Non-Discrimination Policy
(from the By-laws, Originally established 2001, updated 2020) 

“The Waldorf Association of Lawrence and the Prairie  Moon Waldorf School are committed to the development of a diverse and inclusive community and will not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, national origin, age, ancestry, disability, status as a veteran, sexual orientation, marital status, parental status, gender identity, gender expression or genetic information.”

Prairie Moon Waldorf School Diversity Statement

In our work with children from birth to age fourteen, Prairie Moon Waldorf School is committed to the ideals upon which Waldorf/Steiner education was founded. These include respect for the dignity of each individual child and family in honoring diverse race, culture, religion, national origin, socio economic situation, gender identity and sexual orientation, family composition, and individual ability which form the backgrounds of their lives. Waldorf education is committed to supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion as a pathway to social justice and to rectify the explicit and implicit biases that undermine creation of healthy social life in our society. 

Waldorf education was founded in 1919 upon the insights of Rudolf Steiner, whose indications  provide the foundations for a truly humanized education that recognizes the individuality of  each person and the universal spirit living within every human being. Prairie Moon Waldorf School affirms this educational and social truth. Any statements attributed to Rudolf Steiner which imply or suggest discrimination or judgment toward any race, ethnicity, religion, gender or sexuality, or socio-economic group, are rejected. Such attitudes are contradictory and undermining to the goals of this education. 

Working toward these goals requires committed inner work from the adults who care for our  children. Teacher preparation and professional deepening call for each educator to engage in  self-reflection that will ennoble inner attitudes to support diversity, inclusion, and equity. Recognizing and celebrating the differences that make us uniquely individual fosters healing  and creation of new social life. We strive to create conscious, collaborative communities of  parents, teachers, and children which strengthen the children in our care to meet future  challenges with optimism, confidence, resilience, and tolerance and experience their lives as filled with purpose and meaning.

The Waldorf Association of Lawrence has adopted an inclusive non-discrimination policy that aims to create a fair and equitable environment for its students, parents, employees and volunteers. As Prairie Moon has matured, evolved, and progressed along with American and international culture and norms, a maturing consciousness has developed with regard to gender relations, sexual identities, and minority and women’s rights. In response to extreme racism and sexism in some quarters, there has been strong cultural push-back and progress. Our society is increasingly seeing previously marginalized or otherwise subjugated individuals take leadership positions in government, business, healthcare, education, and in non-profit leadership. Slowly, compensation is being equalized, opportunities for advancement made available based on qualifications alone, and representation expanded across the entire culture.

Because Prairie Moon works closely with children and youth, it has seen in the past decade a number of students simply reject specific gender identification because they do not want to be limited by any cultural stereotypes or subjected to inappropriate sexual advances. They dress neutrally, pursue their own genuine interests regardless of perceived associations with traditional gender roles, and they demand recognition based on their status as individuals rather than as either a woman or man. This movement is growing and is affecting the wider culture. Lasting gender equality and respect is the goal.

The Waldorf Association of Lawrence and Prairie Moon Waldorf School are committed to the ideal of fair and equal treatment and are particularly dedicated to modeling admirable behaviors for their students. School leaders want each of them to have the freedom and confidence to fulfill themselves and serve their communities, without being subjected to racist or chauvinist insult or restrictions.  

In service to these ideas, WAL adopted a non-discrimination policy, hired teachers and administrators without regard to gender, racial or ethnic identities, and have always had a diverse Board of Trustees. Males and females have served equally as president of the Board since the organization was founded in 2001.

As a corporate resident of Lawrence, Douglas County, Kansas, the WAL Board and Prairie Moon faculty and administration want the community to understand their focused attention on these matters. Even the most subtle racist or sexist behaviors are glaringly obvious to the hyper-aware school community. How else can the vestiges of long-established inequities be recognized and rooted out than through vigilant recognition and disciplined enforcement of behavioral change? And where else does our society have a better opportunity to end such behaviors than in an early childhood program and grade school. The future literally starts with children. 

