Compassionate Care, Tailored to You.
Care Group
What Is the Care Group?
We believe children deserve to feel seen, supported, and capable of success. The Care Group is our dedicated student support teamāworking in partnership with teachers and families to nurture the diverse academic, emotional, and developmental needs of our students.
Rooted in the Waldorf philosophy of educating the whole child (head, heart, and hands) Care Group exists to ensure that children can thrive in a learning environment that emphasizes creativity, connection, and meaningful growth.
Honoring Every Childās Path:
At our school, we deeply respect that every child and every family is unique. While we are passionate about the Waldorf approach and believe it offers a rich, developmentally aligned, and holistic education, we also recognize that it is one of many meaningful ways to support a childās growth and learning.
We believe that public schools, Montessori programs, homeschooling, and other educational paths can all be wonderful choicesāeach offering something valuable depending on a childās unique needs, personality, and family context. What matters most is finding an environment where your child feels seen, supported, and inspired to grow.
Our commitment is unwavering: to help every child learn well and thrive. We're here to partner with you as you explore whatās best for your child, and we will always support you in finding the path that aligns with their needsāwhether thatās with us or elsewhere.
We encourage parents to discuss their childās individual needs with us early to determine if our Waldorf schoolās supportive environment aligns with your familyās educational goals. The best place to start is with our Director of Enrollment.
How WSD Supports Your Childās Learning and Growth
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We provide individualized, age-appropriate support for students who may need extra guidance in specific areasāwhether thatās academic, social, emotional, or developmental. True to Waldorf philosophy, we focus on supporting your child as a whole personānot just on academic performance or standardized benchmarks.
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We provide classroom teachers and staff with recommendations and tools to better support your childās specific learning and developmental needs. Our support staff work hand-in-hand with your childās classroom teachers to adjust lessons and offer extra help through small-group or one-on-one sessions when needed. We ensure that all educators who interact with your childāsuch as subject teachersāare informed and aligned on how best to support them.
We regularly lead Child Study meetings with our full faculty to reflect on and improve how weāre supporting each student as a community.
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We stay in regular communication with families to understand each childās unique needs. When appropriate, we can recommend resources, services, or even guidance on educational paths beyond what we offer.
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We act as a liaison with our public school partner (District 200) and any external specialists your child may be working with. We help organize and oversee any support services provided by outside professionals within our school environment, ensuring consistency and care.
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We track your childās progress and make sure the support outlined in their Care Plan is being followed and adjusted as needed.
Scope of Support
Who We Can Support:
Our school is best equipped to support children whose learning profiles fall within one grade level above or below the classroom standard in no more than two areas (e.g., reading and math, or attention and writing).
These students often benefit from thoughtful adjustments, increased observation, and holistic approaches; all offered with warmth and respect for the childās individuality.
Please note that in order for us to provide accommodations for your child, we will need a neuro-psych evaluation in addition to the most recent IEP/504 documentation your child has to be submitted as part of the enrollment packet. We want to make sure that we are meeting your child where they are. In order for us to meet them, we need to know how to do so.
What We Are Not:
We are not a full special education department, and we do not offer formal IEPs or clinical therapies. That being said, we partner with District 200 to facilitate children accessing services on a case by case basis to include one service area only and a maximum of 30 minutes a week. Any additional, necessary therapies would need to be secured privately by the family. Students with more intensive needs may thrive best in an environment with more specialized services. However, weāre always happy to talk with families about their childās needs and help determine whether our school is a good matchāor help point them toward other supportive options if needed.
Care Group Referrals
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Samantha Walsh
Wheaton Wellness Center LCPC
(630)664-1449
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Aubrey Bornhoff, PsyD (she/her)
Licensed Psychologist
Amity Psychological Service
Specialty: Neuropsychological Testing
aubrey.bornhoff@gmail.comDr. Jenalyn VanSumeren - Psychologist
https://www.marvelousminds.net/ -
Virginia Viafore M.E
Certified P.L.A.Y Project Consultant and Supervisor
Neurodevelopmental Specialist
(630) 768-4176
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Grace Cerny
630-672-0140
grace@growwithgraceot.com -
Thrive Peds
Dr. Deanne Miller
2410 Alft LaneSuite 100Elgin, IL 60124
(847) 531 - 4883
info@thrive-peds.com -
Michelle Hyde: michelle@hydespeakllc.com
Stephanie Sorrentino
(Bite Sized Beginnings): Stephanie@bitesizedkids.com
312-620-8172Jessica Martinez SLPD, CCC-SLP
sayitwithspeechly@gmail.com
630-465-6122North Shore Pediatric Therapy
(847)595-4808
https://www.nspt4kids.com/ -
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Elisabeth Nuesser fightchixbeth@gmail.com