Portland Waldorf High School

Learning That Matters

At PWHS, you will spend four years immersed in a richly integrated academic, artistic and social education. Guided by expert teachers, you will explore the sciences, math, arts, and humanities through experiential projects, language study, outdoor trips, service learning, and more.

Our students are driven, curious, and confident in who they are. Here, you will flourish as a critical thinker, and you will learn how to learn, so you can thrive in college and beyond.

A Day in the Life at PWHS

What Makes Our Waldorf High School Education Unique?

Freedom in Education

Our high school program is designed to help students develop the appropriate skills in observation, comparison, analysis, and synthesis, which allow them to develop a compassionate and comprehensive world view of their own. We do not push students to fill any particular mold, but rather, equip them to become effective leaders in their own unique ways.

Depth & Breadth of the Waldorf Curriculum

At PWHS, students are met with intellectual challenge and academic rigor, including honors options in most classes. The PWHS curriculum integrates artistic exploration, movement, outdoor opportunities and collaborative service work with academic classes, creating balanced individuals who can creatively and thoughtfully contribute to bettering our world.

An Exceptional and Inviting Community

PWHS is a safe and welcoming environment, where students feel accepted and valued. Dedicated faculty and staff nurture a community that supports students' social health. Students form close relationships with classmates and welcome new students into the fold. At PWHS, students engage in real life, hands-on learning, with minimal use of electronic devices during the school day.

Our Size is our Strength

With a 7:1 student-to-teacher ratio and an average class size of 20 students, each student is seen, valued, nurtured and challenged. Our faculty are able to design curriculum to meet student needs and to reflect our changing world.

College Preparedness

College and career advising is provided throughout the four years. More than 90% of our graduates attend college after high school, and are consistently welcomed to the college of their choice. We pride ourselves on not only preparing students for college, but also for life.

See this list of colleges PWHS graduates have attended.

Expert and Caring Mentorship

Every student has an adult mentor as well as two class sponsors, all of whom help them navigate through challenges and grow in their teamwork, leadership, and communication skills. Students also choose a faculty advisor who works with them one-on-one to set goals, manage assignments and problem solve when needed.

Outdoor Education

The Outdoor Education Program at PWHS is an exciting and integral component of the curriculum. Facilitated by highly trained instructors, our four-year program challenges our students and expands their boundaries while fostering a sense of self-reliance and adventure.

Grade 9

Camping Trip: This 4-5 day base camping trip lays the foundation for the next 3 years of adventures. With a focus on camping basics, community building, games, mindfulness, and Leave No Trace principles, our 9th graders emerge from the woods with new skills, deepened relationships, and a strengthened sense of self.

Farm Week: As part of their studies, students also spend a week at a local farm, learning and working with their classmates.

Grade 10

Camping Trip: The 4-5 day spring base camping trip in 10th grade aims to build upon students' wilderness and survival skills. Students are empowered as they grow their leadership skills and community building, while expanding their comfort zones through Sit Spots and a full day of silence.  

Grade 11

Backpacking & Camping Trip: Students hit the trail in 11th grade during a 4-5 day backpacking trip. Camping, survival, and wilderness skills are utilized as students manage their own gear and hike 5 - 12 miles each day.  11th graders are emboldened as they set up their camp each night, cook their own food, and reflect on how far they've come.

Grade 12

Senior Leadership Trip and Senior “Solo Sit”: Our outdoor program culminates with 2 trips for the 12th grade: the Fall Outdoor Trip and the Spring Solo Sit. These outdoor experiences are essential opportunities for our students to learn more deeply about themselves and their peers.  The Fall Outdoor Trip varies in place and activity, with a focus on community building and celebrating the start of their senior year. During the Spring Solo Sit, 12th graders integrate all they have learned as they prepare to spend 2 days on their own in the wilderness. Following these 2 days, students reconnect and reflect on their strengths and leadership roles as they prepare to venture down their own paths beyond high school.


Learn more about our programs:

  • Athletics

    PWHS offers a variety of after-school team sports for our high school students. Current high school athletic opportunities include:

    ● Volleyball: girls: Fall & Spring

    ● Basketball: girls and boys: Winter

    ● Ultimate Frisbee: co-ed: Fall & Spring

    The schools with whom we compete are of similar size and have a range of program experience and maturity. Because PWHS is committed to inclusion and participation, any student who commits to coming to practice and playing can join the Wolfpack. Waldorf sports teams become powerful forces to be reckoned with – precisely because they are steeped in a spirit of generosity and inclusion. Go, Wolfpack!

  • International Exchange

    We offer the opportunity for students in grades 10 and 11 to study abroad—in an exchange with another Waldorf school and a host family—as part of our World Language program. Students find that their language fluency develops in leaps and bounds during this adventure. The experience of living away from home while still having the familiarity of the routines and environment of a Waldorf school is a perfect way to stretch their personal comfort. In exchange, a student from the host family comes to live in Portland and attend PWHS.

  • Clubs

    Any student(s) can start a new club at PWHS. Some of our current clubs include:

    ● Student Newspaper: The Stump

    ● BIPOC Club

    ● Dungeons and Dragons Club

    ● GSA: Genders & Sexualities Alliance

    ● Film Club

    In addition to student-led club, these two programs, led by faculty and staff, also foster students’ leadership and communication skills:

    ● PWHS Student Ambassadors: These representatives host prospective visiting/shadow students and volunteer at open houses and other outreach events.

    ● PWHS Student Council: Council members facilitate communication between students, faculty and community and oversee student activities.

  • Senior Projects

    The Senior Project is an important capstone of our students' Waldorf education.

    Each high school senior is asked, "How can my interests and strengths be manifested in the world in a way that is fulfilling to me and also benefits others?"

    The goals of taking on this endeavor are to:

    Explore a topic they are interested in and passionate about

    Experience personal growth and gain a deeper understanding of themselves, their future, and purpose in the world

    Bring forth an experience that benefits the student individually as well as the greater world community.

Our High School Curriculum

At PWHS we inspire adolescents with inquiry-based lessons. The real purpose of our curriculum is to provide a foundation in knowledge, thinking and action that our students can continue to draw on as they go forward in their studies and their lives.

Students rotate through in-depth, interdisciplinary topics of study every few weeks in what is called their Morning Lesson. These lessons occur alongside classes in world language, math, humanities, science, movement, and the arts.

See What Our Alumni Have to Say about PWHS

Apply to PWHS

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See our School Profile here.

PWHS Photo Gallery