Cedar Grove Folk School is a community-oriented nonprofit initiative promoting rural community renewal. Our offerings are accessible-to-all with a focus on experiential learning through folk arts. Our practice is inspired by Waldorf pedagogy and the Danish Folk School Movement.

What is a Folk School?

The Folk School Movement is rooted in place-conscious education, offering learning experiences that grow directly out of the local community and landscape. The movement was founded by NFS Gruntvig in Denmark in the 19th century. At its heart, folk schools build collaborations and networks among diverse groups and organizations, while drawing on local strengths and cultivating appreciation for local culture, traditions, and agriculture. Folk schools encourage the recovery of local voice, empowerment, and cultural memory, with an emphasis on dialogue, conversation, and relationships as the foundation of learning. They present an alternative educational paradigm that is collaborative, noncompetitive, experiential, and holistic, enriching both public and private education as well as homeschools.

Folk schools provide a context for people of all backgrounds to come together in shared learning, to discuss local issues, and to spark economic initiatives that strengthen the local economy. The folk school movement inspires communities to learn, create, and grow together in ways that honor and sustain their unique heritage and future.