 2 years learning decimals! Due to lack of class management, Teacher #1 was replaced with Teacher #2 who, fresh out of school himself, was fired in his first year. Hard to be successful with a new assistant every year and the school prohibiting all forms of class management as public shaming.

A group of 4 bullies would repeatedly instigate a confrontation and lie about it with no consequences, even if 2 admitted to lying afterward. Physical abuse and sexual abuse were two such accusations yelled by the bully group. After many of these conflicts, all revolving around the same group, the school rarely caught on or cared to investigate because, sadly, DWS just follows the easiest path which is to pretend no problem exists. My child was forced to apologize individually to 4 liars for physical abuse. This is the schools idea of restorative justice and reflection.

Multiple parents were upset about the bullying problem and repeated incidents. The school addressed this by calling a class meeting and passing out a handout with bullying vs not bullying and tried to argue that technically there was no bullying. They then said that parents should stop gossiping with each other and talk only to us. What kind of school would tell parents to NOT talk to each other!? This was their way of controlling their manufactured image. Its for good reason that the class has declined in enrollment over 6 years from 25 to barely double digits!

At another school now, I see my daughters confidence and self-esteem returning, and a notably better mood. Its sad to think about just how much DWS pushed her down. The Denver Waldorf School is academically AND socially worse than many public alternatives and certainly not worth the annual $20k+ (plus the therapy and tutoring costs many in the class required)!

Posted: September 29, 2024

I was a student at the Denver Waldorf School from 1st through 6th grade.

One of the main problems with the school is the teachers ignore problems. They blame it on students, parents, and everyone leaving the school, or just say there are not any problems at all! The teachers punish the entire class when a few students misbehave. One time, 2 subject classes were chaotic, so everyone in the class had to write letters, apologizing for misbehaving. The main teacher said even if you were not misbehaving, you should have been a leader and told the kids who were misbehaving to stop. Another time, 3 kids were doing gymnastics during quiet reading time, so the teacher threatened to take away library time for the whole class. Sometimes, they do not punish at all. They just reward. We had a yardstick with a clothespin clipped to it. Every time a class went well, the teacher moved it an inch. Once we reached 36 inches, we got a reward like a bake sale, an ice cream day, or an extra recess. The problem is, we won rewards all the time because they moved the pin even when the class was absolutely horrible.

There are behavior problems at DWS. Students are constantly out of their seats and touching and playing with everything. Sometimes, they also run out of the classroom. There are some kids, where if they get in trouble, they say it is not fair or the teacher is singling them out. If teachers ever say anything back, the kids yell at them.

There are a few students who start whining whenever we learn something new. They cry, yell, and stomp their feet. They start all over again if the teacher brings that concept up. When we do writing assignments, a lot of kids raise their hands and say What do I write? Most teachers actually give them sentences to write. They do it over and over again, so the teacher ends up writing the whole thing for them. I am going into 7th grade and most of my class can not even write an essay. Last time we were supposed to, people were complaining, even though it was 2 paragraphs and fill-in-the-blank. We worked on it for weeks, and a lot of kids never finished. Our math worksheets say 5th grade on them even though we were in 6th grade. The class got that far behind because of a few people whining, and the teachers slow the whole class down because of them.

Right now, the class has about 12 kids because more than half have left since 1st grade. A lot of people left because of class behavior, bullying, and teachers ignoring all the problems.

Posted: September 29, 2024

Posted: September 28, 2024

A previous reviewer on greatschools.org summed it up perfectly with DWS was spectacular at what they did well, and terrible at what they did poorly, with little receptivity to feedback and change and behavioral issues got worse as the years progressed. Sadly, I can attest the school has done absolutely nothing to address these issues since that review was written in 2015. In recent years, DWS has become a haven for children with serious behavior problems and their delusional parents. Why? They are unwilling to acknowledge their own problems, much less deal with them. The fundamental conceit of DWS is that the Waldorf philosophy is beyond reproach. The logic goes something like this: (1) Waldorf is the best and only way of educating children. (2) There are no problems in Waldorf because (1). (3) Therefore, if you feel that there is bullying or misbehavior at Waldorf, then you are wrong because (2) and YOU must be the problem because of your lack of devotion to principle (1). Thats right, this school literally has no tools to rely on other than denial, victim-blaming, and gaslighting because (1).

