Location: Central Austin
1201 W. 24th St
Austin, TX 78705
Students served: 2nd–8th graders who are highly motivated, eager to collaborate, and curious
Current enrollment: 80 students
Model/philosophy: Long-View provides children with an unparalleled education that sets a foundation for a lifetime of learning by challenging the traditional, antiquated assumptions and practices of K–12 schooling. Long-View was founded with 4 assumptions about teaching and learning: (1) All children have significant capacity for understanding, (2) deep understanding derives from being a producer, (3) learning is more powerful when it occurs as a community endeavor, and (4) a child’s learning should be directed toward the “long view.”
Special features: Academic challenge and culture that nurtures intellectual curiosity within a 4-day week; strong stance on computer usage only as a tool and never for instruction; and palpable atmosphere that school is interesting and joyful. Learners operate in mixed-age groups called “bands,” which allow the school to let go of assumptions related to ages and grade levels and ensure all children are stretching toward the highest expectations. Annual events like Build Weeks and the Long-View Cardboard Boat Regatta, as well as daily routines like Campfire, one hour of outdoor time at lunch, and a less frenetic schedule are some of the many reasons kids love Long-View.
Schedule: 9am–2:30pm Monday–Thursday, with optional after-school and Friday classes. Long-View primarily follows AISD calendar but generally starts the last week of August and finishes the 3rd week of May.
Tuition: $22,500 annually, paid in installments with $1,000 annual enrollment fee and $1000 new student technology fee
Contact: Lisa Zapalac | 512-988-9887 | admissions@long-view.com
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.
