Bayou Village School opened its doors in October 2010 as an independent non-profit 501(c)(3) school with the goal of becoming an accredited Waldorf School. The original location was in two Houston Heights bungalows that soon were too small. After moving to a bigger space in the Heights, the school finally moved to its current location in the summer of 2013 and purchased the property a year later. Then, in 2015 the school successfully raised money to purchase the lot behind the school (along Terry Street) and incorporated that land into the school playground in the summer 2016.
In 2010 the school opened with a small mixed-age Kindergarten for 3-6 year olds. Responding to the great need for quality care for very young children, soon a classroom for two-year olds and in 2015 also classrooms for toddlers and infants were added. In addition, a Waldorf-inspired grades program started and is now growing by one grade every year. For the 2024-2025 school year, the school has classrooms for toddlers, starting at 8 months through sixth grade.
In 2013 the school applied for developing membership with the Waldorf Early Childhood Association of North America (WECAN) and in 2016 renewed that membership. WECAN membership is a prerequisite for being able to apply for accreditation with the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America, which is our ultimate goal.
Governance
Our school is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with the name Heights of Learning, Inc. and doing business under the name Bayou Village School. We are an independent, collaboratively lead school licensed by the state of Texas and an Associate Member of The Waldorf Early Childhood Association of North America.
Bayou Village School leadership is divided into three groups: the board of directors, the administration and the faculty.
Board of Directors The Board of Directors is responsible for the legal operation of the school, budgeting and fiscal management, long-term strategic planning, resource allocation, and fundraising. The Board holds the Administration and Faculty responsible for accomplishing the school mission and goals. The Board consists of parent representatives, community members at large, and our Administrative Director. The aim for the Board is to unite people who have a strong interest in helping the school develop and whose skills complement one another in order to provide the leadership needed for the school to prosper. Short bios of current board members can be found here.
Administration The administration is responsible for the daily operation of the school. It oversees the facilities and grounds, it manages human resources, admissions, enrollment, day-to-day financial operations and bookkeeping, marketing, communications with parents and the community at large and implements policies approved by the board and faculty.
Faculty The faculty consists of all current class teachers, assistants, specialty teachers and aftercare teachers. The faculty brings to life the mission of the school through teaching, curriculum development, peer evaluation and mentoring, teacher selection, student selection, parent teacher conferences, parent education and strategic planning. As such, the faculty develops the culture of the school.
The Faculty, Administration, and Board maintain confidentiality in all matters relating to individual children, tuition assistance allocation, and all other personal and private matters. In keeping confidentiality, a portion of each board meeting is open only to board members. Board meetings are usually held once or twice a month and will be announced in school email communications.