City: Chapel Hill, NC

Category: Education

Telephone: (919) 967-1858

Address: 6211 New Jericho Rd.

Description: Toddlers to high-schoolers at this Waldorf school study music and art every day. They begin German and Spanish courses in the first grade. By the time they reach high school, their math, science, and literature studies are augmented by special classes in copper working and blacksmithing. The school boasts that kids can be kids at Emerson without having to face hours of homework or stressful tests until they are ready. Set on a wooded 54-acre campus outside Chapel Hill, Emerson had its first high-school graduation in 2006 with 15 students.