Inclusion & Belonging
"All of us in the academy and in the culture as a whole are called to renew our minds if we are to transform educational institutions—and society—so that the way we live, teach, and work can reflect our joy in cultural diversity, our passion for justice, and our love of freedom."
- bell hooks
Our Commitment
Your family is welcome here! San Francisco Waldorf School cultivates an inclusive, welcoming learning environment in which differences are celebrated in our curriculum and our community life. At our school, diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging are embraced as a source of strength, and through intentional action, we are striving to become a school whose demographics reflect the broad diversity of the Bay Area. We know that becoming a truly inclusive community, where each person sees themselves reflected, is an ongoing process that calls us to continuously develop our capacity for deep commitment and genuine respect: qualities that lie at the heart of our mission. We are dedicated to making this vision a reality at San Francisco Waldorf School.
Our Community
400
students
37%
students of color
25
languages spoken within our community
40%
families in our Equitable Tuition Program
30%
staff and faculty of color
8
student- or parent-initiated affinity groups
87%
live in San Francisco
13%
live outside of San Francisco
Voices of Our Community
"Whether it was the Chinese Cultural Revolution, 19th century Russian literature, African colonization, or the American Civil War, we were taught their relevance in our lives there and then."
"I’ve seen firsthand the life-changing impact that the Kitch Scholarship has had on our SMART Scholars and their families. The generous support has enabled hardworking students from low-income families to thrive in SF Waldorf High School’s rigorous and nurturing environment."
"Of all subjects, the combination of geography and history perhaps lends itself best to awakening a feeling of social responsibility, and by that, I mean the awareness of and consideration for other people. In Fourth Grade, we studied the immigrant journey in the 1830s of Biddy Mason, from Mississippi to California, where she could live without fear of enslavement. The students also read stories of Black pioneers and mountain men, in the series Reflections of a Black Cowboy, which included a story of Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, who founded the city of Eschikagou (Chicago) as a trading post, together with his wife Kitihawa, a member of the Potawatomi. We also read the book, The Iron Dragon Never Sleeps, which told the story of Lee Cheng, a worker for the Central Pacific Railroad. The children lived into the dynamics of his friendship with the kind daughter of an engineer, as well as the unfair treatment of Chinese workers by the railroad company."
Inclusion & Belonging at SFWS
Festivals
Parents bring the Nowruz (Persian New Year) celebration to the Grade School.
Language and Culture
An Upper Grades Mandarin class performs a Chinese ethnic dance for their younger classmates, led by Ms. Evelyn Liu (Liu laoshi), the choreographer for SF Asian Chorus performing group and Fang Bing (Fang laoshi).
LGBTQ+ Parent Association & Student Gender Sexuality Alliance
With the LGBTQ+ Parent Association and the Gender Sexuality Alliance, along with support from relevant books in all grade levels and guest speakers, we create a safe, inclusive space for students and families in the LGBTQ+ community.
The Star Spanglish Banner
Watch Tiana Chacon-White and Kaia Garcia-Vandegrift present "The Star Spanglish Banner" by Angelica Maria Aguilera during their Poetic class.
What We're Reading
Grade 11 - Based on an Oakland clash in which a gender non-conforming teen is assaulted by a boy that inhabited a different world.
Grade School Faculty & Grade 8 - "A book to help us better understand why we are where we are. A book about race."
Kindergarten - A story that "introduces young readers to a world of freedom of individual expression."
Kindergarten - "Two young girls not only witness but help to change history in this inspiring and urgent Civil Rights-era picture book."
Grade 4 - Learning about the migrant worker and SF legend who helped "Mexican Americans work together for better wages, for better working conditions, for better lives."
Grade 9 - A semi-autobiographical story about "boys who are exiled to the country during China's Cultural Revolution in order to be 're-educated'."
Grade 8 - Learning about the daily life and culture of Native Americans during early struggles with European settlers.
Grade 5 - Told in letters to Sophie’s abuela, quizzes, a chicken-care correspondence course, and to-do lists, a young Latina tells a quirky story about a move to the farm.
Grade 12 - Morrison's classic novel "examines our obsession with beauty and conformity—and asks questions about race, class, and gender."
Grade 10 - Tracing 300 years in, to, and from Ghana; follows generations to become an American story of roots and resilience.
High School Faculty - Education as the practice of freedom
Student Leadership Conference
On Saturday, March 15th, 2025, the Inaugural San Francisco Student Leadership Conference convened nearly 100 young people and adults from 10 high schools across the Bay Area and beyond, with some coming from as far away as Santa Rosa and Sacramento. Participants gathered to build connections across schools, learn to facilitate community conversations on inclusion and belonging, and hear keynote speaker Dr. Eghosa Obaizamomwan-Hamilton of Stanford University.
Entitled Not All Speed is Movement: Redefining Community Through Action, the conference offered a vision of hope and connection, serving as an antidote to the prevailing national atmosphere. Hosted and sponsored by San Francisco Waldorf High School, the conference was designed and led by students, faculty, and staff from the school in collaboration with Alma Partners, a multiracial, multigenerational consulting group that works with schools across the US and Canada.
Student organizers from SFWHS said, “California urgently needs spaces like this—spaces where young people can explore what justice looks like beyond the veneer of tokenistic inclusivity, where they can find the courage and tools to challenge systems of oppression with intention and care.”
Join us at the 2026 Student Leadership Conference!
Expanding Access
Learn more about scholarships and grants designed to expand access to our school.
Your Experience Matters
We care deeply about maintaining an equitable, just, and welcoming school environment. Have you experienced or witnessed marginalization or discrimination at SFWS?