In Prairie Moon’s dealings with the broader community, it will endeavor to refrain from sexist, racist, and classist behaviors, being mindful as an organization to not impart any residual prejudices to the young children in its care. In pursuit of the goal to improve the school and its community, Prairie Moon invites its neighbors to join in a similar self-analysis.

The Waldorf Association of Lawrence/Prairie Moon Waldorf School will strive to maintain a school and workplace that is free of sexual stereotyping, inappropriate suggestive comments, chauvinism, racial prejudice or presumptions, or other disrespectful behaviors, and to mentor its own students and community members with patience and affirmative support.

“The Waldorf Association of Lawrence and Prairie Moon  Waldorf School are committed to principles of sound environmental stewardship and care for the Earth as a coherent living organism. Through its curriculum, programs, and official actions, Prairie Moon will advance nature-based education, support sustainable environmental practice, promote responsible use of resources, and advocate for congruent social and economic behavior.”

In 2008, Prairie Moon Waldorf School received support from the Elizabeth Schultz Environmental Fund (ESEF) of the Douglas County Community Foundation (DCCF) to establish the first elementary school garden in Douglas County. In part, due to that support, PMWS was able to obtain additional grants from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) and the Kansas Association of Conservation and Environmental Education (KACEE) for projects related to water quality and the development of a Green Curriculum to be used in the grades. The curriculum was designed by Teresa Woods, a former Waldorf teacher and, at that time, a PhD candidate at Kansas State University in the field of science education. The initiatives at Prairie Moon led KACEE to recognize Prairie Moon as Kansas Green School of the Year in 2011 and one of the first three schools to be recognized as a Kansas Green School.

The Waldorf curriculum is an integrated one, with nature education forming a core element, woven into other subjects in both obvious and subtle ways. From nature play and gardening, to celebrating the seasons, to science and handwork, teachers share with students the wonder, vitality, diversity and cycles of the earth. 

Learning in Nature 

 A comprehensive review of environmental education theory and empirical research by Louise Chawla (1999) reports that environmentalists attribute their adult commitment to nature to a combination of two sources: “Many free hours spent outdoors in natural habitats in childhood or adolescence; and the example of a parent, teacher, or other adult who fostered their interest in nature.” Studies since then bolster this premise, emphasizing the importance of the affective, sensory, cognitive and experiential aspects of nature education with implications for a place‐based, integrated curriculum (Brody, 2005; Fisman, 2005; Hungerford, 2001; Kellert, 2002; Louv, 2008; Sobel, 2004; State Education and Environment Roundtable (SEER), 2005; Volk, 1993). Hence, the Waldorf practice of extended time exploring and working in nature within an integrated curriculum and supportive community is well‐supported.

Cognitive Science 

 A series of studies by the National Academy of Sciences on how people learn concludes there are three fundamental principles to developing competence in an area of inquiry: 1) acquiring a deep foundation of experiential and factual knowledge; 2) organizing these experiences and facts into patterns and meaningful concepts; and 3) being able to retrieve and apply this knowledge in new and relevant situations (Bransford et al., 1999; Donovan & Bransford, 2005). Waldorf teachers are trained to attend to these principles in developmentally appropriate ways and in accordance with constructivist learning theory. For instance, throughout the elementary curriculum and especially in the early childhood classes, deep immersion in nature exploration and play affords children rich experiences with natural phenomena. Teachers draw on these experiences in helping students connect these to meaningful patterns and understanding. The purposeful spiral design of the K‐12 curriculum, then, returns to common themes such as the interrelationships between nature and humans, nature’s cycles and seasons, and nature’s diversity. This vertical integration over time allows students to develop rich concepts that grow and expand as they mature, and nurtures curiosity and enthusiasm for learning. Waldorf teachers conscientiously create new exploratory experiences with ever increasing sophistication as students grow, and awaken in students their own capacities for making sense and finding meaning in the world.

As students gain knowledge and experience that is connected to their feelings about themselves and others, a sense of mutual responsibility is fostered that extends from their families and friends to their communities, societies, and on to all of nature and the world.