History
Our school was founded by a group of parents and teachers who were committed to a Waldorf-inspired education for the children of the Napa Valley. A small visionary group of parents and teachers initiated the process of founding the school by working with Twin Ridges Elementary School District located in Nevada County, California.
With technical assistance from Twin Ridges, the founding members, known as the Development Group, applied for and received a “planning” grant from the State of California. In 1998 a charter for the Napa Valley Charter School (NVCS) was granted by the State of California with Twin Ridges Elementary School District acting as sponsor.
The next large task was to apply for and receive an “implementation” grant from the State of California. With implementation funding awarded in 1999, the process of hiring staff, purchasing equipment and supplies, and searching for a site began in earnest. Undaunted by the challenges of a site and overcoming many obstacles, the school, originally named Napa Valley Charter School (NVCS) opened in the Fall of 2000 at Napa Valley Expo in the City of Napa.
In 2004, in response to a change in California charter law requiring charter schools to be authorized by their local district, the school embarked on a year-long process to update the charter and to apply to the Napa Valley Unified School District (NVUSD) for local authorization.
Over the summer of 2007, Stone Bridge School moved to its new permanent site at Salvador Ave., sharing a NVUSD campus with Salvador Elementary School. Through the on-going work and dedication of many, Stone Bridge School today stands as a healthy, growing school with a promising future.
Learning Environment
Waldorf inspired education nurtures a sense of wonder and delight, and fosters the reverence for nature and humanity inherent in the young child. The Waldorf inspired curriculum develops the child's active will, creative imagination, and clear, independent thinking.
Academic Environment
Students and teachers develop a deep and enduring relationship through the shared experience of the main lesson curriculum, where one subject is taught for the first two hours of each day in blocks of three or four weeks (initiated in the 1st grade). During this uninterrupted time, the class teacher leads the students in a rhythmic component of the lesson composed of recitation, movement and music then presents the current academic subject, that the students question, discuss and recall. Textbooks are not used to introduce subjects since the children make their own books, full of illustrations, compositions, observations, maps, and diagrams from subjects presented by the class teacher. These colorful Main Lesson books are carefully crafted with attention to detail and artistic presentation.
Parent Environment
Without parent participation Stone Bridge School cannot provide our high quality education. It is in the spirit of cooperation and mutual respect that we ask each family to contribute and report a minimum of 50 hours of volunteer service to the school. One way to participate is to join one of the following committees:
Fundraising; Enchanted Village Faire Committee; Extravaganza! Committee; Easy Money
Parent Council Standing Committees: Aftercare; Festivals Committee; Hospitality Committee; Landscape and Site Maintenance; InReach Committee; Parent Education Committee; Community Involvement Committee; Website Committee; Outreach Committee; School Safety Committee; Charter Council Representative; Compassionate Care Committee; Hiring Committee; School Family Directory; Yearbook
