KEENE – The Monadnock Waldorf School, a staple in the area for over 40 years, will close at the end of the academic school year.

A Waldorf-model public charter school plans to open in Keene next fall.

In a report, Monadnock Waldorf school communications manager Bridge Love stated that the new school is “very much an independent development.”

Waldorf head of programs Nell Weiner recently said that over eight years, “we have seen a slow but steady decline in enrollment.” She went on to say that tuition assistance necessary for families to attend has increased.

Offering education for preschool through eighth grade, the small private school’s tuition is over $13,000 per year.

In a news release, the school said that is has “keenly felt the impact of shifting demographics” in the region.

The pandemic “has intensified financial pressure on the school such that a sustainable path beyond the 2020-21 school year is no longer feasible.”

Waldorf began the school year in the fall with full in-person instruction but as COVID-19 infection rates increased in the Granite State, the school, like many others in the region, shifted to remote learning.

The school was founded in 1976 as a Waldorf-inspired nursery school in Nelson. Today, the school serves 95 students from preschool to middle school on two campuses in Keene, one at 424 Old Walpole Rd., and the other at 98 Lincoln St.

The first Waldorf school opened in 1919 in Stuttgart, Germany. Emil Molt, director of the Waldorf Astoria cigarette factory, invited Austrian scientist and philosopher Rudolf Steiner to become the pedagogical director of a school for the children of his factory workers.

Gathering Waters Charter school in Keene was approved by the state to open next year. The school was started by parents and the public school will have no tuition.

Weiner has said that her school was already in the decision-making stages of considering closing even before Gathering Waters became a factor.