In September 1979, San Francisco Waldorf School Association inaugurated the school, which welcomed the children at 325 Arguello Boulevard in the historic Campfire Girls Building under the pedagogical direction of R. Monique Grund. San Francisco Waldorf School’s kindergarten began with a founding group of eighteen parents and grew quickly.

In August 1980, San Francisco Waldorf School moved to its present grade school location at 2938 Washington Street. One kindergarten, two teachers, and eighteen very dedicated families grew into our present parenting classes, nursery program, three kindergartens, grades one through twelve--and over four hundred children. In 1987, after two years of sponsorship by Sacramento Waldorf School, San Francisco Waldorf School became a full member school of the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America (AWSNA).

On February 5, 1989, SFWS inaugurated the use of the new classroom building, multi-purpose hall, and eurythmy hall, all constructed to meet our growing school’s needs. SFWS has graduated twenty classes from the grade school. The students have gone on to an array of select local public and private high schools, and from there to well-known colleges and universities. With the opening of San Francisco Waldorf High School in the fall of 1997, most of our grade school students have chosen to attend, and have been joined by students from other regional Waldorf, independent and public schools.

San Francisco Waldorf High School began in the fall of 1997 in temporary quarters at the Fort Mason Center. In July of 2000, it moved to Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral at 245 Valencia Street in the Mission District, and graduated its first class in June 2001. After ten years of renting, SFWS purchased 470 West Portal Avenue for the high school, and its doors were opened in September 2007.  The facilities include nine classrooms, three state-of-the-art science labs, two dedicated art studios, and a library media center.  SFWHS is the first "green" high school in San Francisco and a Gold LEED certification is pending.  

At the same time as the school was developing its high school program, a group of kindergarten teachers and parents gathered to begin an early childhood program that has grown successfully to include nursery classes for children ages 2 3/4 through 4 and a range of parenting classes for the pre-natal through toddler stages. In addition, the early childhood group also began the Magic Lantern Traveling Marionette Theater, a marionette group that performs fairy tales and other stories from around the world for the school community and in other public venues.

The imagination of a full program from pre-Kindergarten through the twelfth grade, and fostering an adult education program has been a part of the school’s vision from its founding. SFWS continues to take steps towards that vision as it develops facilities and programs for all stages of childhood development.