Location: South Congress / Central Austin
1511 S. Congress Ave
Austin, TX 78704
Students served: Grades 9–12
Current enrollment: 55
Model/philosophy: Waterloo is a Christian, project-based, design high school that educates the whole person—head, heart, and hand. Waterloo’s expert faculty, unique schedule, and real-world projects give students the opportunity to engage in robust learning, curiosity, and application to answer real questions.
Special features: Waterloo is located in the heart of South Congress, with frequent access to Austin’s downtown library and universities. Design thinking and project-based learning are a part of every course development. Students showcase this process every fall and spring term. Highlights include a two-week immersive elective, x-term; athletics, student internships, junior project, student leadership, UT dual-credit courses, and student retreats and events. Accepts TEFA funds.
Schedule: 9am–3pm Monday–Friday; follows AISD calendar
Tuition: 2026–2027 tuition $20,750
Contact: Christina Swan, Admissions Director and Co-founder | 512-758-4445 | admissions@waterlooaustin.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.
