Location: Round Rock
12 Lake Drive
Round Rock, TX 78665
Students served: Grades PreK–12th, ages 4–18/19
Current enrollment: 54 (Early Elementary 13, Upper Elementary 17, Middle School 17, High School 7); maximum enrollment at current facility is 70; rolling admissions
Model/philosophy: ESTEAM Academy (an Acton Academy affiliate) is an entrepreneurship, art, and tech focused community. It is a tribe, a group of passionate, bold people who believe their children’s learning journey should be inspired and empowered, and so have committed to actively working together, inspiring, equipping, and connecting each Hero who walks thru the doors to discover their passion and purpose and to develop the relevant life skills needed to be successful in their chosen endeavors. Lifelong Learners, actively working and growing together.
Special features: ESTEAM Academy removes arbitrary considerations like age or time as indicators of what a Hero should or should not be able to do and instead looks at the individual and works to customize their journey with the tools they need to succeed in their own time. No tests! No homework! No grades! It is mastery-based, hands-on, and life skills–focused! Self-paced, student-led, Socratic, Montessori-inspired, project-based learning.
Schedule: Mondays–Fridays 9am–4pm. The Academy Programs run September–May; two months of Summer Camps (June and July) are included in the full-time 5-Day Program and available as an optional add-on for part-time programs. Flexible Program options include 2-day, 3-day, 4-day, and 5-day programs.
Tuition: $13,700 for 5-day Full-Time Program; $12,050 for 4-Day Part-Time Program; $10, 510 for 3-day Part-Time Program; $8,510 for 2-day Part-Time Program. Pay-in-full or finance options are available over 9 or 11 months. An enrollment fee of $500 due at enrollment (deducted from total tuition cost). Some clubs will have additional materials costs. Hardship tuition assistance available. Call to learn more or schedule a tour via the school’s website.
Contact: Nicholle Walton-Durban, Co-Founder & Head of School | 310-384-3391 | esteamacademyrr@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 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.
