Teaching the whole child since 1986.
The Waldorf School of Atlanta is an independent school for preschool through eighth grade on more than six wooded acres in Decatur. For forty years we have offered children a deeper, more human education: academically rigorous, brought to life through the arts, and rooted in nature.
Welcome from our Executive Director
For forty years, the Waldorf School of Atlanta has educated the whole child: the hands, the heart, and the head. We believe a strong mind is built first through real experience, so our students learn by doing and making, and grow into capable, rigorous thinkers. By the time they leave us in eighth grade, they have worked through Algebra I, written full research papers, and run their own science experiments, and they have done it all as readers, makers, and musicians.
For all forty of those years, we have delivered a human-centered education without relying on screens. In a world that puts a device in children's hands younger and younger, we protect their attention, their imagination, and their love of the real, tangible world.
I would love for you to see it for yourself. Come visit, walk the trails, sit in a classroom, and meet the teachers who will know your child by name. We would be glad to welcome you.
Roslyn Benjamin
Interim Executive Director
Our Mission
We develop in every student the will to become a lifelong learner, and the ability to think with clarity, feel with compassion, and act with purpose in the world.
That happens through a richer, deeper academic education: taught through the arts, rooted in nature, and held by a community of families who share the same values. Children learn deeply, stay genuinely engaged, and grow up well prepared and whole. They leave us as critical thinkers, creative makers, and compassionate leaders.
What Sets Us Apart
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Academics brought to life through the arts
Math, science, history, and language are deepened through painting, music, fiber arts, drama, and movement—helping students understand concepts more fully and retain them more deeply.
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A childhood rooted in nature
Daily outdoor time, gardening, and seasonal rhythms foster curiosity, resilience, stewardship, and a lasting connection to the natural world.
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A teacher who truly knows your child
Class teachers remain with students for multiple years, building deep relationships that allow each child to be challenged, supported, and understood as an individual.
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A community that feels like family
WSA brings together families who value connection, purpose, and childhood. Parents often find as much community here as their children do.
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Education for the whole human being
WSA nurtures not only strong students, but thoughtful communicators, creative problem-solvers, compassionate community members, and confident young people who know their own worth.
Vision & Values
Our vision rests on three ideals:
The sanctity of childhood
An abiding sense of wonder
An evolving quest for truth.
And three values guide our community every day
Reverence: we regard one another and the natural world with care, and honor the diversity of culture, experience, and perspective among us.
Relationships: we build authentic, lasting bonds between teachers, students, and families.
Renewal: we practice reflection and curiosity as the ground of lifelong learning, and the will to work through challenges.
History
It began with one inspired teacher. In 1980, Katie Reilly watched a eurythmy performance (eurythmy is movement set to music and spoken word) and soon visited a tiny Waldorf kindergarten in the mountains of north Georgia.
She started sharing what she learned with parents in Atlanta, and in 1986 she and Susan Jones - the accomplished teacher of that small rural school in Young Harris - opened the city's first Waldorf kindergarten, The Children's Garden.
The first grade followed in 1992, and in 1993 the growing school took the name The Waldorf School of Atlanta.
From the start, three convictions carried it forward: Susan stood for the teaching, Katie stood for the community, and the parents stood for their children. Head, heart, and hands, the very capacities a Waldorf education sets out to develop. This year, in 2026-27, we will celebrate our 40th anniversary.
The Campus
Our campus sits on more than six wooded acres in a neighborhood near downtown Decatur, one of Atlanta's most walkable, arts-loving communities. Children are out in it every day, on the trails, in the gardens, and in the Glade, our beloved field. We tend the land with care, restoring native plants, avoiding synthetic chemicals, and teaching children the principles of sustainable, biodynamic gardening, season after season.
Accreditation
WSA is accredited by AWSNA (the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America), WECAN (the Waldorf Early Childhood Association of North America), and SAIS (the Southern Association of Independent Schools). We belong to a worldwide Waldorf movement more than 100 years strong.
Our Teachers
“WSA's teachers are the heart and soul of the school. Nowhere have I seen as much love and intense dedication to each child as an individual. It is truly special.”
—WSA Alumni Parent
Many of our class teachers are certified through accredited Waldorf teacher training institutes, two years of study beyond a bachelor's degree, and keep learning every year. A class teacher typically stays with the same children as they move through the grades, building a rare depth of understanding and trust.
Land Acknowledgement
Our campus sits on land that was, for many generations, home to the Muscogee (Creek) people and their predecessors, who lived from the richness of this earth and shaped it in ways still visible to those who know where to look. After European settlers arrived, the Muscogee suffered first from disease and then from the loss of their land; in the early 1800s, the Creek who remained in Georgia — including in what is now DeKalb County — were forcibly removed through coerced treaties and hostile action.
We acknowledge this history, and the painful truth that their removal is the reason we are able to occupy this land today. We hold that knowledge with humility, and try to answer it with action rather than words alone. We care for this land sustainably, restoring native plants and gardening by biodynamic principles season after season. And we teach our students the truth about Georgia's forced removal of the Muscogee (Creek), while learning, as a faculty, to bring the stories, beliefs, and ways of life of Georgia's Indigenous people into our curriculum with care.
Come see for yourself.
The best way to understand a Waldorf education is to stand inside it: to watch a lesson unfold, walk our wooded campus, and meet the teachers who will know your child by name. Reach out to Stacey Alston, Enrollment Director
Email: enrollment@waldorfatlanta.org
Phone: (404) 491-9176
WSA welcomes students and families regardless of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, or background, and we work consciously to build a community that reflects the world. Our commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice runs through every level of school life.