Otto Specht and the Fellowship
The Otto Specht School began as an initiative of parents, doctors, and teachers at the Fellowship Community, seeking to meet the needs of a few students. The school was run as a small home school program, where students learned and worked at the Fellowship Community. Early on, however, it became clear that the needs of these students were not unique. More and more parents came, with stories of children for whom school was becoming unmanageable and stressful. Typical educational settings, special education programs, and traditional Waldorf models were not working for these students, and their parents were seeking something different.

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The Otto Specht School grew, becoming a fully licensed private school under the educational charter of the Threefold Educational Foundation. The Fellowship Community continues to provide an optimal educational setting, filled with opportunities for hands-on, experiential learning, including an operational biodynamic farm, greenhouses, workshops, commercial kitchens, and most importantly, a community to belong to, where our students can build relationships and be of service.

Our Mission
The mission of the Otto Specht School is to make possible a self-sufficient and positive future for children with developmental delays, learning challenges and sensory imbalances that do not thrive in a typical classroom setting. To this end we provide innovative educational programming, based on the methods of Waldorf education, in a safe environment where therapeutic, social, and academic needs are addressed. We emphasize the healing nature of practical work, artistic activities, and caring for others; our children learn and work on a farm, in craft shops and with the elderly in service of the larger community. This innovative approach supports each child's individual path toward self-development and independent functioning in the world.