Our Story

Seacoast Waldorf School is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit private school rooted in the Waldorf educational tradition and located in Eliot, Maine, near the New Hampshire border. Serving children from preschool through grade 8, our school draws families from across the Greater Seacoast region—including The Berwicks, Portsmouth, Kittery, Eliot, York, Dover, and beyond—who are seeking an education that nurtures the whole child.

Our campus is surrounded by hundreds of acres of conservation land, offering students daily opportunities to explore, observe, and form a meaningful relationship with the natural world. Here, learning extends beyond the classroom walls, inviting curiosity, creativity, and a deep 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.

Growing with Purpose

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 115 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.

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