Viroqua is such a great town, and YIHS is a huge part of that for my family. We moved here specifically to be able to send our daughter to a Waldorf High School (YIHS), and are thrilled that the community as a whole has so much to offer. Our daughter had a great experience at another Waldorf K-8 school in Pennsylvania (River Valley Waldorf), so YIHS had a lot to live up to. It has done that and much more! The kind of supportive, creative, community-focused education she is getting at YIHS makes all the difference. As a long-time educator of high school students, I thoroughly support the work of the talented staff at YIHS. We couldn't be happier with our choice.
I moved to Viroqua Wisconsin to enroll my daughter in the Waldorf kindergarten the same year Youth Initiative High School opened. My daughter went on to attend the Youth Initiative High School. Every two years the Youth Initiative High School Spanish class travels to Guatemala. Her class volunteered on a coffee farm. I still buy coffee direct from those farmers. The Waldorf curriculum and the Youth Initiative High School in particular prepared her well for Life. She has earned 2 college degrees and is now a Licensed Massage Therapist and an Herbal Consultant. She cares deeply about the world, as modeled by her teachers at Youth Initiative High School. I served on committees and the Board while she was enrolled in the high school. I deeply respect the staff and faculty who continue to live the school's mission. The school is an important feature in our small town. It deserves all the support possible!
Are you kidding me?! This is the greatest school on earth. Truly revolutionary education on a human scale. YIHS is more than just a school, it is a multi-generational community of teachers and learners that cares about the things that are important. If the world was more like this place we'd all be a lot better off.
I have been involved with Youth Initiative for decades, first as a community member and donor, later as a parent of a YIHS student and sometimes teacher, and currently as the Director of Development. The more I get to know the school, the more I appreciate the depth of the education and the impact it has on the larger community and world. In addition to the breadth of classes that engage not only the head, but the heart and hands as well, YIHS gives teenagers the opportunity to have agency in their educations. This process can sometimes be messy, but it pays off with young adults who have both respect for and curiosity about the world around them, who know how to take initiative and engage in civic discourse, and who are able to balance regard for individual difference with sometimes having to make the compromises necessary to keep an institution running.
https://vimeo.com/103172704