a UNIQUE micro-school

holistic education for every child

What is SunGate Educational Community?

SunGate is a community based learning environment for children and families. Our highly qualified teachers offer a full Waldorf aligned academic curriculum for children ages 6 to 15, Monday through Thursday from 8:30 am to 3pm on our beautiful campus in Chester Springs, PA. Parent child is offered for children under age 6. SunGate has an active parent education program, with hands on learning through volunteerism, as well as parent workshops in areas related to child development, curriculum, health and anthroposophy. Our multi-age social learning model emphasizes movement, nature experiences and the arts. Through a living curriculum, children engage in hands-on experiences that support the healthy integration of physical, emotional and spiritual development. Small class sizes support instruction that meets individual learning styles, and an inclusive environment for all children. Reverence and wonder are cultivated in all things through beauty, connection to nature, daily rhythms and the celebration of seasonal festivals.

What makes SunGate different?

SunGate Educational Community is more than a school — it’s a vibrant, living community where children, parents, and teachers grow together. As a small micro-school rooted in Anthroposophy, we offer a dynamic, nourishing environment that feels like home.

Here, education is a human encounter — warm, down-to-earth, and deeply relational. Children are seen, heard, and celebrated as individuals who meet others in a social environment. The small size of our community allows for meaningful relationships to flourish — not just between students, but among families and teachers as well. 

Every morning begins with a community gathering filled with music and sharing. Children and teachers come together around the table each day, not only to eat, but to connect. Children help to plant, grow and harvest foods, and to prepare meals; one example of how learning is grounded in practical life skills that deepen connection to the earth and each other.

Learning at SunGate is hands-on, joyful, and rooted in the arts. Whether painting, cooking, sculpting, or singing, children engage in meaningful work that nurtures their imagination and supports the full expression of their individuality within a community.  Children with diverse learning needs are honored and welcomed in an environment rich in expertise and support. SunGate teachers have 20 to 30 years of experience, graduate level degrees, and Waldorf teacher, and special education teacher training.

Our curriculum is guided by knowledge of child development, observation, inquiry and child study. Long periods of unstructured play is offered for young children, with increasing opportunities for intellectual exploration and inquiry as they grow. The program is led by adults, with a clear yet gentle presence of consistent and developmentally appropriate authority. Much is held by rhythm, consistent presence and role models. The learning environment is thoughtfully crafted by teachers, with every aspect of our program designed to help children to be guided by who they truly are — and to honor the human connection to earth and the spiritual world.

Freedom in education, spirituality and culture, Equality in human rights and Fraternity (brotherhood and sisterhood) in economics are guiding spiritual ideals in the administration of the school. Teachers who work with the children every day make decisions in freedom as leaders of the school, and work from a place of inner meaning and purpose. All economic contributions are freely made and needs based. A culture of volunteerism, parent partnership, and community integration support all aspects of the school.

SunGate is embedded in a community of organizations who are striving to create a healthy relationship to the earth and each other. Our community partners offer learning opportunities to our students, expertise to our administration, and collaboration in festival celebrations. Individuals bring their knowledge, expertise and experience to the students as presenters, project advisors and visiting artists either at SunGate, or in their own place of work.

Some unique offerings at SunGate include:

  • A Full Academic Program Informed by the Waldorf Curriculum

  • A Full Music Program

  • Circus Arts

  • Handwork

  • Cooking and Nutrition

  • Eurythmy and Therapeutic Eurythmy

  • Therapeutic Movement

  • Gardening and Farming

  • Nature Immersion, Hiking and Landwork

  • Storytelling

  • A Rich Festival Life

At SunGate, children grow up surrounded by rhythm, beauty, meaning, and love — planting the seeds for freedom and self-guided purpose in adulthood.

Our mission and Purpose

SunGate Educational Community’s mission is to provide holistic educational opportunities to children and their families within a community of mutual support.

1. To support and further the essential role of the human encounter as the source of community building.

2.  To strengthen the spiritual image of the human being and its development in educational practices through the world view of Anthroposophy and the pedagogical indications given by Rudolf Steiner.  

3.  To work in responsibility for the protection and nurturing of childhood, and the advocacy for the rights of children and youth in our time. 

 4. To create a healthy, balanced and integrated relationship to both the material and spiritual aspects of life through the pathway of education.

 5.  To create safe, warm and nurturing spaces for movement, play, learning, self-discovery and the true human encounter, while caring for each other and the earth.

 6. To foster an environment that promotes individual freedom and the development of imagination, inspiration and intuition through living thinking, rather than through dogmatic principles.

 7. To be an expression of the threefold ordering of the social organism through the ideals of freedom in the spiritual realm, equality in the rights realm, and brotherhood in the economic realm. 

 8. To serve all individuals and families who earnestly seek a path of education through SunGate Educational Community regardless of financial circumstances.

 9.  To provide curative (therapeutic) education to all children and families in our care including individuals with learning differences, particularly to children who are not best served by The Camphill School or a Waldorf School.

diversity statement

SunGate Educational Community is committed to social inclusivity and acceptance. We invite families, children, teachers and staff of diverse identities and abilities to our community. SunGate does not discriminate on the basis of economic background, race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, religion, or any other reason.