Location: Southwest Austin
near William Cannon & Mopac
Students served: Ages 3–5
Current enrollment: 8
Model/philosophy: Bloom offers a loving, creative environment where children are free to learn through play and exploration of their world. Children spend most of their days in an outdoor classroom. As a Reggio Emilia inspired program, children's learning is built upon their interests, and projects are ongoing, inspiring, and meaningful. Children use emotional learning to build an understanding of self and create meaningful relationships with friends.
Special features: Daily music, gardening, free play, storytelling, art, friendship, community, project-based learning, emotional learning, comfortable home-based environment, outdoor exploration.
Schedule: 8:45am–2:45pm Monday–Friday; 2-, 3-, and 5-day options available. Follows a basic AISD calendar throughout the school year and runs through the end of June.
Tuition: Starting at $600 per month
Contact: Mary Belton | mary.bloom.preschool@gmail.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.
