Location: South Austin / Manchaca
13203 Gunsmith Dr.
Manchaca, TX 78652
Students served: Grades K–8 (growing into high school as students age up)
Current enrollment: rolling admissions for 2025–2026, with intentionally small class sizes to ensure personalized attention and a student-to-teacher ratio not exceeding 12:1
Model/philosophy: Austin Micro School reimagines K–8 education with a human-centered, hands-on approach. The school integrates strong academics, project-based learning, and leadership development through its signature Young Leaders curriculum. Families choose between Full-Time and Hybrid formats to best suit their lives while remaining immersed in a supportive community focused on academic rigor, critical thinking, and personal growth.
Special features: Austin Micro School programs are thoughtfully designed to meet the diverse needs of families by offering flexible learning options, including full-time enrollment (5 days a week) or a hybrid model that combines 1 to 3 days on campus with guided at-home learning. Students thrive in a dynamic and inspiring environment featuring engaging Core Skill Blocks, collaborative Project Blocks, and specialized classes in the Arts, Music, Spanish, Outdoor Education in the garden, and Maker Space that bring hands-on learning to life. For hybrid families, structured weekly learning plans, curated resources, and ongoing teacher support provide continuity while fostering student independence. Beyond academics, the school focuses on community and leadership, real-world projects, and essential life skills, cultivating a close-knit, nurturing environment where families and educators partner to support every student.
Schedule: Monday–Friday, 8:15am–3:15pm
Tuition: Full-Time tuition is $500 per week (total of $18,000 per year). Hybrid programs start at $139 per week ($5,000 per year). Payment options include payment in full by Aug 1 (10% discount) or auto-draft in 10 monthly installments (Aug–May). Sibling Discount is 5% off for second (and additional) children. Financial Assistance is available for qualifying families after acceptance.
Contact: 512-200-3145 | admissions@austinmicroschool.org | http://www.austinmicroschool.org
Each listing in this alphabetical directory gives you a snapshot of a small, secular, independent, alternative school in the Austin area.
Hover over and click on a school’s name at the top of its listing to open the school’s website in a new tab. This frequently updated list spans several pages, with navigation buttons at the bottom. To easily find schools by geographical area, see our Alt Ed Maps page. If you know of a school that’s missing from this directory, please drop a note here, and see Alt Ed Austin’s criteria for “alternative” and “school.” You may also be interested in our directories of other recommended schools (which are mostly larger or more specialized or religiously oriented), as well as special programs for children and adults.
Full disclosure: Alt Ed Austin founder Teri Sperry has ties with several of the schools listed on this site. Her child, now an adult, attended two of them years ago. She has friends who direct, teach at, or are otherwise involved in others. Some programs choose to advertise from time to time on Alt Ed Austin as Sponsoring Partners. She firmly believes that all of the schools featured on this site (including the ones to which she has no personal connection and those from which she receives no advertising fees) are good choices for some kids, each for different reasons.
