The Bridge Educational Society
The Bridge Educational Society establishes educational facilities and programs that focus on the whole person. We balance physical education, humanities, sciences, nature and the arts to meet the needs of each child at each stage of development. We focus on developmentally appropriate education on our campus which is surrounded and infused with nature. Our goal is to provide a physical and academic environment where each individual can thrive.Â
The Bridge Educational Society is the steward for The Bridge Land for Learning, a 20+ acre campus dedicated to serving the North Okanagan community. The Society established and operates the Okanagan Waldorf School, which serves students from kindergarten through grade 8, and The Early Years Centre, which provides child care from birth to school age.
Vision Statement
Enlivened education.


Mission Statement
We offer Waldorf education through purposeful experiences on The Bridge Land for Learning. We seek to uncover the full potential of each person so they may freely carry out their lives with courage and purpose. Together, we foster positive social and ecological growth.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
We are committed to creating a community that is inclusive for all students, families, staff, faculty, and community members, especially those that have been impacted by racism and oppression. We seek to acknowledge where we have fallen short and commit to changing our current systems and practices.
Our staff is committed to a continuous path of learning and the activities of an enlivened Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee.
Meet Our Team
Meet our incredible team!
Our History
2006 – Officially a Registered Society
The first board was formed and The Bridge Educational Society was registered. Emily Hladych began the first Kindergarten program, with three children, in her home at Vale Farms.
Later that year, the founders ceremoniously broke ground at 730 Whitevale as the planning for the first school building began.
2016 – Classroom Building Constructed
2018 – Name Changed to Okanagan Waldorf School
2020 – Opened the Early Years Centre
On March 2, 2020 we opened the Early Years Centre, serving children from birth to school age. March 17, 2020, COVID-19 closed the elementary school to in-person instruction and only allowed the children of essential workers to be cared for at the child care centre.
We installed the perimeter fence of our new on-campus Community Garden.
Elementary K-7 Students: 66, plus the preschool program
Staff: 20 full-time; 3 part-time
Testimonial
“The Bridge Land for Learning will make Lumby, rural Lumby, and the North Okanagan as a whole, a more desirable place to live and work and will add to our area’s long-term success. The Society has been very active in working to address the child care shortage in our region through their Early Years Centre, which opened in March 2020. We have witnessed first-hand how the addition of this facility has both supported local families with child care, and also increased the economic development of our area by becoming a major employer.”
Interested in a career with us?
If you welcome challenging and rewarding work, then consider developing your career with us!