When you walk through the gates into Mojave Springs School, a Waldorf-inspired Early Childhood and Elementary Private School in Las Vegas, you immediately feel a sense of peace and calm. Whether inside the classroom or out in the play area, it’s clear this space was intentionally designed to help students connect with nature.
“We provide our students with nature-based materials in an effort to connect with their heads, hearts, and hands. We understand each child is a whole person and surrounding our students with nature honors that. This is the essence of Waldorf Education,” - Alexandra Cannady, the new Administrative Director of Mojave Springs School.
The campus, located at 6440 West Desert Inn Road in Las Vegas, is the only one in Southern Nevada actively pursuing Waldorf accreditation. It abides by the educational philosophy developed by Rudolf Steiner, which embraces the integral role of child development in education and values every child's capacity for willingness, feeling, and thinking.
As a private school, Mojave Springs provides an intimate, nature-immersed learning environment with low student-teacher ratios. The early education program spans preschool to kindergarten with nature-based class titles (Tansy, Willow, and Honeybee). The elementary classes have recently broadened to include 1st through 4th grade this coming fall.
“We are growing with the community we serve. That’s always been the goal,” says Cannady. “My 2-year-old daughter will be joining the Tansy class this fall, and my 5-year-old son will continue into the Honeybees. What propels me toward our continual expansion is my 13-year-old son, who is moving into 8th grade, which we have yet to offer. One day, he told me he wished he could learn what the kids here at Mojave Springs do, and I knew I needed to help bring our vision to as many Las Vegas families and children as possible.”
Cannady grew up in Las Vegas and is a product of the Clark County School District. She says Mojave Springs offers locals a chance to experience a different kind of education.
“There’s no other school in town with such a collaborative, loving, and academically freeing perspective. I matriculated through a rigid system, and I deeply value that Mojave Springs breathes life into learning. For us, education is alive and should be given the tools it needs to grow; that is what our Waldorf inspiration really strives for.”
Aside from the elementary expansion this fall, Mojave Springs anticipates other developments throughout the school. The current Spanish program will incorporate a deeper focus on bilingualism for students of all ages; the incoming 3rd and 4th graders will begin drama and violin classes; children of all ages will learn to help with the upcoming self-sustaining community garden on campus.
“As a parent of a 2nd grader at the school, I love that this is a place where my son not only feels safe but also loved. He just really wants to be here,” says Molly Mecka, a Mojave Springs parent who is also serving as Vice President of the school’s Board of Directors. Mecka says her son has attended other schools but that the experience here has helped him thrive from the inside out.
“With the Waldorf way, learning is not a chore for these kids; it’s a joyful engagement with the world around them,” Mecka says. “When that happens, the children light up about what they learn and do. To see it happening to your own child is just remarkable.”
Mojave Springs offers trial days throughout the school year to families who would like their children to sit in on classes with current students to see if this learning environment is right for them. Cannady says that Mojave Springs provides a unique model that is much needed for the educational landscape of Southern Nevada.
“The purpose of Waldorf education is to meet individuals where they are,” Cannady says, “rather than where society thinks they need to be. We can educate children while honoring their humanity, and that is what we aim to do. We are patient and deliberate. Mojave Springs, in its essence, houses an appreciation for individuality. Those who value that will find a home here.”
