Location: Mueller (East-Central Austin)
Students served: Ages 9–17
Current enrollment: 6 (maximum enrollment is 15 students). Teacher-to-student ratio is between 1:4 and 1:12. Acre-to-student ratio is greater than 1:1.
Model/philosophy: A pocket knife is a tool. A soldering iron is a tool. A pen is a tool. We learn to wield tools powerfully to shape the world around us.
Special features: Driven is a school inside of a Makerspace. If a student is hungry, show them the kitchen. If a student wants a fork, show them the forge. This is a high-trust environment with a small number of families. Parents have keys to the Makerspace and commercial kitchen.
Schedule: 9am to 3pm, August 7 to May 29
Tuition: $19,475 for regular tuition. One full-ride scholarship per twelve students. No sibling discounts. No prepayment discounts.
Contact: Ken Hawthorn | founder@austinschoolforthedriven.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.
