Our Story

Seacoast Waldorf School is an independent, nonprofit school serving children from preschool through eighth grade. Located in Eliot, Maine, near the New Hampshire border, we welcome families from across the Greater Seacoast who want an education that engages the whole child.

Our five-acre campus borders hundreds of acres of conservation land, giving students room to explore, observe, and build a lasting relationship with the natural world. Learning reaches beyond the classroom here, sparking curiosity, creativity, and a strong sense of place.

Our Purpose

At Seacoast Waldorf School, our mission is to help children develop practical skills, moral strength, and innovative thinking so they may serve humanity and the natural world. Our vision is to elevate the quality of education in the Greater Seacoast area of Southern Maine.

Guided by Waldorf philosophy, our curriculum supports the intellectual, emotional, physical, and artistic development of each child. We emphasize experiential learning, foster strong community connections, cultivate environmental responsibility, and place the fine and practical arts at the heart of education—believing artistic activity is essential to healthy human development.

How We Began

Our story began in 1999, when the Tidewater School opened as part of the Seacoast Waldorf Association. The school’s first classrooms were housed in a former hen house and garden center, where a small group of students gathered in a multi-age kindergarten and first-grade class. What began as a modest vision quickly grew through the dedication of families, teachers, and community supporters.

By 2011, the school was able to purchase the property it had been leasing and began planning for expansion. In February 2013, a larger building was acquired just one mile down the road. That fall, on September 10, 2013, students arrived at a new 10,000-square-foot facility on a five-acre campus—officially becoming Seacoast Waldorf School.

Room To Grow

Growth continued thoughtfully and intentionally. In 2017, the school opened a second building featuring three upper-grade classrooms and a community auditorium, creating space for deeper academic work and gathering as a community. In 2019, Seacoast Waldorf School reached a meaningful milestone with the graduation of its first eighth-grade class.

Today, Seacoast Waldorf School serves 100 students, offering Early Childhood through 8th grade, and is supported by a dedicated faculty and staff of 30. We remain deeply committed to our founding values: educating children in a way that honors their individuality, fosters connection to nature, and prepares them to meet the world with confidence, compassion, and creativity.

FAQs

  • The school's roots go back to 1999, when the Tidewater School opened in Eliot, Maine as part of the Seacoast Waldorf Association. It became Seacoast Waldorf School in 2013, when students moved into the current 5-acre campus.

  • Seacoast Waldorf School offers Early Childhood through Grade 8, serving children roughly ages 18 months to 14 years. We also offer playgrounds and parent-child classes for younger children.

  • The school is located in Eliot, Maine, and draws families from across the Greater Seacoast region, including Kittery, York, Wells, South Berwick, North Berwick, and Portsmouth and Dover, New Hampshire.

  • Seacoast Waldorf School currently serves nearly 100 students, supported by a faculty and staff of 25.

  • Families come to Seacoast Waldorf School for a range of reasons, but most share a few common threads: they want their child known as an individual rather than taught to a test, they value hands-on and artistic learning alongside academics, and they're drawn to a childhood that isn't rushed. Many are also looking for a strong, connected school community, one where teachers, parents, and students build relationships that last for years, not just a semester.

  • Our graduates move on well-prepared for high school and beyond, alumni have gone on to institutions including Columbia University, Tufts University, Vassar College, and Holy Cross, among others. Visit our Alumni page to explore their stories.

Request a Tour