Dear Colleagues,

This week we are bringing you a spotlight on Ocean Charter School (OCS), the site of our upcoming January conference. We are so excited to be welcoming you there; the school’s Executive Director, Kristy Mack-Fett, and her team have been working with us to prepare for an unforgettable experience.

OCS is an urban/suburban school in its twenty-second year of operation. Its current campus is relatively new (4.5 years); the school purchased the 2.1 acre site and engaged in the design of a building that could squeeze onto an urban lot and meet the needs of its students and program today and into the future. The school moved into its new space in March 2021 in the midst of the Covid pandemic. It is modern, light, airy, two-storied, and urban. Every inch of space is used. For those of you planning towards a forever home for your school, a tour of OCS will inspire you! There is a dedicated space for a range of subjects (Handwork, Woodwork, Special Education, a Library, a Math/Science room), a kitchen, an auditorium (where we will gather), a rooftop garden, fruit trees, and a large open space in the middle of the campus. The school is double tracked (currently with three 5th grades and three 8th grade classes) with an enrollment of around 560 students from TK through 8th grade. Students come from many different cultural, ethnic, racial, and religious backgrounds; all of these help to form a unique, vibrant school culture. The school will offer a tour of the campus and several of their teachers will lead workshops. We have heard that student work and presence will be featured in our conference! You can view the video OCS: A Vision of Life on the Ocean Charter School website HERE.

Construction 2020

OCS Summer Institute Teacher Training

Current OCS Campus

Latin American Heritage Celebration and Dance

OCS opened in 2004, so it is a well established school with stable leadership and a mix of experienced and newer teachers and a strong commitment to professional development that combines contemporary research and practices with the deepening of understanding of Waldorf education. The school reports that it has the support of a team of talented, committed Waldorf mentors drawn from their experienced faculty and consultants who support teachers in deepening their understanding and practice of Public Waldorf. The school describes itself as “a community of families and educators using Waldorf methods to nurture and educate children in a multicultural, urban environment." Click HERE to read OCS’s vision and mission statements.

OCS draws on a rich tradition of Waldorf education in the greater Los Angeles area; the first Waldorf school on the West Coast opened 70 years ago and is still open today (Highland Hall Waldorf School, in Northridge). In Southern California, there are six Alliance schools (five charters and one a district school), and eight independent schools, plus one institute for teacher education. Each school responds to its community and the unique conditions, gifts, and challenges of its location. Schools may be quite close together, but in very different surroundings. As you make your plans to attend the conference (don’t miss it, it will be a remarkable experience!), we recommend you consider arriving a day or so early and arranging to visit and observe one of the Southern California schools. We learn so much from each other, and a visit to another school provides inspiration and opens possibilities. We will offer more details on possibilities in the next few weeks, but we strongly encourage building this into your itinerary.

Many thanks to Ms. Kristy and everyone at Ocean Charter for the work you do every day and for opening your doors to us and inviting us to come in. We can’t wait to join you!

Liz Beaven

Executive Director

Discover LA Beyond the Conference



As you plan for your time in Los Angeles, also plan to take in some local culture. In addition to being convenient to LAX, 3 miles from OCS, Ocean is aptly named as it is just 3 miles from the Pacific Ocean! For those of you in colder parts of the country, although we can’t promise sunny weather, the chances are high that you can walk along the edge of the waves - and even dip your toes in! Just 2.7 miles away, take in the eccentricity of Venice Beach Boardwalk (Muscle Beach, outdoor gym! Many unusual characters! Souvenirs!) Wander the Venice canals (2.2 miles away) that wind through this area including restaurants on Washington Blvd. at the southern end of the canals. Abbott Kinney (2 miles away) is a charming street with shops and restaurants, and is an easy walk from the school. Marian del Rey Harbor (1.1 miles away) offers boats, and the possibility of pelican and sea lion sightings. If the ocean is not your thing, there are two Getty Centers nearby. The Getty Villa( 8.9 miles away) has an incredible collection of Greek and Roman antiquities housed in a reproduction of a Roman villa; the Getty Center (7 miles away) sits in an elegant building atop a hill overlooking LA, with an expansive permanent collection and rotating exhibitions. The building and grounds alone are worth a visit. If Hollywood is calling, the Hollywood Walk of Fame is under 10 miles away.

Visit our website for more information.



In-person registration is now open!

For more information:

Liz Beaven, Executive Director 

Carly Fedor, Administrative Assistant

Alliance for Public Waldorf Education

40 4th St., # 274

Petaluma, CA 94952

Public Waldorf is a service mark of the Association of Waldorf Schools

of North America and is used pursuant to a license.

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