Kelowna private school loses funding after failed inspection

KELOWNA – The government has pulled funding for a local private school for failing to deliver the B.C. curriculum.

Ministry of Education spokesperson Sean Leslie says the Kelowna Waldorf School failed a Nov. 1 inspection required for funding. The private school on Collett Road has been teaching grades one through eight since 1981.

“The ministry has determined Kelowna Waldorf School is not meeting legislated requirements around curricular compliance and delivery of the B.C. curriculum,” Leslie says in a release. “Therefore, KWS has now been designated a Group 3 independent school instead of Group 1.”

He says the school will no longer be eligible for provincial funding until “they amend their program to meet requirements and pass a further inspection to verify compliance.”

“If the school chooses to amend their program and passes a further inspection they will be reinstated as a Group 1 school,” Leslie says.

The Waldorf education method emphasizes the role of imagination in learning with a holistic approach to the overall development of students.


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Adam Proskiw

Adam has lived in B.C. most of his life. He was born in the Caribou, grew up in the Okanagan, went to university on Vancouver Island and worked as a news photographer in Vancouver. His favourite stories incorporate meaningful photography and feature interesting, passionate locals. He studied writing at UVic and photojournalism in California. He loves talking tractors, dogs and cameras and is always looking for a good story.


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