Location: Mueller (Northeast Central Austin)
1310 E 51st St.
Austin, TX 78723
Students served: K–5th
Current enrollment: 10 students currently enrolled; looking to have enrollment at 15 for 2023–2024 school year
Model/philosophy: Rifugio Austin is a holistic project-based school currently serving students grades K–2 and expanding to 5th grade. From inspiration and first-hand experience of the Rifugios in the Italian Alps, the school provides the same refuge and warmth that each Rifugio provides from the natural elements. Rifugio Austin is built upon that experience, and the school environment is that of a safe and nurturing space where children will feel at home.
Special features: At Rifugio Austin, the educational foundation includes the simple belief that each child deserves to have their unique and individual needs fully met. By providing a stable, secure space, children will naturally explore, experiment, inquire, create, dream, believe, and do. The environment is inclusive, and children are respected as individuals who are unique and on their own learning journey.
Schedule: 8am–3:15pm Monday–Friday; 3:15pm–5pm after-school program; follows AISD calendar
Tuition: $1,400 monthly tuition + $1,400 yearly annual fee + $250 new student enrollment fee + $200 after-school program
Contact: Ariana DiNielli | admissions@rifugioaustin.com
Each listing in this alphabetical directory gives you a snapshot of a small, independent, alternative school in the Austin area.
This frequently updated list spans several pages, with navigation buttons at the bottom. Clicking on the name of a school will take you to its own website. 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 in graduate school, 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.
