This is a great school and a real community. It gets back to the heart of teaching and not just…read moretesting, and truly allows kids to be kids while reaching them where they are. Before switching my daughter from a college prep to AM WINN I scheduled a visit, did my research on the curriculum, and checked with some coworkers who grew up in a Waldorf education and found that there were so many beneficial aspects. The curriculum is based on what's appropriate for the age and fully submerges them in a subject. The kids learn actual life skills (think in the sense that most middle/high schools lost home economics, cooking, gardening, sewing, cursive, etc - these kids are learning it from K-8). All of the kids play an instrument each year. They transition through various handwork - finger knitting, knitting, crocheting, sewing, etc. And after meeting several kids in the neighborhood I noticed they have such amazing temperaments and spirits and are so welcoming and joyful.
I am truly glad that we found AM Winn as my daughter is blossoming in the Waldorf community and education approach. At first glance I believed Waldorf was something only "white, hippie people put their kids in" as I read some reviews on Waldorf education, but I was so wrong for going along with that belief, even if only for a moment. Consider that as adults we all learn differently and receive information differently - so why do we expect our kids to learn one way in school? AM Winn and the Waldorf approach reaches kids by incorporating every learning style. It's a holistic approach with a concern for the mind body and spirit of the child. They will not only learn about a culture/era, but they will build shelters, take a field trip to an exhibit, sing about it, write about it, draw it out, etc. Math is taught in a way for the kids to think through it in various methods, not just regurgitate information. It's age appropriate not where the district says they should be for their funding purposes. And I love that the school is VERY culturally diverse.
Had I gone based on some of the school rating websites or testing sites I might have steered from the school, But I toured the school and fell in love. Some of the reports show that it's not diverse, the kids are far behind in subject matter, and it received some negative reviews - that I will say from my experience here that info is false. My daughter is multiracial, and she has a diverse group of friends that don't see color, she is just as knowledgeable in subjects as my step kids who attend another public school, thinks on a deeper level than they do, has developed a strong sense of empathy and justice for others, and we love it here. I've watched my daughter recover from some of the damage that her previous school did to her
She previously attended a college prep school that I won't name but literally broke her spirit, and I've known many people who reported the same thing. The kids were expected to "slant" and sit perfectly still while others finished their work, she would get in trouble for READING in class or drawing because she wasn't slanting, and wasn't actually taught to work through a math problem only to memorize answers for timed lessons. There wasn't much play involved with only a tiny jungle gym in the parking lot - she didn't even have the coordination to do the monkey bars. Math was drilled in and time tested, without the proper attention for those that didn't understand. I had to make a change because my daughter who once loved school cried every evening and had anxiety with math. The college prep/common core was not actually taught in a way to solve the problem but merely to memorize and test well for funding.
After making the change to AM Winn it was a drastic change in her. It took a moment for her to adjust but she loved it. She gets to be creative. She gets to be free. And most importantly she gets to be a kid- something that many children are missing out on in today's society as we push them to grow up quickly and test well. My daughter has become quite the artist, loves playing the guitar and singing, she's a great story teller and writer, an avid reader and reads 3 grades above her level.
I say all of that to say this - just as everyone has their own taste in food, so too our children will have their own taste in learning. As a parent you have to allow them to satisfy that taste and not just force the norm on them. AM Winn might not be the best school for everyone, but for many of these kids a traditional public school that drills in information but doesn't address the heart of the child isn't the best for them. AM Winn reaches for their heart when material is presented and these kids WANT to learn because of it.
So if you've made it through reading all of this it's because you're interested in the school and wanted a real opinion on it. I would say your next step is to visit and see if it's right for you and your child.
