Ruth Godberfforde – School Director January 2026

Education & Experience

• Assistant School Director, Boulder Valley Waldorf School
• Director of Admissions & Outreach, Shepherd Valley Waldorf School
• Kindergarten Teacher, Boulder Waldorf Kindergarten
• Elementary Teaching in Boulder Valley and Adams 12 School Districts (Gifted & Talented Program Coordinator)
• Elementary Teaching Licensure Program: University of Colorado, Boulder
• MSc Geophysics: University of Washington, Seattle
• BSc Physics: Imperial College Science Technology and Medicine, London, UK

Ruth Godberfforde discovered Waldorf education two decades ago – the smell of the preschool classrooms reminded her of her Greek grandmother’s pantry. The love and care for young children was remarkable but it was the student experiences that led Ruth to ponder questions such as: how can teaching be both traditional and progressive? Why does low-tech, artistic programming better foster scientific thinking and innovation? When does less teacher talk lead to deeper student thinking? And decades later Ruth continues to explore these and many other questions about the successes of Boulder Valley Waldorf School and Waldorf education for preschool through the end of middle school.

Ruth brings over a decade of school leadership experience: in meeting facilitation, faculty mentoring, rules and regulations administration, student assessment oversight, school marketing and web design. She is excited to continue to grow and develop Boulder Valley Waldorf School to serve today’s students with an experience-based approach to education, smaller class sizes, nurturing social environment, involved parent community and limited standardized testing, children develop a strong foundation and a life-long love of learning.

In her expanded role as Assistant School Director, Ruth has participated in all aspects of the schools’ functions. Together with the Board of Trustees, Ruth helped to pioneer the Sensible Tuition model doubling student enrollment in her role as Outreach and Admissions Director. A love of learning and the desire to play led Ruth to teaching school-aged children. As an elementary school teacher at an arts-integrated public school in Colorado, Ruth was integral in the marketing and outreach of this new school within the district. While there, she taught and coordinated the Gifted and Talented programming, bringing games and mixed-age creative projects to the students.  

Ruth had an adventurous and global upbringing. She was born in Australia and moved to Hong Kong as a child, attending an independent French International school. Later in the UK, Ruth completed her Bachelor of Science in Physics from Imperial College in London. Her exploration of the natural world led her to investigate the upper atmosphere in New Zealand, Alaska and at the South Pole in Antarctica, obtaining her Master of Science in Geophysics from the University of Washington. She has now lived in Boulder longer than any other place. She still enjoys the rain and is also now a fan of the bright Colorado sunshine!