SunRidge Charter School?

[west county newbie]

Hello,

My husband and I are in escrow on a house in Sebastopol. We are moving from Berkeley.

Our eldest son currently attends a Berkeley public school. He will be in the 2nd grade come September. We also have another son who will be starting K.

I called the school offices to see where our soon-to-be-home is zoned to. Turns out we are in the Twin Hills School District. I see that the elementary schools for this district are Apple Blossom and Sunridge Charter.

Apple Blossom looks great, but both my husband and I are quite curious about Sunridge. Our eldest is a sensitive, sweet boy who loves the outdoors, making stuff with his hands, drawing, etc, so Waldorf seems pretty perfect for him.

Does anyone on this board have a child who currently attends, or has attended Sunridge? If so, how have you liked it? Pros/cons?

Also, do you know what sort of chance we have in regards to getting in so late in the game? We will not close on our house until July.

With gratitude,

Monica

[JioK]

It was my second choice because we just fell in love with the Sebastopol Independent Charter school faculty. It's a beautiful school- we are so fortunate to have both of these well run schools serving our community. There can be long wait lists and a lottery for the waldorf charter schools for K but I've heard it thins out in the older grades- so I recommend checking with each school to see if they have space. It would be good to start the dialogue sooner rather than later, I know you are busy moving though. There is another charter as well- the REACH school.

I adore waldorf philosophy for elementary school learning. It was also very important to me for my child to be in an environment with a media policy. Otherwise I feel the effects of capitalism and of needing and wanting something all the time are just too strong. We don't do any character stuff that entices children to buy buy buy and it was important for me that his peers have the same messages going on at home.

Best of luck with your decision and welcome to Sebastopol!

Our eldest is a sensitive, sweet boy who loves the outdoors, making stuff with his hands, drawing, etc, so Waldorf seems pretty perfect for him.


Does anyone on this board have a child who currently attends, or has attended Sunridge? If so, how have you liked it? Pros/cons?

[Shepherd]

Hello Monica,
Welcome to Sebastopol, a wonderful place. I moved here over 20 years ago from Berkeley, to shift from mainly teaching college to mainly doing organic farming. I think that the Waldorf system is great. Before SunRidge there was a Waldorf school on that site called Willow Wood, which sometimes sent students to my farm.

As you may be aware, the Paul Hobbs Winery has bought a 40-acre apple orchard that surrounds Apple Blossom and is across the street from SunRidge. They plan to convert it into a chemical vineyard. That would mean taking down the apple orchard, kicking up the DDT, lead, and arsenic in the soil, and then continuing to spray chemicals. A group of mainly mothers called the Watertrough Children's Alliance has gathered around 1000 signatures against that conversion and hosted a Public Forum last week attended by over 100 people.

Their website is as follows: https://watertroughchildrensalliance.weebly.com/

Their petition, which includes comments by parents from SunRidge and Apple Blossom is as follows:
https://www.thepetitionsite.com/263/...ironment/#sign.

There are also many threads on Waccobb.net that you could go to to read various points of view on this matter, as you think about what would be best for your son.
Dr. Shepherd Bliss

I called the school offices to see where our soon-to-be-home is zoned to. Turns out we are in the Twin Hills School District. I see that the elementary schools for this district are Apple Blossom and Sunridge Charter.

Apple Blossom looks great, but both my husband and I are quite curious about Sunridge. Our eldest is a sensitive, sweet boy who loves the outdoors, making stuff with his hands, drawing, etc, so Waldorf seems pretty perfect for him.

Does anyone on this board have a child who currently attends, or has attended Sunridge? If so, how have you liked it? Pros/cons

[eeeeeeow]

I am a parent with 2 children attending and (1 pending) Sunridge and this school has far exceeded all of our expectations. It is a real community. The kids learn how to think instead of what to think and we couldn't be happier.

In fact Sunridge's farm campus was recently awarded a grant by Fish and Wildlife (I think) to develop their little eco-system into a del-sustaining organic farm.

What saddens me is the previous post by my friend Shepherd. Because it happens to be true. Paul Hobbs is a ruthless winemaker who bulldozes everything to get his way. Do the research and know we are in a fight.

As a parent - Sunridge is where my kids will stay.

[west county newbie]

I wanted to thank all the folks who responded! Your information regarding Sunridge, Sebastopol Charter, and the possible chemical spraying that may occur near both Sunridge and Apple Blossom, will definitely factor into making our decision.

Thank you again; we can't wait until we're in Sebastopol!

Sincerely,

Monica