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Monday 8am - 4pm Tuesday 8am - 4pm Wednesday 8am - 4pm Thursday 8am - 4pm Friday 8am - 4pm

The Hartsbrook School

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Hadley, MA
The Hartsbrook School

Pre-K-12 Waldorf School in Hadley, Massachusetts. A leader in the independent school movement.

The Hartsbrook School is dedicated to nurturing the unique spirit of each child. Our program from early childhood through high school integrates academic, artistic, and practical work to awaken clarity of thought, warmth of heart, and strength of purpose. Through joy in learning, kinship with nature, and working in community we prepare students to meet the challenges of the future and to find purp

ose and meaning in their lives. Learn more about the unique experience of land-based learning at The Hartsbrook School in Hadley, Massachusetts by visiting https://www.hartsbrook.org.

08/29/2026

🌾 Farm-to-Table is almost here!

On October 3, we’ll gather under the autumn sky for an evening of good food, great company, and a most worthy cause: the land stewardship program (which makes so much of the meal possible!) at The Hartsbrook School.

Join us for a true farm-to-table dinner prepared with local and school grown produce, a curated silent auction, and an evening on our beautiful campus with friends old and new.

Many thanks to our generous sponsors who help make this event possible! We can’t wait to see you soon!

Tickets go on sale September 1. Mark your calendar and plan to join us! 🌾

Naturally '78 PeoplesBank Greenfield Savings Bank Wulf's Fish Insource Services

08/27/2026

Meet the newest members of the Hartsbrook faculty 🌻

For most of her life, Maddi Wixon lived along the beautiful Front Range of the Colorado Rockies. She grew up with a deep sense of wonder at the world around her, spending her free time romping around the woods near Rocky Mountain National Park. She always knew she wanted to find work doing something that captured that magic and joy of childhood. The path to Waldorf education was laid from the beginning.

Maddi has been teaching for over a decade now, the majority of years at a Waldorf-inspired charter school in Fort Collins. Maddi finds great joy in creating hands-on experiences where children can approach education with their natural sense of curiosity and wonder. She loves curating the classroom to fit the students within.

Outside of school, Maddi spends her time singing, painting, knitting and crafting. Sometimes she even finishes a project. She loves to putter in her yard, walk her two dogs along the nature trails in her neighborhood, and go skiing and biking with her family.

Eric Nazar comes to Hartsbrook after 10 years at Hampshire College, most recently as Associate Director of Outdoor Programs, Recreation and Athletics. At Hampshire, Eric developed new experiential nature-based weekly semester-long classes in Land Navigation, Survival Living, and Trail Maintenance, taught classes in Backpacking, Outdoor Adventures, and Strength & Conditioning, and also led single-day and multi-day student group trips backpacking, cross country skiing, canoe paddling, rock climbing, and animal tracking.

Eric is a father to two children, and enjoys cycling, rock-climbing, paddleboarding, trail running, and has backpacked more than 1,200 miles on the Pacific Crest Trail.

Education: Eric holds an Ed.M in Human Development from Harvard University, and a BSLA from Georgetown University in Languages. He is a level 1 certified paddling instructor with the American Canoe Association, a USSA level 1 cross country ski instructor, and a NOLS/WMA Wilderness First Responder.

A familiar face! We are excited that Chenoa Albertson has stepped into the Grades 1–4 Movement and Games Teacher position! A graduate of Summerfield Wa

08/20/2026

A little summer learning for our teachers too!

Congratulations to Cassie and Anna, two of our Early Childhood teachers, who graduated from Sophia’s Hearth this summer. They finished their program by creating and performing their own puppet shows.

We love seeing our teachers continue to learn, create, and bring new inspiration back to their classrooms. ❤️

08/18/2026

Hello! This is Heather ☺️ I’m still sort of new to Hartsbrook, working as the Admissions & Marketing Director. One of the things I’ve been completely blown away by in my time here is the intentionality behind everything.

From drawing a border around a page in a main lesson book, to learning how to knit a scarf, to mending fences for our sweet cows, there is a greater purpose behind the work that goes far beyond the task itself.

Work here isn’t just about being busy. It’s about developing a deeper sense of self and purpose. It means taking responsibility for your actions. It means learning to anticipate what comes next, and figuring out how to meet it with confidence and grace.

