Technology

At Valley Vista Public Waldorf, our approach to media and technology is grounded in Waldorf pedagogy, which recognizes that children develop in distinct stages—each with unique needs for imagination, real-world experience, human connection, and healthy sensory input. We honor childhood as a protected, wonder-filled season of life, and we strive to create learning environments that support the development of attention, creativity, empathy, resilience, and deep thinking.

The Valley Vista Media Policy, embedded in our school charter, reflects this commitment. It provides developmentally aligned guidance on media and technology use from early childhood through adolescence. The policy distinguishes between different types of technology—passive media, interactive media, video games, web browsing, devices, and social platforms—because not all media influences children in the same way.

Our approach asks families to consider:

• What capacities is my child developing at this stage?
• Which types of media support those capacities—and which undermine them?

• How can technology be introduced thoughtfully, when developmentally appropriate?

   The goal is not prohibition for its own sake, but balance, discernment, and alignment with healthy growth.

To help families navigate the realities of raising children in a digital age, Valley Vista hosts TechWise, a parent-led support group that partners with the school community. TechWise acknowledges that parenting with technology today is complex—and parents deserve facts, skills, and alternatives, not judgment or isolation.

TechWise provides families with:

• Clear information about how different technologies affect developing brains, executive function, attention, and social-emotional health.
• Practical skills for guiding children—such as how to rehearse responses to inappropriate content, how to create healthy device rhythms at home, and how to introduce technology gradually and intentionally.
• Developmentally appropriate alternatives, including ideas for off-screen play, independence-building opportunities, in-person connection, and family rhythms that support focus and calm.
• A community of shared values, so parents are not navigating these decisions alone.

We know that values-aligned front-end decisions—such as delaying personal devices, choosing simple first phones or watches, managing where technology is used in the home, and building warm, ongoing conversations—help families avoid daily battles and support consistency, clarity, and trust.

TechWise is not about perfection. It is about cultivating courage, kindness, respect, and responsibility—for ourselves, our families, and our community—as we navigate a fast-changing digital landscape together.

Valley Vista Public Waldorf and TechWise share a common purpose:
To protect childhood, strengthen community, and empower families with the knowledge, confidence, and support needed to raise children who develop the inner capacities to meet the world with imagination, resilience, curiosity, and humanity.

Together, we are building a school culture where technology is used thoughtfully and skillfully, at the right time and in the right way—always in service of connection, creativity, and the flourishing of every child. To read more about how our charter documents envision technology, please review our school's charter.