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.
Grade 9
In addition to mathematics, English, foreign languages (Spanish or German), fine and applied arts, music and performing arts, Eurythmy and movement, and electives, Grade 9 students also participate in main lessons and quarter courses.
Main Lessons
U.S. Colonial History
Thermal Physics
Organic Chemistry
Art History
Human Anatomy
Comedy and Tragedy
Modern History
Geology
Combinations and Permutations
Quarter Courses
Civics
Health
Technology
Art Blocks
Black and white drawing
Copper smithing
Black and white painting
Mosaics
Grade 10
In addition to mathematics, English, foreign languages (Spanish or German), fine and applied arts, music and performing arts, Eurythmy and movement, and electives, Grade 10 students also participate in main lessons and quarter courses.
Main Lessons
Ancient Civilizations
Monotheism
Pi and Trigonometry
Human Physiology and Embryology
U.S. Revolution
Acids, Bases, and Salts
Mechanics
Ancient Greece
Poetics
Quarter Courses
Drama
Technology
U.S. Constitution
Art Blocks
Printmaking
Clay sculpting
Weaving
Grade 11
In addition to mathematics, English, foreign languages (Spanish or German), fine and applied arts, music and performing arts, Eurythmy and movement, and electives, Grade 11 students also participate in main lessons and quarter courses.
Main Lessons
Music History
U.S. Civil War
Projective Geometry
Shakespeare
Dante
Electricity and Magnetism
Chemistry of the Elements
Parzival
Botany
Quarter Courses
Combined Grade 11 and 12 movement education
Cell biology
Technology
Modern physics
Art Blocks
Book arts
Watercolor painting
Woodworking
Grade 12
In addition to mathematics, English, foreign languages (Spanish or German), fine and applied arts, music and performing arts, Eurythmy and movement, and electives, Grade 12 students also participate in main lessons and quarter courses.
Main Lessons
Zoology
Calculus
American Transcendentalists
Optics
History of Philosophy
Faust
Architecture
Senior Play
Senior Trip
Retrospective week and Graduation
Quarter Courses
Combined Grade 11 and 12 movement education
American studies
Senior projects
Senior play
Art Blocks
Oil painting
Stone sculpting
Senior play
Senior trip
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, a language (English, Spanish or German), technology, and movement or Eurythmy (artistic movement form unique to Waldorf education)
- 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.
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.