Water’s Edge School was founded in 1998 by a group of home-schooling parents with an interest in Waldorf education. These parents found an experienced, Waldorf early education teacher who lived locally. They rented one room at the Federated Church of Wauconda on Barrington Road and started a one-day per week preschool-kindergarten classroom.
While at the Federated Church, Water’s Edge continued to expand its preschool-kindergarten program and added a parent-child program. In 2003, Water’s Edge School delved into the grades with the One Room Schoolhouse, a multi-age program.
In the 2005-2006 school year, Water’s Edge started its first traditional Waldorf first grade. Also in 2005, Water’s Edge purchased its own building on Bonner Road with the help of parents and friends of the community.
The Water’s Edge community includes families from northwest Cook County, Lake and McHenry counties. Families come from near as well as more distant communities including:
Antioch, Arlington Heights, Barrington, Buffalo Grove, Carpentersville, Cary, Crystal Lake, Deer Park, Fox River Grove, Fox Lake, Grayslake, Gurnee, Hainesville, Hoffman Estates, Island Lake, Kildeer, Lake Villa, Lake Zurich, Libertyville, Lincolnshire, Lindenhurst, McHenry, Mundelein, Round Lake, Round Lake Beach, Spring Grove, Vernon Hills, Wauconda and Woodstock.
Water’s Edge looks forward to continued growth. In the next few years, the school will embark on a campus expansion campaign to increase classroom and community space on our 3-acre campus. The planned expansion will incorporate both anthroposophic architecture and green building techniques.
