Michael Soulé

Community Relations and Outreach, C Pietzner, from The Art of Administration, AWSNA

Community relations defines a very broad area both operationally and conceptually. Because of this it may seem abstract, remote, unnecessary, ethereal and diversionary, and not relating to the “true” function of a school, especially a Waldorf School! Such an attitude is perilous, and will be ever more so as the American public awakens to the need for a deeper, more comprehensive and effective relationship with education altogether. It (the public) will demand greater participation in mainstream education, and those forms of education that have been proven over time to be successful and relevant to the needs of children and nations. Waldorf Education and all its exponents will wish to respond to and encourage such a dialogue, such an involvement. This dialogue will include the area of community relations!

Art of Administration - Ch 7 - Community Relations and Outreach - C Pietzner

 

Many thanks go to AWSNA for its support of this publication, and to the Research Bulletin and Online Waldorf Library for making this publication available in ebook form as a free download.

The book is available in print form at AWSNA Books and More and through Amazon.

Find the ebook here:  Art of Administration - D Mitchell et al.

Michael Soulé

Admissions and Parent Education, A Mitchell from The Art of Administration, AWSNA

One of the most exciting experiences in the life of a Waldorf School is to encounter the steady stream of children who find their way to the school, their class, and their teachers. The journey to the school seems to be through the most varied and interesting circumstances.

The process of Admissions is there as a helpful guide in making the choice of sending oneʼs child to a Waldorf School as conscious as possible for the prospective parent, and for the school. A clear process also helps the teacher to receive the child into their class with knowledge and forethought so that the needs of the child can be met.

Art of Administration - Ch 6 - Admissions and Parent Education - A Mitchell

 

Many thanks go to AWSNA for its support of this publication, and to the Research Bulletin and Online Waldorf Library for making this publication available in ebook form as a free download.

The book is available in print form at AWSNA Books and More and through Amazon.

Find the ebook here:  Art of Administration - D Mitchell et al.

Michael Soulé

Administrative Roles, D Alsop, from The Art of Administration, AWSNA

In many Waldorf Schools, the process of addressing these tasks and responsibilities has led to, among others, the positions of Administrator, Business Manager and Development Officer. This chapter will attempt to explore some aspects of each of these functions. Sample job descriptions can be found in the appendix.

Art of Administration - Ch 5 - Administrative Roles - D Alsop

Many thanks go to AWSNA for its support of this publication, and to the Research Bulletin and Online Waldorf Library for making this publication available in ebook form as a free download.

The book is available in print form at AWSNA Books and More and through Amazon.

Find the ebook here:  Art of Administration - D Mitchell et al.

Michael Soulé

Committee Structure, S Van Sant, from The Art of Administration, AWSNA

The framework of this chapter is best stated in the following:

"The spiritual life forces of a Waldorf School are twofold, or we could say, there are two motives for its existence. On the one hand, it is the starting point for a renewal of education based on a spiritual knowledge of the whole man (the teachers' vocation as such). On the other hand, and at the same time, it is the working model for a social community, it is an institution of the free life of spirit."1.

Art of Administration - Ch 4 - Committee Structure - S Van Sant

Many thanks go to AWSNA for its support of this publication, and to the Research Bulletin and Online Waldorf Library for making this publication available in ebook form as a free download.

The book is available in print form at AWSNA Books and More and through Amazon.

Find the ebook here:  Art of Administration - D Mitchell et al.

Michael Soulé

The College of Teachers, J Pewtherer from The Art of Administration, AWSNA

At the first Waldorf School in Stuttgart, Rudolf Steiner encouraged the original core of teachers to work into the future together by carrying the school forward in a new way.1. He asked that they take on the rigor of establishing a new social form. He acknowledged that this task would be difficult, but he said that it was absolutely necessary for world evolution that preparation begin for mankind to experience a new way of working with one another. This form, often called the college of teachers, was to be based on a spiritual beholding of one another, a working out of consensus, and a conscious attempt by the teachers to align themselves with the “genius” or “being” of the school through disciplined meditative practice.
Art of Administration - Ch 2 - College of Teachers - J Pewtherer

Many thanks go to AWSNA for its support of this publication, and to the Research Bulletin and Online Waldorf Library for making this publication available in ebook form as a free download.

The book is available in print form at AWSNA Books and More and through Amazon.

Find the ebook here:  Art of Administration - D Mitchell et al.

 

Michael Soulé

The Faculty Meeting, by T Finser, from The Art of Administration, AWSNA

Some years ago, the U.S. Department of Education reported a survey in which "as many as 45 percent of the teachers report no contact with each other during the workday; another 32 percent say they have infrequent contact. As a result, these teachers fail to share experience and ideas or to get support from colleagues. Isolation may undermine effective instruction."1.

Many administrators and policy makers speak about fostering collegiality, setting aside time for faculty interaction, and involving teachers in setting school policies. However, few achieve this goal. The hierarchical structure in most schools, the absence of a shared, fully articulated philosophy of education, and the intrusion of school board politics all serve to undermine the implementation of meaningful faculty interaction.

Art of Administration -Ch 1- Faculty Meeting - T Finser

Many thanks go to AWSNA for its support of this publication, and to the Research Bulletin and Online Waldorf Library for making this publication available in ebook form as a free download.

The book is available in print form at AWSNA Books and More and through Amazon.

Find the ebook here:  Art of Administration - D Mitchell et al.

