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 and Spadina Road now encompasses a Daycare, Nursery, Kindergarten and Grades One to 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.