Location: Southwest of Austin
Rim Rock Trail
Austin, TX 78737
Students served: K–8. Kindergarten is Banyan Forest Kindergarten, a nature-based Spanish Immersion program. School on The Rise is a nature-based elementary program.
Current enrollment: School on The Rise currently has 9 students: 3 in 1st grade, 6 in a combined 2nd/3rd grade. Maximum class size is 12 students.
Model/philosophy: School on the Rise is an elementary micro-school located on eight beautiful acres just outside Austin city limits, in southwest Travis County, deep in the heart of Texas. It is designed for families who have an interest in alternative education, specifically Waldorf education, and who are seeking small class sizes, a spirit of innovation, a relaxed and cheerful atmosphere, teachers willing to work with each child's uniqueness, a social environment of acceptance and personal responsibility, the right amount of academic challenge, plenty of time in nature, and considerably less homework.
Special features: The educational program serves the range of grade levels from 1st grade through 8th grade. New groups of students for a grade level are formed in direct response to parent interest and need. The days and weeks are structured to provide both consistency and variety. Each day begins with vigorous physical movement, singing, and recitation, and then the 90-minute "main lesson." The remainder of each day is spent in academic practice periods, artistic classes, and recesses. The teachers work individually with students in the areas of skill development such as math and language arts. As is typical in a Waldorf classroom, each student makes books that provide a personal record of their learning process.
Schedule: 9am–3pm Monday–Friday. Typical school holidays: Thanksgiving, Christmas/Winter Holidays, Spring Break, Easter. Typical school year runs late August–late May.
Tuition: Full tuition for the 2023–2024 school year is $16,632. This includes all fees. Limited financial assistance may be available.
Contact: hello@schoolontherise.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.
