MISSION STATEMENT
Shining Mountain Waldorf High School guides adolescents on a journey of discovery to find their place in the world.
We educate individuals to realize capacities of lively independent thinking, artistically-cultivated feeling, and moral courage for responsible action.
We strive with adolescents to develop this full measure of human potential that allows for the recognition of one’s lifework and service to humanity.
At Shining Mountain Waldorf High School we recognize that adolescence is an important stage of human development. A profound transformation takes place, and powerful inner forces are unleashed. Young people consciously begin to forge their own identities and discover their own values. Vestiges of childhood fall away, and adulthood slowly comes to meet them. Ideals and aspirations arise in the young person, and the adolescent needs to have these ideals affirmed. Adolescents long for a sense of connection to the world and for meaningful relationships.
TO THE STUDENT
For those who want more out of their education, Shining Mountain offers the breadth and depth of a liberal arts education at the high school level. Courses are challenging and draw on all aspects of your being – artistic, intellectual, emotional, physical, scientific, mathematical, musical, creative, and spiritual. Socially, you have the best of both worlds: close friendships that span the entire student population in the High School and connections to students at other schools. Your relationships at Shining Mountain form life-long bonds with peers and faculty alike. Teachers will take a personal interest in you and how you are doing. If you have a special interest or talent you wish to develop, the faculty is happy to find ways to support you. When you are looking ahead beyond high school, our college counselor will provide one-on-one guidance to get you to the college or university of your choice or to create an alternative career plan.
TO THE PARENT
In addition to ensuring academic rigor, Shining Mountain Waldorf High School provides a safe, healthy learning environment in which your teenager can explore the many facets of his or her personality, yearnings to contribute to the world, and peer connections.
Our High School teachers are specialists who sharpen the growing intellectual skills of the adolescent and affirm their ideals through a carefully crafted curriculum. Yearly themes engage students in a developmentally appropriate way, both in content and teaching approach.
Through community service, students experience that they can make a difference in the world and enjoy a healthy relationship to the world at large.
Practical and fine arts, drama, and music further engage adolescents in healthy activities that nurture their need for self-expression and creative contribution. Competitive sports offer opportunities for team building and provide yet another arena for our young men and women to explore their potential.
My years at Shining Mountain made me more openly curious towards life, more philosophic, and spiritually minded. I appreciate the broader picture of everything and the sense of things being interconnected, which came with the curriculum.
Scott Coulter, Class of 1997