Mountain Sage Community School - Fort Collins, Colorado

Nara S.

We are just finishing our first year at Mountain Sage. Our daughter is in the first grade. Last school year our daughter attended her neighborhood school and (as a volunteer in the classroom) I watched her do worksheet, after worksheet, after worksheet. This year she has brought home the most beautiful projects and books that she created, wrote and illustrated herself! The learning environment encouraged in her classroom and in the whole school is quiet, focused and kind. It is a big difference from her school last year, which was a little chaotic, loud and classroom management at times sounded harsh. I will admit that every now and again I get a little nervous about Mountain Sage not “teaching to the tests.” I start to feel the pressure to put her in a school that will drill those concepts in (like that is somehow going to assure her success in life). Then I get the weekly email update that her teacher sends out every Sunday telling us what they are working on or I watch the children interact when I pick her up in the afternoon, and I am reminded of how good it feels to know that she is spending her days thinking creatively, moving her body, enjoying learning and being treated with respect. The commitment of the staff and teachers seems very strong. Like I mentioned above, her teacher sends out weekly updates and in general I have found communication to be regular and thorough. I always have a good sense of what is happening in the school and in her classroom. I'm sure that there have been some growing pains over the last couple of years as staff have developed systems and found their stride. However, our family has not had experiences that hint to them. I believe that the education at Mountain Sage supports her growth as a whole person and an independent, creative thinker. Our family feels very grateful for Mountain Sage.

Brett F.

Mountain Sage is a Waldorf-inspired charter school and we have been thrilled with the teachers, faculty, the loving environment and the creative strategies for learning that the school employs. Our child loves going to school here and has been excelling in her studies. We are very excited as we enroll our second child this year, and are grateful to be attending this amazing school.

Brad C.

Mountain Sage Community School is a lovely school. Fort Collins is lucky to have this public charter! The teachers and staff truly care about the children and their whole education - whole heads, whole hearts, whole hands. The community of active involved parents are really making this place great! This first year has been good - the years to come will be incredible!

Tabitha C.

Mountain Sage Community School is an absolutely lovely school. My daughter is a Kindergartener there, and we were hesitant to enroll her in this school because they had just opened their doors, but I am so glad that we took a chance and went ahead. Her teacher, Mrs. Connelly is such a positive influence on our daughter, and has taught her so much in her play based classroom. I have been grateful for the positive emotional growth I have seen in my daughter over this first year of school. For me, it has also been a joy to watch and be a part of this school community coming together. Sure, there have been bumps and some things may have come along a little bit slower than expected, but that's life! The faculty and staff of this Waldorf-Inspired charter school have really done a lot of work to iron our the kinks swiftly, to make sure that the community comes together nicely, and to ensure that our children have a positive learning experience. I am so grateful that this school exists.

Curtis P.

I believe some parents don't trust their children's ability to learn without rigorous forceful education. I see this attitude towards early childhood education as a form of fear that has been programmed into our US culture and society. Media regularly tells the public to believe that a child must be reading and doing math almost immediately after leaving the womb. That this early childhood rigorous academic practice is necessary to turn out a human suitable for joining a productive society. This is one of those big divides in perception. For parents who believe their kids need to be forced into learning math before their minds are ready for it, you need to learn more about the Waldorf method of education. Math is not forced into a kids mind to early at a Waldorf school. Reading is not forced into a kids mind to early at a Waldorf school. This is why early grades in a Waldorf school don't jive with what standardized tests say is "the truth". This fans the flames of fear. The reality is, kids who stay long enough to finish going through a Waldorf school end up being more creative and a higher consumer of knowledge then kids who are forced through factory style public schools. My child can't wait to get back to school and work on her reading. I didn't ask her, she just told me the other day that she misses school and can't wait to get back. This is the attitude that a Waldorf school cultivates. It's this very attitude about school, as it builds from semester to semester, that leads Waldorf children to become very intelligent and capable young adults.

Mountain Sage Community School is coming up on it's third year. The school district does not financially support the school on the same level as the public schools. This obviously puts Mountain Sage (or any school for that matter) at a disadvantage in some areas. For example, Mountain Sage doesn't even have a single school bus.

The primary focus of the schools administration is to make the adjustments needed to ensure the teachers are following a Waldorf curriculum. The biggest issue at Mountain Sage Community School, the thing that works against the schools efforts are parents who are not interested in understanding or supporting the Waldorf method of education yet send their kids to the school anyway. Instead these parents compare the school to what marketers and advertisers tell them a public school should do. Parents who get their "research" information from standardized testing commercials and believe that's the end of the information flow should not send their kids to Mountain Sage.

I'm not concerned one bit regarding the standardized testing results. The standardized tests are not measuring young children according to the Waldorf method of education. My child is growing into a wonderful human being full of confidence and intelligent perception. I am confident my child will consume knowledge with vigor all throughout her time at Mountain Sage Community School.

Mindy B.

Mountain Sage Community School is awesome. The flourishing garden that the kids and parents help maintain is a depiction of that. This school is working hard to bring kids back to their roots, and teach the importance of a collaborative village. It is the way you should learn! Through play, stories, nature, exercise, and enlightening interactions. I love the way kids of all ages go to recess together so that they can learn from each other. I also love that the kids are actually playing and being wild and getting dirty! They're not sitting on the side of a concrete slab looking at an iPhone. It's amazing how calm and fulfilled my second grader is at the end of the day. he used to feel anxious after school because his day was filled with such rigorous curriculum that he was just running from one thing to the next and getting yelled at for talking out of line or laughing! This school is reaching kids in a productive, strategic way. My son loves knitting, playing Oogleball, and the nature walks. His reading skills have skyrocketed because he enjoys school and what they're reading and discussing! He was a great reader before but now he has a new level of confidence and wants to read out loud! The curriculum is fun and engaging, and fits with the needs of kids! ☀️🍅🌳 Ms. Addington and the other teachers are truly making a difference in the world! Thank you!!!! My heart is full, we definitely made the right decision by switching here.

Jackie C.

I had high hopes for this school but it has a long way to go before it turns out academically sound students. Being a functioning member of society requires academic ability in addition to strength of character. We attended for 3/4ths of the 2014-2015 year, and our child is very behind her peers in math and writing. In February of the 4th grade the teacher was still reviewing third grade math and struggling with classroom management. Prior to Mountain Sage, our child excelled in academics, and now she is playing catch up.

Based upon decisions made during our child's enrollment, I also question administration's judgment and ability to hire qualified faculty. Any new school will go through growing pains, and if you enroll your child in this school your child will suffer from it.

Hannah S.

I found out about this school from an employee of Ten Thousand Villages and I'm so glad I did! Jaded by the public school system after a very difficult run with it as a child, I was hoping for a better experience for my daughter. I love how artsy and outdoorsy this school is. Nature walks, organic gardening and sustainability, handwork, languages, art and music and other activities are well-integrated into the curriculum. As an artist with a creative child I really appreciate this approach that was sorely lacking in the schools of my own upbringing.