March 2021 WSL Monthly Communique

Waldorf School of Louisville Communique

Renewal and New Nominations for the Board of Trustees

Variable Tuition and Annual Giving

Waldorf Education is life-changing and world-changing, one child at a time.

We believe a Waldorf education is one of the most important investments you can make in your child’s formative years. Our students grow into accomplished, thriving young people notable not only for their confidence, abilities, and interests but for the profound human connections they form. We want to partner with families in making a Waldorf education accessible to those who seek it, while also working toward school and community sustainability. We believe these goals go hand in hand.

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This year, The Waldorf School of Louisville is joining dozens of other precedent-setting Waldorf Schools around the country, to restructure our tuition model. 

Delivering a Waldorf education is resource-intensive but we want to promote a culture that views tuition as a two-way conversation rather than simply an exchange of dollars and cents. We understand that each family’s financial circumstances are unique and have implemented the Variable Tuition model so that finances will not be an obstacle to your child receiving a Waldorf education. 

Every family adds value to the school community, and it is anticipated that each family who joins will hold their child’s education as a high financial priority.

The Waldorf School of Louisville depends on its Annual Children’s Campaign to help balance the cost of operating the school, with our dedication to economic diversity and inclusion.
The Children’s Campaign (Annual Fund)
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The Annual Fund is the primary way that the WSL community makes charitable donations to the school.  The Waldorf School of Louisville is sustained by the support of our whole community, and we seek 100% Annual Fund participation of the Board of Trustees, faculty, and WSL families.  We ask that you make Waldorf your highest giving priority while your child is enrolled in our school.

Your tax-deductible gift to the Annual Fund underwrites our Variable Tuition Fund to widen our doors, allowing more children in the community to receive this unique education. 

WHAT IS ANNUAL GIVING?

By definition, annual giving is money given to The Waldorf School that is spent in that same year. Our fiscal calendar goes from July 1 to June 30, and these gifts directly impact the experience of our children now. Participating in WSL’s Annual Children’s  Campaign is crucial to sustaining our programming and faculty needs, supplementing tuition aid to allow for a variable tuition model, and contributing to the maintenance of our campus and buildings. Annual Giving bridges the gap between our true operating expenses and the revenue from tuition for this year’s budget.

WHY DOES WSL HAVE AN ANNUAL GIVING CAMPAIGN?

All schools in the U.S., both independent and public, rely on gifts to make up the difference between tuition and the actual cost of educating students. The alternative, raising our tuition costs, would make education at our school prohibitive to many families. Subsequently, the community would become less economically diverse, and enrollment would decline.

The Waldorf School of Louisville does not have an endowment and does not receive any federal, state, or tax-based support. The school’s operating costs (teacher salaries, training, campus and facilities costs, utilities, etc…) are directly paid by the income from tuition dollars and supplemented by funds raised from Annual Giving.  

Variable Tuition benefits ALL families. In reality, no family pays the full cost of educating their child(ren) at the school. Tuition is set below the actual cost to encourage more families to attend. Offering further discounted tuition, based on family means, creates a more diverse student body benefiting everyone at the school. Families who have the capacity for major giving should do so, with the knowledge that their gift directly impacts and benefits the children.

The Waldorf curriculum helps children develop social sensitivity, compassion, and cooperative skills. The students can readily sense discrepancies between what they learn and experience in the classroom and what the adults in the school community—teachers, staff, and parents—are saying and doing. With this in mind, we ask that ALL families participate in Annual Giving. A ‘stretch gift’ will look different for every family, but all are expected to give in a way that demonstrates the family’s commitment to Waldorf values.

Several Waldorf schools are currently working with a tuition model based on the idea that Waldorf education should be accessible to all families who truly value it, whatever their economic status. Making this education accessible to more families is a step in working with a threefold understanding of Waldorf education. The tuition adjustment process is not just an economic activity -- its success lies in the understanding of all three aspects of the process. First, the path that leads the child and family to a Waldorf school and to acceptance into the class by the teacher is a spiritual activity. Second, the needs and well-being of the school and the family are recognized through meeting each other as equals in a conversation to determine, in consensus, the family’s contribution. And third, the recognition that we are dependent on each other reflects the economic realm. There is a conscious placing of what is needed for the well-being of the whole school community ahead of self-interest.

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If you are a WSL community member you are automatic members of PA!

Did you know we have a Facebook group for family and friends of WSL?  
It’s a great way to share and keep updated about what’s happening in our community.

In addition to supporting local, independent businesses, you can support WSL every time you shop with Amazon!

When you shop on AmazonSmile, the AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the purchase price of eligible products to WSL. 

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PA Slack for Heads, Hands, Hearts Planning, and Organizing! Join the Parent Association Slack for ways to plug-in or to keep up to date with happenings!  Not sure what Slack is or how to use it? Email Parent Association for help or guidance.

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