The Alan Howard Waldorf School (AHWS) was founded in 1986 by a small group of parents who came together inspired by a vision of a new kind of school for their children – a Waldorf school. The founding parents named the school to commemorate the gifts of clarity of thinking, warm hearted humanity and moral courage which Alan Howard, a long-time Waldorf teacher from England, brought to the birth of Waldorf education in Canada. As a founding teacher of the Toronto Waldorf School in 1968, he continued to be a source of wisdom and inspiration to the growing movement of Waldorf education in this country until his death in 1996.

The AHWS, an independent, co-educational and non-sectarian organization, opened its doors in September 1987, with a combined junior and senior kindergarten. Since then, the school has enjoyed steady growth and the present facility at 250 Madison Avenue now encompasses Nursery through Grade Eight. The school is a member of the Ontario Association of Waldorf Schools (WSAO) and a full member of the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America (AWSNA). The AHWS is approved by the Ministry of Education and registered as a non-profit organization.

At the heart of the Waldorf approach is the belief that education is an art and that life must be presented to children in such a way that they are filled with wonder and reverence and fired with enthusiasm.

Located in downtown Toronto, the AHWS welcomes students from diverse social, economic and ethnic backgrounds with differing gifts and abilities to share in an integrated curriculum. We educate our students to become free-thinking individuals who will offer new solutions for the problems of our age, strive for intellectual freedom, artistic creativity and a sense of social responsibility. Our school community is comprised of children, faculty, parents, community leaders, family and friends all joined in a celebration of life and education.