The lesson that I and many other parents learned the hard way is that the Waldorf experience varies wildly by class. From my observations over the six years my child spent at DWS, your experience has a 25% chance of being phenomenal, a 50% chance of being acceptable if youre really into Waldorf but not worth the tuition otherwise, and a 25% chance of being a complete disaster that ends with your child in therapy. The best decision I ever made for my child was enrolling at Parzival Shield Waldorf Kindergarten, and the worst was keeping them in an unhealthy nightmare of a class at DWS because I desperately hoped things would get better. I still believe Waldorf is the best educational model for my child, but I no longer believe DWS is capable of delivering. If Waldorf resonates with you, my best advice is to be ready and willing to remove your child immediately if there is a problem with the teacher or any student in the class. Do not look wistfully at well-formed and properly functioning classes and think that too can be your childs experience. If your child is enrolling after first grade, I suggest you take a hard look at the class size. If it seems unusually low, be warned that there is probably a very good reason. My childs class lost 25% of its students two years in a row. This school has a significant retention issue, hence the ever increasing tuition.

Posted: September 28, 2024

Posted: March 3, 2020

This is an incredible school. The philosophy and curriculum really help develop the whole child in thinking, feeling and acting. I feel that ingenuity, collaboration, and developing new ways of finding solutions are becoming more critical to success than ever before and the Denver Waldorf school provides that to my kids.

Posted: March 3, 2020

Homework is challenging, age appropriate, and engaging.

Posted: March 3, 2020

Teachers genuinely care and are invested in their students. Student success, on multiple levels, is meaningful to everyone at the school.

Posted: March 3, 2020

This one of the best things about the school. They develop personal responsibility and independence but they develop with an understanding of the impact you have on others.

Posted: March 3, 2020

School is run by a thoughtful team.

Posted: March 3, 2020

Posted: June 28, 2018

I havent experienced this with any of my children. Not to say it might not exist. It just hasnt been a problem for me.

Posted: June 28, 2018

Homework is not overwhelming for the kids. It does get more rigorous as the child goes through the grades but always age appropriate.

Posted: June 28, 2018

Love the teachers. This might be the schools strongest asset.

Posted: June 28, 2018

Excellent! We love this school. We love that it offers music and art as part of the curriculum. The academics are steong with the plus being that kids are exposed to woodworking and eurythmy as part of the daily lessons. Amazing experience.

Posted: June 28, 2018

Good Experience...Each school has issues and problems, however not each school is willing to learn, grow and attempt to make their school better for their students.

Posted: June 28, 2018

The teacher educates from a mental physical and spiritual perspective. The Denver Waldorf understands that our children must become independent thinkers.

Posted: June 28, 2018

Each staff member, teacher and administrator contributes to the leadership process making meticulous decisions for the group.

Posted: June 28, 2018

The Denver Waldorf helped identify the learning differences my child faced and has been accountable for bridging the gap and teaching her in the most effective manner.

Posted: June 28, 2018

Posted: April 26, 2018

Neutral seems to be the message, but that's not really fair. I want to strongly disagree with some of our experience and strongly agree with others. It seems like if the teacher or employee is good at what they do, then it works, but if anyone is struggling--teacher, student, parent, administrator, there isn't a way to get passed that. You'd think some things about how to run a school would be automatically in place for a school this old, but it doesn't happen here. It's sad because there are some real gems--the philosophy behind the education seems intriguing (and slightly hidden, can't figure out if they don't know what they're talking about or they just don't know how to tell me what they're talking about) and some of the teachers my kids have had should be awarded teacher of the year. But some of our other experiences have been so awful I can't believe these folks haven't lost their accreditation. Definitely some very happy families at the school, and some very unhappy ones.

Posted: April 26, 2018

The approach to homework varies vastly from teacher to teacher. Sometimes it appears effective, other times it does not.

