At Brooklyn Waldorf School, we educate our students as whole individuals, providing for their academic success and the development of their artistic capacities, emotional intelligence, and physical knowledge of our world.  BWS fosters a purposeful and well-rounded learning experience, prioritizing a strong sense of community-belonging among students, families, and educators.

BWS was founded in 2005 by a small and energized body of educators and families dedicated to providing exceptional and adaptive Waldorf education to New York City children.  Guided by a commitment to communitarian values and relational care, our founders strived to expand upon Rudolf Steiner’s pedagogic principles, cultivating a compassionate and sustainable model of Waldorf education that meaningfully reflects our diverse city.

Beginning with just two Early Childhood Classrooms nestled within the Brooklyn Music School building in Fort Greene, the community blossomed quickly, expanding year by year to include Parent-Child (Under 3 and Me), Elementary and Middle School classrooms.  To accommodate our burgeoning community, BWS moved in 2011 to our permanent home in Bedford-Stuyvesant’s historic Claver Castle, a center of cultural and educational exchange since its construction in 1931.  

Centering a balanced and conscientious school experience, BWS’ comprehensive curriculum continues to revitalize essential tenets of Waldorf education while striving to authentically reflect our evolving world, urban home, and shared values.  Our teachers inspire as they educate through hands-on learning that deepens our students’ bonds with the natural world, emphasizes traditions and mythologies of global cultures, and enriches curricular studies in language arts, history, science, mathematics, choral and orchestral music, Mandarin, Castellano, movement, handwork, and woodworking.
 
From the thoughtfully guided child-led play of Early Childhood to the Middle School’s dynamic academics, we empower our students to recognize themselves as active contributors to their own learning, and passionate stakeholders in our ever-evolving world.

The Brooklyn Waldorf School is a developing member of the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America (AWSNA) and a full member of the Waldorf Early Childhood Association of North America (WECAN).

At Brooklyn Waldorf School, we are stewards of a building that has been a great resource and landmark for the Bedford-Stuyvesant community since its construction in 1931.

Claver Castle was designed by local architect Henry V. Murphy as a school and community center for St. Peter Claver Catholic Church—the first Black Catholic parish in the Brooklyn Diocese. In collaboration with Colored Catholic Club founder Jules Deweever and overseen by Monsignor Bernard Quinn—a devoted advocate of civil rights—the visionary four-story building provided a practical and spiritual haven for its student population. Architectural features such as the indoor gymnasium, running track, classrooms adjoined by outdoor terraces and a central solarium, insulated the educational center from the external perils of a shifting societal era.

From the 1930s until its closure in 1988, St. Peter Claver School and Community Center welcomed and served Bedford-Stuyvesant’s Black community as an educational and spiritual nucleus, prioritizing social wellness and inclusivity. The gymnasium and auditorium doubled as a lively cultural center, whether hosting basketball games or showcasing the performances of the St. Peter Claver School choir, including Savannah Churchill.

Brooklyn Waldorf School moved into Claver Castle in 2011. As a community, we are humble and motivated beneficiaries of this historic building’s legacy of belonging and empowerment. From within these rich walls, we strive to embody our predecessor’s deeply rooted communitarian principles. Through our philosophical and educational mission, we acknowledge the diversity of experiences that currently shape our school, our neighborhood, our city, and our world.