[AMAZONPRODUCTS asin="0962397849"]

Michael Soulé

The Art of Administration, D Mitchell et al, AWSNA Publications

The Art of Administration is a compilation of articles covering basic topics in Waldorf school administration. It is one of the most read and referred to handbooks on Waldorf Administration. The table of contents is below with links to the various chapters

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction    David Mitchell      . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  iii

Chapter 1 –      The Faculty Meeting,  Torin Finser     . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Chapter 2 –      The College of Teachers,  James Pewtherer     . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Chapter 3 –      Communication,  Connie Starzynski     . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Chapter 4 –      Committee  Structure,  Sally van Sant       . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Chapter 5 –      The Role of the Administrator, Business Manager, and Development Director,  David Alsop       . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Chapter 6 –      Admissions and Parent Education,  Anniken Mitchell       . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Chapter 7 –      Community Relations  and Outreach,  Cornelius Pietzner     . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

Chapter 8 –      Evaluation,  David Mitchell        . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

Chapter 9 –      Working  Together,  Cornelis Pieterse      . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

Chapter 10 –   The Board of Trustees,  Agaf Dancy         . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

Appendix       . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151

 

 

Art of Administration -Contents- D Mitchell et al.

 

Michael Soulé

Work Song, part 2: A Vision

As Wendell Berry offers in his poem VISION, the journey is its own reward. –MS

If we will have the wisdom to survive,
to stand like slow growing trees
on a ruined place, renewing, enriching it…
then a long time after we are dead
the lives our lives prepare will live
here, their houses strongly placed
upon the valley sides…
The river will run
clear, as we will never know it…
On the steeps where greed and ignorance cut down the old forest, a new forest will stand,
its rich leaf-fall drifting on its roots.
The veins of forgotten springs will have opened.
Families will be singing in the fields…
Memory,
native to this valley, will spread over it
like a grove, and memory will grow
into legend, legend into song, song
into sacrament.
The abundance of this place,
the songs of its people and its birds,
will be health and wisdom indwelling
light.  This is no paradisal dream.
Its hardship is its reality.

Michael Soulé

The Basic Qualities of Collaboration

In every area of human endeavor, leaders are understanding better and better how to support the healthy development of the individual while building relationships that further the mission and effectiveness of the group or organization. In both hierarchical as well as horizontal organizations, inspired leaders are discovering and practicing new approaches to organizational management that create a balance of organizational and individual growth and development.

While a science of collaboration is still as of yet undefined, practice in many fields are leading towards a common view of the basic guiding principles.

In future posts, we will be elaborating on these principles and sharing insights, tools and skills to support healthy collaborative working.

At its core, collaboration requires a commitment to a common vision, shared values and clear goals.

Collaboration requires that individuals are empowered to take initiative and step into leadership roles according to their capacities.

Collaboration requires having clear roles and responsibilities for the people involved and ways of supporting individuals to be successful in their roles.

Collaboration requires the building of safe space and trust within and between groups. Trust is built through transparency, communication and consistency, as well as tolerance and forgiveness.

Collaboration requires open mindedness towards other points of view, experiences, contributions and styles and the practice of equanimity in relation to one’s own feelings and to the actions of others.

Collaboration requires ongoing reflection by individuals involved (in the form of self-reflection) and by groups (in the form of conscious review of intentions, processes and interactions).

Collaboration requires an interest by each individual in the growth and development of the other individuals involved in the group. This requires the individuals to be sincerely interested in understanding others and accepting that each person is on their own unique path of development.

Collaboration requires individuals to understand that the health of a group or organization depends on the health of the individuals involved and to be committed to finding ways that both the individual and group can grow simultaneously.

Both teacher, staff and volunteers leaders in Waldorf Education regularly face these challenges of working together  in our organizations. There are many tools available to help us navigate them -- from learning to clarify values and create shared vision, to sharing biographical work, to hygienic communication techniques, to learning new ways of self and group reflection through meeting review and individual contemplative practice.  There are a vast array of resources to help us.  -MS

Michael Soulé

LeadTogether: The Practice of Collaboration

At the heart of Waldorf Education is an imagination of a better world through human beings’ conscious collaboration with one another, the natural world and the spirit. Its founder, Rudolf Steiner, looked into the future and saw that, in order to combat an age of growing materialism and self centeredness, a new approach to education was needed – one that took into consideration the spiritual nature of the human being and the cosmos – one that considered the interdependence of the natural world and the spirit.

Now almost one hundred years later, we have made a good start. Waldorf Education is known and practiced in thousands of independent institutions throughout the world – schools connected by a commitment to this imagination.

In all of these schools and early childhood centers worldwide, groups of individuals continue to wrestle with the unique social dynamics of their organizations, trying to understand and incorporate the social impulses embedded in the  first school, as they strive to be practical, sustainable and creative organisms in their communities and cultures.

Throughout his life, Rudolf Steiner did everything he could to offer insights, tools and examples of a conscious working together. From the very beginning, he imagined Waldorf schools as social organisms where individuals would learn how to collaborate and lead together.

Collaboration in a faculty, in a board and in an administration is essential to the long-term success of Waldorf Education. Collaboration between schools and colleagues is equally as essential if we are to develop the kinds of relationships needed to keep our Waldorf schools vital.

This site is an attempt to gather the wisdom that has been gained during the last century and begin a new dialog about our tasks, one that we hope will help support a deepened understanding and practice of how to LeadTogether. -MS