Posted: April 26, 2018

Some of the best teachers I have ever had the privelege to send my children to, but some I wonder why they are still even teaching as they seem way behind the curve in meeting LD kids, and not very interested in changing. Not sure what the evaluation process is for teachers, but doesn't seem very objective.

Posted: April 26, 2018

Seem to be trying to teaching it without practicing it as adults? Going through the motions instead of living it?

Posted: April 26, 2018

Again, uneven. Some great independent leadership, but not exactly all in agreement.

Posted: April 26, 2018

They're trying. Some teachers seem up to date about kids with LD, others definitely behind the eight ball.

Posted: April 26, 2018

No, I've been watching it happen in my kid's class for two years. They're not ignoring it or encouraging it, but how they are trying to approach it doesn't seem to be working that well.

Posted: January 30, 2018

As a student the staff and teachers treated me awful and showed no support when I requested help for the schools bullying and racism issue.

Posted: January 30, 2018

Teachers are confusing and rude. They talk to you like a baby and dont let you ask questions if you have a question you have to wait for class to end.

Posted: January 30, 2018

I was bullied and left out daily at Waldorf and I had to talk to the school counselor 3 times before she even talked to the students harrasing me and even after this they continued

Posted: January 30, 2018

This is one of the worst schools you could attend. The teachers are confusing and mean, they show very clear favoritism of certain students and the academics are awful in 10th grade I was learning 7th grade math.

Posted: November 2, 2016

We have been involved with DWS since 2004 and both of our children attend. One myth about this approach to education is that it is a good fit for "artsy" kids. While children who are drawn to music, arts and drama will enjoy how steeped in these things the curriculum is, I feel strongly that children who are not inclined in these ways need this education as well. The goal is to grow well-rounded human beings, who are capable of flexible thinking, compassion and caring for others and a feeling of responsibility for the way we impact the earth. This is done through very intentional methods grounded in a deep understanding of child development. Recent trends in education discuss emotional intelligence, which is something Waldorf education has valued since its inception with its Head, Heart and Hands approach. Children develop capacities, as opposed to acquiring knowledge to be regurgitated. These capacities translate into creative thinking, a love of learning, problem solving and sensitivity badly needed in the world today. Waldorf graduates are sought after by many colleges because of the kind of human beings they are.

When children are given too many choices and an ability to focus only on what they are naturally interested in, they become limited in the capacities they develop. Because students at DWS all take music, movement, art, history of all kinds, math and science, they enter the adult world capable of working a wide variety of jobs, with a wide variety of interests and skills. They simply make the world a better place and I am eternally grateful for the education, love and community our family has received from this amazing group of faculty and administrators.

Posted: November 2, 2016

It is hardly an issue because community is an integral part of the culture without preaching or promoting - everything is taught by example.

Posted: November 2, 2016

Teachers work to meet each individual student. The relationship developed from having the same teacher for 8 years is remarkable. Teachers know their students and very consciously work to meet the student where they are and in a way that works for them.

Posted: November 2, 2016

Homework is relevant and based in something the children have experienced. There is not busy work or rote memorization. All work is age appropriate and homework is not regularly assigned until the end of elementary school to honor the child's time with their family and encouraging a slower pace and lots of free, unscheduled time.

Posted: November 2, 2016

We have three kids at the Denver Waldorf School, and have been involved with the school for 10 years.

What drew us to Waldorf Education is the emphasis on cultivating capacities rather than simply teaching skills and information. There is skill work, of course, but the focus is on helping the children know how to observe accurately, think critically, be socially sensitive, emotionally intelligent, and self-disciplined.

As a parent, I wonder about what the world will look like for my children and their children, and I can't quite wrap my head around why our approach to education is still teaching kids lots of information that's not relevant to solving tomorrow's problems. But I am frequently and overwhelmingly impressed by how strong my children's problem solving skills are, and how kind and compassionate they are to others. They are so much more socially aware than my husband and I are!

