Emerson Waldorf School, Chapel Hill | Fees, Rankings, Address, Admission, Vacancies, Reviews & More

LIke several families at the school we moved to Chapel Hill in 1993 from England and Virginia before that so all four of our children could attend Emerson Waldorf School. The campus was beautiful, the teachers were well trained and chosen for their experience and wisdom. We came for the pedagogy that allows young children to be children in our rushed world. Our younger children learned through play and imitation and as they matured they looked up to their teachers as guides and mentors as they explored and found their truths. In high school they explore and question concepts together rather than teach to the test. A deep wisdom resides behind the teaching. We loved that the children learned “how to think’ rather than “what to think”. Our youngest of the four is currently a senior in the Emerson Waldorf High School. He went to a public high school for one year and decided that he had spent a year there and “not learned a thing” so he returned to the rich and fulfilling challenge of the Emerson Waldorf High School. Our college counselor is especially excellent at spending time with each student exploring their future options and honoring all their paths. Take a look at all the universities and post graduate work our students have done. As well, the Waldorf graduates stand out to college admissions offices and also to employers for their well rounded personalities, eager minds, and ability to think “outside of the box”.

Our family moved to the area so that our children could go to this school and we’ve always felt that that was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. The curriculum is a direct solution to all the problems facing our educational system today: kids are not bogged down by testing, they develop their creativity in every grade, they learn to be self-confident and socially adept and responsible, they get to develop many parts of themselves instead of being encouraged to specialize (music, sports, science, writing), and they are taught how to think and how to express themselves.

The proof of what this school has to offer is in the children, and especially in our high schoolers and graduates – kids who are curious about the world, are hard-working, love a challenge, are quite comfortable talking to adults and speaking in public, are deep thinkers, and are creative. Part of the beauty of this school is that the curriculum is developmentally appropriate, so children are allowed to be children, and are pushed and challenged at just the right times. Our students go to college eager, not burned out; and ready to think, not overwhelmed with facts and data. To top it all off, the EWS campus itself is beautiful.

My husband and I have been grateful almost every day for 8 years – since our kids started here – that they have this opportunity to attend EWS.

Last year we graduated our second daughter from the Emerson Waldorf School High School, after attending the school for fifteen years. Our eldest daughter graduated from EWS High School after attending since fourth grade. I can not be happier with the outcomes. Our eldest daughter was just accepted into a masters program at Emory University. She is in the midwifery program, which is one of the top ten programs in the country. The first test the students in the program receive is a critical thinking test. My daughter scored in the upper 94% of all students in the country and I give all the credit of this score to the Waldorf educational process. My second daughter was accepted into six out of six colleges which she applied to, including highly competitive Kenyon College, and received merit scholarships to five of the six schools. After her first year at Ursinus College in Pennsylvania (founded in 1869), she made dean’s list and received a fellowship to teach in the writing center at the school. If you have any question to whether the educational system works at Emerson Waldorf School, I hope these outcome examples are of help to you.