High School
Shining Mountain expanded its campus in 1991, establishing Boulder’s first Waldorf High School. Decades later, our state-of-the-art campus brings together rigorous STEAM initiatives, vibrant music programs, and expanded practical and digital arts. Because Waldorf education culminates in high school, these pivotal years cultivate deep self-awareness, moral purpose, and intellectual independence. This holistic foundation prepares our students for exceptional academic success: 98% of Waldorf graduates attend college, and 95% complete their degrees in their chosen path, outperforming national standards and embodying the confidence, agency, and clarity required to thrive in higher education and beyond.
Focus Deeply, Learn Fully: The Block Schedule
What is a Block?
Our academic calendar is structured around 4-week intensive terms known as Blocks. Instead of balancing four or five different subjects at once throughout a traditional semester, students focus entirely on one focus at a time for morning Main Lesson.
Each 4-week block delivers a full term’s worth of instruction, allowing students to immerse yourself completely in a single discipline. Class meets daily for immersive lectures, hands-on projects, field work, and collaborative discussions.
Each 4-week block ends in a Block Party where students display and share their work with the rest of the school community
What Makes the Block Schedule Powerful & Special
Immersive, Hands-On Learning
Extended daily class sessions give room for real-world projects, extended lab work, and field trips without ever conflicting with other scheduled classes.
Meaningful Connections
Spending concentrated daily time with the same professor and peers creates a tight-knit classroom community and fosters stronger mentorship.
Manageable Workloads
By removing the cognitive fatigue of constant context-switching, students devote their focus to one discipline. This builds momentum and keeps daily objectives clear and achievable.
Built-in Momentum & Reset
Completing a full course every four weeks gives a continuous sense of accomplishment and lets students start each new block with renewed energy.
Join Us Through Homeschool Block Courses
Shining Mountain offers individually accredited enrollment for most block courses.
Explore the High School Curriculum
Explore how our STEAM focus, block scheduling, and experiential arts prepare students to thrive in college and beyond.
COLLEGE READINESS AT SMWS
COLLEGE GRADUATES
Of SMWS graduates attend and graduate from college, far above the U.S. National average.
WITH HONORS
Of surveyed alum complete their undergraduate study with honors.
ADVANCED DEGREES
Go on to Graduate School to earn master’s and PhDs.
SELF EMPLOYED
Of surveyed alum not currently in school found their own businesses, more than double the national average.
Individualized College Counseling & Guidance
From standardizing test strategies to navigating financial aid and essay writing, our dedicated college guidance program provides personalized, one-on-one advising starting in 11th grade. We help every student identify and apply to institutions where they will thrive academically, socially, and personally.
Key Skills Developed
Self-Advocacy & Agency
Small class sizes and discussion-based main lessons teach students how to engage directly with professors, ask thoughtful questions, and take ownership of their learning.
Complex Analytical Writing
Writing comprehensive daily main lesson books cultivates the research, synthesis, and long-form writing skills required for university coursework.
Creative Problem Solving
Integrating arts, sciences, and practical work prepares graduates to approach complex college-level problems with flexibility and original thought.
Learn more about our standardized testing support, counselor guidance timeline, and recent college acceptances on our College Prep Page.
High School Programs
Meet our Faculty
Living our Values
Download the High School Student-Parent Handbook.
Discovery of Self
Integration of the Arts
Learning through Experience
The Living Elements of Shining Mountain Waldorf High School
These three living elements we value address the interdependent pathways of growth, both academic and personal, to which both teacher and student devote themselves. As they move through high school, the student experiences these pathways as an ever-maturing being moving toward adulthood.
Hover over the rotating high school logo to learn more.
Discovery of Self
Along with a focus on strong academic and social competencies, Shining Mountain commits to working with the adolescent to foster the development of self-knowledge. Developing an understanding of one's relationship to risk, motivation, resilience, interdependent thinking and collaboration forms the foundational layer of the lifelong journey of "know thyself". We work toward developing, strengthening and synthesizing this undertaking throughout the four years.
Learning through Experience
At Shining Mountain, the commitment is in the doing. We ask our students to take an active role in their learning. They cultivate wonder, seek meaning, engage their will, and effectively communicate. Experiential learning brings the academic experience alive within the student which in turn awakens them to their place in the world.
Integration of the Arts
Fine, practical, and performing arts are central to a Shining Mountain education, yet the creative process goes beyond the arts as they are traditionally understood. When each discipline is approached as a creative endeavor, experiential knowledge is deepened through a revelation of the unseen, and the discovery of its intrinsic value. A creative interaction with the processes enriches learning, strengthens recall, and inspires original, and innovative work.