We also really appreciate the educational support services at the school, because we have a child who is on the Autism Spectrum, NOS. He has taken really big strides because of the services he has access to through the school, and because of the strong interest knowledgeable teachers have in helping him thrive. He's very intellectually precocious, so there are times when he complains about being bored at school, but we've actually come to think that's okay. He's expected to participate in a wide range of subjects, including handwork and physical education, painting and singing--to name a few-- which have really helped to round out his natural tendencies. In addition to the support services he receives, I think this broad and varied curriculum has been a huge support in his continue to transform some of the challenges he has with an Autism diagnosis. He will have little problem in life intellectually, but I can see already how he is going to be more successful in accomplishing what he wants to because of the social intelligence he's developing.

Best of all, perhaps, our kids are happy to go to school everyday! They are actively engaged in their learning and interested in the world. I think the ground is being set for them to continue to be interested in learning for the rest of their lives.

Posted: November 2, 2016

What they have is really great. They could have more varied offerings, but I know this is part of their ongoing plans as they move forward.

Posted: November 2, 2016

Individual leadership seems pretty strong, but it often feels like there is not a unified front when it comes to administration.

Posted: November 2, 2016

I could not agree more whole heartedly with this. And the school just hosted an alumni panel. I was blown away by by the people this graduates have become. They're driven, socially conscious and capable.

Posted: November 2, 2016

The teachers are effective because they are genuinely interested in the children in all aspects of their education. Some of the class sizes are a bit larger than I thought appropriate. But I've learned that it's actually really helpful for the social life of the class, since they stay together for 8 years. Also, the teacher knows the kids way better having them for 8 years, so the larger class sizes (25-32 kids) seems just fine.

Posted: November 2, 2016

I like the fact that there's less homework until middle school and high school years. Especially now with all of the studies showing that homework doesn't make any difference in student performance. Our kids get home after 8 hours of school and a long commute and they get to play outside, share a family meal and household chores, and have a peaceful bedtime. It also makes it easier to participate in extracurriculars. ff we had our way, there'd be even less homework! But I do see the benefit in terms of self-discipline.

Posted: September 8, 2016

I have two children and a niece and nephew at DSW. They all started early education with DWS at 3 years old. Our experience has been wonderful in every manner. Our children have all thrived academically, physically and socially. I believe in the teaching staff, support staff and the learning philosophy whole-heartedly. I wouldn't think of sending my children any where else (especially pre-K -8th grade). It is a truly beautiful learning experience and we have fully embraced the community.

Posted: September 8, 2016

Waldorf at it's best: creating honesty, integrity and fairness in the individual. I feel that these are some of the most important teachings for today's children.

Posted: July 10, 2015

No homework at all until close to middle school - dioramas and practicing for plays were the homework for many years. This handicapped our child upon entering the real world of schools. It took a lot of help to get caught up.

Posted: July 10, 2015

While I think DWS's guiding principles include fostering an environment of honesty, integrity, and fairness in its students, some were clearly favored over others.

Posted: July 10, 2015

I have waited a long time to write a review on this school to make sure I am completely objective and unbiased by emotion. In general, I would say that our experience was that DWS was spectacular at what they did well, and terrible at what they did poorly, with little receptivity to feedback and change. The staff as generally unmanaged, and do not receive any performance reviews, and parents were never given an opportunity to give feedback on teachers, administrators or staff members. In fact, every time it was even suggested that one of the staff were sub-par performers, the leaders fell into a tail spin of ugly defensiveness. Perhaps that has changed since we left the school several years ago. They do certain things beautifully: creativity, arts, music, dance, physical exercise, outdoor play time, unstructured play time, independent thought, and harmonious relationships with students. Academically, based on all of my research, I believe they deliver a modified version of Waldorf methodology. The kids get terrifically proficient at knitting, playing the lyre, and illustrating letters and numbers, while true academic functions are taught in an unorthodox manner. This approach works really well for certain kids and not so well for others. For kids who are natural-born readers and who just learn by osmosis, they do well. Anyone who needs more structure will lag far, far behind. When we left, our child was three years behind in both reading and math, which seemed of little or no concern to the teachers or staff. Their theory was that the child would "simply catch up by 12th grade", a chance we ultimately were not wiling to take. If I had to do it again, I would do Parzival pre-school and 1st and 2nd grade at DWS and then get my child into a more academically structured environment. We have heard from parents who stayed and left later that they regretted the decision, and behavioral issues got worse as the years progressed. In sum, great, great school for young kids, pull them out by 3rd grade if you have any aspirations for your child to attend competitive schools in the future.

