Island Oak High School
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Island Oak High School is located on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. It offers Grades 9 to 12. Enrolment has increased to over 60 students. There is a faculty of ten teachers, specialists, administrators, and assistants. In Feb. 2007 the school will host the BC Waldorf Teachers Conference.
The school has been operated since 1995 by the Steiner Educational Society, a group of parents and community members. It is certified by the Ministry of Education of British Columbia and receives government funding.
The school is a High School Initiative under the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America - see Waldorf schools' organization and administration.
Typically, one-half to three-quarters of the Grade 9 students entering the school come from a Waldorf elementary school. Sunrise Waldorf School [1], a Kindergarten to Grade Eight school also located in the Cowichan Valley, provides many of the students, but is not formally associated with Island Oak High School.
Every year since founding, a number of international students have joined the school, just as students have exchanged to other countries. Approximately 25% of the students are boarding or exchange students. Waldorf Schools in England, Russia, the Netherlands, France, Germany, Switzerland, Colombia, Peru and Australia have sent students for periods ranging from three months to a year. The opportunity to travel to other countries, to study and learn other languages and immerse themselves in other cultures is an attractive prospect for many of the Grade Ten and Eleven students.
