Where Knowledge Runs Deep
We see each student as an extraordinary human being who is on a profound journey of discovery.
The WWS High School prepares young people for college and beyond through a demanding college preparatory program that challenges students to develop their full capacities for thinking, creative imagination, and active engagement in the world.
Our high school is part of the WWS Upper School, Grades 7-12. While we have students who have been at WWS since early childhood, we have new students join us every year at every grade level.
Grade 9
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MATHEMATICS & TECHNOLOGY Permutations & Combinations • Geometry with Algebra 1 • Honors Track: Geometry with Algebra 1 and intro to Algebra 2 |
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SCIENCES Thermal Physics • Human Biology • Organic Chemistry • Geology • Health: Social, Emotional & Physical |
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ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS & LITERATURE Comedy & Tragedy • Grammar, Novels, Descriptive Writing |
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HISTORY & SOCIAL STUDIES Early North American Communities • History Through Art • World Revolutions |
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ONGOING SKILLS CLASSES
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Grade 10
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MATHEMATICS & TECHNOLOGY Pi & Trigonometry • Algebra 2 and Trigonometry • Honors Track: Algebra 2 and Precalculus |
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SCIENCES Physiology & Neurobiology • Acids, Bases & Salts • Climate Science • Forces & Equilibrium • Health: Sexual, Social & Personal |
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ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS & LITERATURE History Through Language • Novels, Mythology, Analytic Writing, Research Essay |
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HISTORY & SOCIAL STUDIES Ancient Civilizations • Bill Of Rights • Classical World Thought |
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ONGOING SKILLS CLASSES
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Grade 11
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MATHEMATICS & TECHNOLOGY Projective Geometry • Precalculus • Honors Track: Precalculus & Introduction to Calculus |
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SCIENCES Botany & Ecology • Chemistry of the Elements • Environmental Ethics • Electricity & Magnetism • Health: Sexual, Social & Personal |
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ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS & LITERATURE Shakespeare • The Quest |
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HISTORY & SOCIAL STUDIES Independence to the 14th Amendment • Ethics & Artificial Intelligence |
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ONGOING SKILLS CLASSES
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Grade 12
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MATHEMATICS & TECHNOLOGY Introduction to Calculus • Calculus and Statistics • Honors Track: Calculus, Statistics & Advanced Calculus (Ab or Bc) |
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SCIENCES Zoology & Evolution • Optics • Health: Sexual, Social & Personal |
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ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS & LITERATURE American Transcendentalism • Russian Literature • Senior Play |
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HISTORY & SOCIAL STUDIES 20th Century Political Landscape • Ethics & Artificial Intelligence |
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ONGOING SKILLS CLASSES
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Curriculum
We offer an interdisciplinary curriculum with rigorous academics, fine arts, music, practical arts and crafts, and special interest activities (athletics, drama, orchestra, newspaper, etc.) included in the weekly schedule as well as requirements for community service.
- Main Lessons - The high school day begins with a double period main lesson. These courses allow for a seminar style, in-depth exploration of a topic in mathematics, the sciences, or the humanities. Each topic is studied as a "block" lasting three to four weeks.
- Full Year Courses - All students take full-year courses in mathematics, Spanish, technology, and movement.
- Quarterly Courses - Students take several quarter-long courses in addition to main lessons and full-year courses. One of these courses each quarter will be a fine or applied art taught in two double periods per week. Most other quarterly courses are academic subjects.
- Electives and Whole School Courses - Students can also enroll in whole high school electives which allows them to mix in the classroom with students from grades 9–12. Recent electives include: Clowning, Debate, Math Modeling, Painting, Theater, Calligraphy and Paper Cutting, and Newspaper.
Competitive Sports
WWS is an active member of the Potomac Valley Athletic Conference (PVAC) and fields teams in the following sports: cross country (fall), soccer (fall), basketball (winter), baseball (spring), and softball (spring). Our high school students each participate in at least one sport a year. Read more about our athletics program.
Curricular Trips
Note: Curricular trips may change; however, this list reflects planned and recent trips.
- Grade 9 takes a backpacking trip where students practice wilderness camping skills, use topographical maps and compasses to orienteer, hike and enjoy star-gazing and campfires together. Trip themes: immersion in, exploration of, and relationship to nature; basic competencies and corresponding confidence, team-building
- Grade 10 takes a trip to Hawthorne Valley Farm, a biodynamic farm in the Hudson Valley, NY with a dairy herd, CSA gardens, bakery, store, a number of retail endeavors, and vocational training. The students do farm work every day, and study stewardship of the land and the farmscape, the economics of farming and food, animal husbandry, and learn about farming as a vocation and social endeavor. Trip themes: form and order, causality, inter-relationships, stewardship
- Grade 11 visits Camphill School in Pennsylvania. The school is an intentional community of teachers, therapists, co-workers who serve day and boarding students who have intellectual and developmental disabilities. Our students learn about the Camphill movement and its approach to Waldorf education, therapies and home life, as well as its history, its structure as an alternative economic model, and the work of the adults on campus. Additionally, our students are welcomed into campus houses for lunch time each day, participate in work groups alongside Camphill students, and participate in a weekly music sharing assembly. Trip themes: meeting, recognizing and understanding the challenges and gifts of others;
self-awareness - Grade 12 has a zoology field study, most recently with the Chincoteague Bay Field Station in Chincoteague, VA. Programming also includes artistic work like painting. Trip themes: first hand experience of topics in zoology, marine biology and ecology, self discovery
- Grade 12 takes a final “senior trip” to experience and actively learn about a new place with a history, culture, flora and fauna different from our own. This trip includes meeting and working with local people, community service, time in nature, and fun.
Senior Projects
Seniors can elect to do an independent senior project which they present to their classmates and to the community in the spring of their senior year. These projects have spanned a wide array of interests. To give a few examples: An art project inspired by interviews with a local homeless man; the study of and report on the history of fashion in the 20th century along with the design and sewing of an elaborate graduation dress; the start-up of a non-profit organization to support education in a student’s mother’s county in Bolivia; fixing up an old Porsche to be road-worthy; certification as a Wilderness First Responder; and a research paper on the effects of artificial sonar on marine mammals.
Exchange Program
Students gain language fluency and cultural understanding through our unique Exchange Program, living with host families while attending Waldorf high schools in places like Germany, Austria, Spain, Peru, and Chile. While abroad, students attend classes, school functions, and family activities with their brother/sister host, and in turn become a host back in the Washington, D.C. area. The program is designed for direct exchanges within the international Waldorf school system and the families who make the commitment to host students from abroad.
Exchanges are designed for a period of two months during the WWS student's sophomore year and is an opportunity for a limited number of highly motivated, academically strong, and emotionally mature students.
The Washington Waldorf School is one of a thousand Waldorf schools in 60 countries worldwide. Each school is independently run yet shares a commitment to cultural understanding and global connectivity. In the WWS High School, visiting exchange students and International Program students are an integral part of the student body, and we often welcome visiting students from abroad.
What kind of student does well at WWS?
- Students who are self-motivated, interested in others, and academically capable are best positioned to thrive here.
- Students who enjoy participating in courses in all subject areas and in many facets of school life throughout the four years of high school thrive here.
- Our students have a wide diversity of strengths and interests. What they share is a willingness to look beyond the ordinary, a desire to truly discover themselves and the world, and a hunger for deep experience.
- Hear from our students: Watch video reflections from the class of 2024.