Posted: May 6, 2015

I have attended Denver Waldorf since I was six. I love the curriculum and the artistic ways the students are taught, but your experience all depends on the class teacher and classmates you get. If you get stuck with a teacher who is mean, or doesn't like you, then your learning is put at risk. I have been bullied before, and the teachers don't step in. If I could go back to first grade, I would not go to Denver Waldorf. Some people have really good experiences with Denver Waldorf, and others don't.

Posted: September 2, 2014

Denver Waldorf School certainly is a kind and loving place. However, it is also a SCHOOL. It needs to shift a lot of focus to academic rigor so that it balances out the social/emotional/spiritual curriculum. Any private (and well compensated) school faced with a student clamoring for more learning and more engagement academically should meet that kid, should stretch to push her and give her the expansion she seeks. Waldorf did the exact opposite with our kid, so much so that she concluded on her own that it couldn't possibly be serious (in high school or otherwise) about academic excellence or even academics generally. If a child begs for challenge or rigor or higher standards from 6th, 7th, and 8th grade, and the school ignores her, then there is something terribly wrong. The school is run by committee and is nearly paralyzed from the start of every decision of consequence. The "head of school" is solely a figure head and has little power to make any significant or important policy (or frankly otherwise) decisions. I love the Waldorf education. This version of it at the Denver Waldorf, however, sadly leaves a lot to be desired.

Posted: April 29, 2014

This is a great school where the teachers and administration really care about the children. They show great respect and understanding for each child and create the type of environment needed so that children can learn and become happy, well adjusted, caring, educated, conscious human beings.

Posted: September 19, 2012

We just started pre-school at the Waldorf. We are extremely happy with everything and our son (3) seems very happy and comfortable. My son commented "There are no bad kids in my class". What he means is that the kids are gentle, caring, and well behaved. This is credit to the Waldorf phylosophy and the wonderful implementation by the DWS. I do not know how doing the full curriculum at the Waldorf works out but this is an excellent start.

Posted: May 20, 2012

Both of my children have attended DWS since they were preschool age (one currently in first grade, the other in fifth). It has been a wonderful choice for our family, with nurturing community and a focus on creative and artistic expression in learning. Both of my kids have tested gifted and have thrived without any sort of "special program" here at Waldorf. The teachers, which stay with the kids from 1st to 8th, are the reason for their excellence. Their love for the children and for teaching really shines through.

Posted: April 9, 2012

We love this school. I feel like my daughter is getting a superb education, not just in academia but as a human (polite, working together, nature). The faculty is like family to us, we speak openly on many topics both in the school and at home. My daughter is a kinetic learner that requires interaction, she loves the movement, art and storyline based approach to learning. Another great advantage Waldorf has is having the older kids (3-6, aftercare) mixed with the younger kids. The older students are fine role models and very caring. The entire approach to learning is very unique, with a mix of tradition and progressive methodologies. 100% happy with Denver Waldorf, it's worth every cent.

#	Name	Type	City	State	Distance
1	Cherry Creek	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Denver	CO	3.3 mi
2	Sterling Hills West	Area of Town	Aurora	CO	11.4 mi
3	Forest Lakes	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Monument	CO	42.8 mi
4	Flying Horse	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Colorado Springs	CO	46.7 mi

#	Name	City	State	Overall Rating	Distance
1	North Gate Blvd	Colorado Springs	CO		45.8 mi
2	Loveland	Loveland	CO		49.2 mi

Base	Distance
Buckley AFB	11.7 mi.
US Air Force Academy	46.9 mi.

Denver Waldorf School

Denver, CO 80210

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Denver Waldorf School

Denver, CO 80210

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