The NoVo Foundation has awarded Housatonic Valley Waldorf School a grant of $600,000 over three years, as announced by the school on October 23.

The grant will fund three primary areas: variable tuition (tuition assistance), diversity work, and teacher development, with the goal of promoting diversity, equity, and inclusivity within the student body and school community.

According to the NoVo Foundation’s website, novofoundation.org, it is “dedicated to catalyzing a transformation in global society, moving from a culture of domination to one of equality and partnership. The foundation supports the development of capacities in people — individually and collectively — to help create a caring and balanced world. We envision a world that operates on the principles of mutual respect, collaboration, and civic participation, thereby reversing the old paradigm predicated on hierarchy, violence, and the subordination of girls and women.”

The NoVo Foundation’s support will supplement the Housatonic Valley Waldorf School’s variable tuition model, now in its second year. The school is committed to economic diversity as a major goal and partners with families to make a Waldorf education accessible to those who seek it, while also working toward school and community sustainability.

Funds from the grant will be used to expand professional development for staff and faculty in areas related to diversity. The first such opportunity is a training titled “Talking about Race in the Classroom: A Training for K-12 Educators Committed to Racial Justice.” The goal is to gain strategies to support a schoolwide culture of respect, equity, and inclusivity and enhance teacher understanding of how racism affects children.

Additionally, a significant investment will be made in the school library and classroom readers to update and expand the school’s book collection to better represent underrepresented communities.

The Housatonic Valley Waldorf School is humbled and extremely grateful to receive this grant, according to Enrollment Director Therese Lederer.

More information about Housatonic Valley Waldorf School is available at waldorfct.org.