Application and Enrollment Steps

  1. Review Admissions Criteria.


  2. Schedule Your School Visit.

    The Waldorf School of Santa Barbara’s application process is premised on an exchange of information, which allows you, the parent/caretaker, to learn about our school and allows us to learn about your child and family. Our tours and open houses let you, the parent/caretaker, experience our education while school is in session. Please click here to schedule your visit.


  3. Submit an Application.

    The priority application deadline is Monday, February 3, 2025.


  4. Submit a Tuition Assistance Application (if applicable).

    The priority Tuition Assistance application deadline is Sunday, February 23, 2025. The application will be available the first week of January. Most of our tuition assistance funds are allocated February through April. The earlier you apply for tuition assistance, the more likely we will be able to meet your financial needs. We allocate tuition assistance upon acceptance of your child to the school.


  5. Family Meeting.

    After you submit your child's application for the Preschool, Kindergarten, or Grades, we will contact you to set up a visit with the class teacher so she/he can meet you and your child.


  6. Visit Days.

    If your child is applying midyear for admission to the Grades, visit days will be scheduled for her/him following the interview. This is an opportunity for your child to experience the class for several days of school. After your child completes the visit days, the school makes a decision on her/his enrollment.


  7. Registration.

    Once an acceptance decision has been made, the office will notify your family to begin the registration process. Please note, your FACTS account must be set up and all payments up to date before your child’s first day of school.

Admissions Criteria

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Acceptance to The Waldorf School of Santa Barbara is based on the child’s potential to thrive in the class and the family’s willingness to support Waldorf education by providing an appropriate, healthy, nurturing home for the child.

  • WSSB does not administer standardized tests for admission. We use previous school records, any testing and evaluations that have already been done, personal interviews, and grade-level readiness assessments.

  • Suitable applicants for Pre-school (typically age 2.9-4) and Kindergarten (typically age 5-6) are children whose social and learning potential would poise them to function harmoniously within groups of twenty or fewer, and whose parents are willing to work with the teachers of the class for the wellbeing of their individual child while also honoring the needs of the other children within the group.

  • At The Waldorf School of Santa Barbara, to enter First Grade the student is to have turned six years old by June 1. As an education faithful to child development, we believe this condition supports the child in her/his journey. In her book You Are Your Child’s First Teacher, Rahima Baldwin Dancy notes that “due to the downward shift of the curriculum over the past thirty years, it is even more important that children today be developmentally ready for school as well as chronologically ready.” Students with a birthday one month before and after the above-mentioned date may be considered after careful deliberation. 

  • Student placement in Grades 2 through 8 will be considered on a case-by-case basis in the best interest of the child and the classroom community.

  • Children are placed according to their developmental (academic, physical, and social-emotional) needs at the time of enrollment. Public school grade level may or may not correspond to WSSB grade level.

  • Appropriate applicants for Grades 1-8 are students capable of thriving in a class with one teacher without requiring exceptional attention for behavioral issues, work habits, or academic challenges. The school is able to accommodate few students with special needs. If such students can be accommodated at WSSB, and extra services are required, the parents may be asked to provide these extra services as a condition of admission. If, once a child is enrolled, it becomes clear that the criteria stated above are no longer being met, WSSB will counsel the family to seek a more appropriate school.

Immunization and Health Records

Please be aware that WSSB, like all private and public schools in California, is required under State law to abide by and enforce immunization requirements for school entry. Before your child’s first day of school, you must provide the required immunization and health records meeting State of CA immunization requirements based on your child's age and grade level. Please review the requirements here.

If you have any concerns or questions regarding this, please feel free to email enroll@waldorfsantabarbara.org or stop by the office.