Article in the Island Sounder by Jennifer Brennock

Ronna McEldowney during the welcome tea. Jennifer Brennock photo

By JENNIFER BRENNOCK
Islands Sounder Staff Reporter
Aug 21 2009, 11:00 AM
Children and parents met master Waldorf teacher Ronna McEldowney on Sunday, Aug. 9 and welcomed her to Orcas at the School of the Salish Sea’s Welcome Tea.

McEldowney moved to Orcas from Hawaii this week to start a school for little ones. In her classroom, the Sea Star Garden, McEldowney will teach 3- to 6 year-olds at the School of the Salish Sea in Eastsound.

The school will strive for a home-like atmosphere and will base its lessons on the routines of everyday life. Practical applications, like cooking, sewing, gardening, and woodworking, will be used alongside music, gymnastics, and art in McEldowney’s classroom.

McEldowney said her teaching philosophy is that play is the child’s work and she will teach through games and songs. There will be no testing or forced memorization in her classroom and the students will not be asked to perform based on her instruction.

“We will be modeling everything we want them to learn. We won’t teach into memory. It is experiential,” McEldowney said.

McEldowney’s partner in life and teaching, Robert David McEldowney, explained their classroom will have a unique scheduling aspect.

“We have all the time in the world,” Robert David said. “We like self-discovery and spontaneity. If they are really interested in how a pulley works, for example, we can take time to explore that with them before moving them on to the next thing.”

Ronna, author of the self-published book “Enlightened Parenting: What Every Child Wishes For & What Every Parent Wants To Give,” has 32 years of experience as a Waldorf teacher. A pioneer of the Waldorf model of early education, she has helped start five schools based on education which integrates play and practical tasks with learning.

As the newest education option on Orcas, the School of the Salish Sea has opened in a matter of weeks. The school has been an idea for several years, but in only three months it has become an option for parents of young children on Orcas. Currently there are 15 children enrolled and more are expected. The school currently offers a mixed age kindergarten class for children ages three to six and plans to expand into a first grade class by fall 2010. The first day of school is Sept. 1.

“Orcas has a history of Waldorf education that goes back 30 years and many of the alums, parents, and former teachers of Dolphin Bay Waldorf School are actively involved in this new initiative,” School Director Jesica Sweedler DeHart said.

The School of the Salish Sea has developed a support network of former Waldorf teachers and students who have connections to Dolphin Bay Waldorf School, which was founded on Orcas in the mid ‘70s and was the first school in the state accredited by the Associated Waldorf Schools of North America.

DeHart said the school has received inquiries from families on Lopez, from Olympia, and from all over the country.

Ronna said she’s honored by the confidence the parents of her new students have in her.

“I would tell parents I am the luckiest person in the world to have their children and to do this work,” Ronna said. “This year is going to be filled with fun, joy, and play.”

The School of the Salish Sea is working in connection with Orcas Island School District’s OASIS program.

To volunteer or get enrollment information go to www.schoolofthesalishsea.org or call the school at 376-4552.