The students I’ve watched walk through these doors over the last eight months aren’t only incredibly smart on paper. They’re thoughtful and capable and grounded. They know how to do hard things. They know how to contribute. And they’re learning that they have something meaningful to offer the world around them.

At Hartsbrook, work isn’t just something to do. It’s part of the journey of becoming who you are.

08/17/2026

This is one of those connections that once you see it, you can’t really unsee it.

There’s a reason Bluey’s school feels a little different. The long stretches of imaginative play. The time outside. The way the children are trusted to work things out. A teacher who is deeply present without directing every moment.

There’s a real Waldorf connection behind it.

Bluey creator Joe Brumm has talked about the influence of Steiner education and what he learned about the importance of play and creativity in childhood. And suddenly, Calypso’s classroom makes a whole lot more sense.

At Hartsbrook, we see play as serious work, especially in the early years. It’s where children practice negotiating, problem-solving, imagining, adapting, creating, and finding their place in a group.

And then they grow. 🌱

The imaginative child becomes the student asking bigger questions, tackling increasingly complex academics, making things with their hands, conducting experiments, creating art, working with others, and eventually forming ideas of their own.

That’s one of the things we love most about Waldorf education: it doesn’t ask children to rush through childhood in order to prepare for what comes next. It recognizes that childhood itself is part of the preparation.

So, yes. If you’ve ever watched Bluey and thought, I wish school felt a little more like that…

It can. 🌿

The Hartsbrook School is a Waldorf school serving students from Early Childhood through Grade 12 in Hadley, Massachusetts. We welcome inquiries throughout the year through rolling admissions.

08/13/2026

Yes, we have a high school. And it might be one of Hartsbrook’s best-kept secrets.

In Grades 9–12, students are asked to do more than master challenging academics. They’re asked to think deeply, make connections, create, question, collaborate, and discover what they’re capable of.

A day might move from calculus or chemistry to woodworking, studio art, music, or a seminar built around a big question. Students learn with teachers who know them well, in a community where their ideas matter and where intellectual growth is connected to real work and real life.

The goal isn’t simply to prepare students for what comes after high school.

It’s to help them leave Hartsbrook as capable, curious, thoughtful young people—with a strong sense of who they are and how they want to contribute to the world.

Our High School serves Grades 9–12, and rolling admissions means there is no single moment when you have to begin exploring Hartsbrook.

Come see what high school can look like.

The Hartsbrook School · Hadley, MA
Grades 9–12 | Rolling Admissions

08/11/2026

Finally, a trend we can get behind!

What do you love most about Waldorf education?

08/10/2026

Before the first day of school, the work of welcoming a class has already begun.

Teachers return to their classrooms thinking about the children who will soon fill them; how the room will move, where the class will gather, and what will help each child feel at home.

There’s even a day for fitting desks.

Before school begins, elementary and middle school students come in to have their wooden desks and chair individually adjusted to their growing bodies - feet grounded, posture supported, everything ready for the year ahead.

It’s a small detail, but it says something so much bigger about our education: we don’t simply prepare a classroom for children. We prepare it with these particular children in mind.

Because being known is part of belonging.

06/15/2026

At the heart of Waldorf education is the belief that every child arrives with gifts waiting to unfold. Through academic discovery, artistic expression, meaningful work, and deep human connection, we strive to nurture young people who can meet the world with clarity of thought, warmth of heart, and strength of purpose.

Dearest Class of 2026, we celebrate not only what you have accomplished, but who you have become.

May you carry the beauty and kindness you have cultivated here into all that lies ahead. We are proud of you beyond words and grateful for the journey we have shared.

Congratulations, Class of 2026. May the road rise to meet you, and may your song continue to be heard wherever life takes you. 💛

ClassOf2026

06/10/2026

Field Day brought students from Grade 1 through Grade 12 together for a day of relay races, rope pulls, and plenty of laughter. Through friendly competition, teamwork, and lighthearted camaraderie, students experienced the joy of striving, supporting one another, and celebrating as a community!

Address

193 Bay Road
Hadley, MA
01035

Opening Hours

Monday	8am - 4pm
Tuesday	8am - 4pm
Wednesday	8am - 4pm
Thursday	8am - 4pm
Friday	8am - 4pm

Website

https://www.hartsbrook.org/

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