Chelsea sent a message to Kenneth Chenault Chairman and CEO, American Express Company – email address that said:
Waldorf Advice and Support,
You don’t know me or my boys but let me start by saying I have two amazing, sweet, energetic, free spirited boys- Sawyer and Cooper. You also don’t but Sawyer, 10, faces life skill challenges every day as he has been being diagnosed with high functioning autism, ADHD and anxiety. I am so so so thankful that we had these diagnoses at such an early age so that I can do everything in my power to educate myself and provide him the tools/ environment he needs to become a successful and confident boy, teenager, man, and hopefully father someday. Each day brings a new opportunity to learn with Sawyer and Cooper (as do all kids) but what we learned in this past school year is that Sawyer does not thrive in the traditional public school environment. Nothing wrong with public schools but they are not a one size fits all environment especially for kids that have NON severe mental health issues. Sawyer’s ideal environment is an environment that allows him to dig deep into a subject, learn with his hands and draw from his internal creativity that he has a passion to use….and where time is not the primary benchmark for completion. This next year he would be going into middle school and he as well as I saw that he is not emotionally ready for that change. His doctors, himself and I are extremely concerned that stepping into the public middle school may be the end to any confidence that he had at the end of 4th grade. I would be setting him up for failure and I just can’t do that.
For that reason at the end of last year I explored the Madison Waldorf school where I had several lengthy interviews as well as a 4 full day classroom visit for Sawyer. This is not an exaggeration…I have not seen sawyer that happy and that comfortable in his own skin after a day of school EVER. It was amazing to see him interact with his environment so comfortably and confidently…and see the staff take to him for who he is.
We can’t forget about Cooper. The sweet and innocent faced little brother. Cooper can fall under the radar because he is not as emotionally “loud” as big brother however he does struggle with anxiety more than most kids his age. Cooper loves and adores (understatement) his big brother…and with that comes its own challenges as he becomes older and mimics big brother. Based on my gut I think cooper would do ok in the traditional public school but I KNOW he would thrive growing up in the Waldorf environment where the Mission is “honors every child’s enthusiasm for initiative, creativity and social responsibility.”
For this reason I explored the option for Cooper going to Madison Waldorf as well and as of yesterday found out that both kids were accepted into the school! The discounted tuition they granted us was $16,000/yr for both kids ( normally $13.5k per kid).
My husband, Ben and I are have also decided to separate. Ben has been dealing with alcoholism for some time and the stress and instability is not a place to raise my kids , we are selling our dream house, and I have found a small old house that the boys and I will be moving into soon. I am changing my lifestyle. Priority is setting my kids up for success. I realized that success isn’t free public school for my kids unfortunately so its time to make a life change to fit private school into the equation.
My goals is to raise half the funds ($8000) of the yearly tuition. Please do not feel bad if you can’t donate even if its $10….it all helps take some financial stress off our family as we get thru these life changing times.
For more information on the Madison Waldorf or any Waldorf school and the reasons I see success for my kids please
