Location: South Austin
730 Wales Way
Austin, TX 78748
Students served: Preschool, Kindergarten, and 1st grade (ages 3–7)
Current enrollment: Maximum 28 students per day; student-to-teacher ratio of 7:1
Model/philosophy: Little Learning Grove champions a nature-based, play-focused philosophy. The school believes children are capable, curious learners who thrive in an environment that fosters exploration and wonder. By integrating the natural world into its daily curriculum, it provides a holistic education that nurtures the whole child. Its approach is designed to cultivate creativity, resilience, and a lifelong love of learning through hands-on, experiential activities set within a warm and supportive community.
Special features: Little Learning Grove distinguishes itself through several key features. The school operates from a converted home in a South Austin neighborhood, featuring a large backyard and an ancient live oak tree that serves as a natural playscape. It employs a play-based curriculum that emphasizes multi-age interactions to support social and academic growth. The community-oriented model includes a four-day school week and monthly family events. Furthermore, the school provides on-site support from a speech therapist, integrating specialized care directly into its learning environment.
Schedule: 8am–3pm Monday–Thursday; follows AISD calendar
Tution: Tuition is paid monthly, August–May. Two-day-a-week plan is $650 monthly; 4-day-a-week plan is $1,200 monthly.
Contact: Brittney Simmons, Director | hello@littlelearninggrove.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.
