Our Community:
We are an intentional school community founded by parents, teachers and friends seeking a unique, progressive education for our children.
Serving early childhood years through adolescence, Mangrove School of Sarasota honors imagination as the heart of every child’s learning foundation to cultivate creativity, courage, confidence and contribution to the world.
Our Vision is to:
Honor childhood. Your child only gets one. It should be amazing.
Respect that each child has their own journey and will unfold in their own time.
Meet children’s needs at each stage of their development.
Recognize that children are not empty vessels to pour information into – instead – nurture the child’s natural curiosity and sense of wonder that is essential for real, life-long learning.
Offer a rigorous yet dynamic academic curriculum, integrating arts, movement, music and meaningful activities into traditional academic subjects.
Instill reverence for humanity, animal life, and the Earth through frequent service and exploration opportunities and by fostering supportive relationships within the classrooms and community.
Promote world peace and responsibility for ones’ actions.
Challenge children to discover the full range of their capacities.
Instill children with the confidence to try new things and take calculated risks.
Model and value freedom, creativity, innovation, and problem solving.
Our Mission:
Mangrove School of Sarasota is dedicated to providing a nurturing and calm space in which children can love, learn, and grow.
We seek to engage the whole child in their education – head, heart and hands, while also honoring our inherent connection to nature through frequent exploration of and hands-on experience in our majestic natural surroundings
Our History:
Mangrove School of Sarasota was founded in 2000 by a small group of dedicated parents and experienced Waldorf teachers.
What began as a playgroup swiftly expanded into much-needed nursery and kindergarten programs. Our grade school soon followed, as did more families and more exceptional teachers.
Today, we offer early childhood programs and a comprehensive grades curriculum, currently to 8th grade, along with a high school mentorship program.
Additionally, parent-child classes, homeschooling enrichment programs, adult practical art classes, free summer programming, and festivals are extended to the greater Sarasota area.
As Florida’s first outdoor school, we have attracted a community of extraordinary teachers and families, committed to growing a school inspired by the principles of Waldorf education, with a strong connection to nature, experiential learning, and service to those in need.