Location: Pflugerville (serving Austin, Pflugerville, Round Rock, and surrounding areas)
3400 Rowe Lane
Pflugerville, TX 78660
Students served: Gifted and twice-exceptional learners in Grades 5–12. Small classes with a maximum 7:1 student-teacher ratio.
Current enrollment: 25. Limited spots available.
Model/philosophy: Great Minds Learning Community is an intellectually rich private school for neurodiverse thinkers who are gifted or twice-exceptional (bright with learning differences/challenges/disabilities, such as dysgraphia, dyslexia, dyscalculia, ADD/ADHD, sensory processing challenges, Asperger's/High Functioning Autism, anxiety, depression, other health conditions, or social difficulties). GMLC students are bright, quirky, creative individuals seeking a smaller group, sensory support, intellectual freedom, and a built-in small tribe of like-minded thinkers that "get" them and give them wings to thrive. There is a balance of structure (with guided support for lagging skills) and intellectual and personal freedom. Academically strong, strengths-based, focusing on the 21st-Century skills through real-world, project-based learning. Nurturing each student within their "stretch zone" through a relationship-based approach, small class sizes, growth mindset, and 7:1 student-teacher ratio with a strong focus on social, emotional, and executive-function skills with a close-knit, caring community.
Special features: Tailored to meet the needs of gifted and twice-exceptional (2e) neurodiverse young people and the intense, challenging, and exhilarating facets that being gifted or 2e brings to your child's educational experience—intellectually, socially, and emotionally. Student-driven with lots of voice and choice, combined with guided supports and a framework to create a balanced approach. For students who would benefit from a nurturing, small-group, hands-on environment and who crave the freedom to pursue their passions and intense intellectual curiosity to the beat of their own drummer with like-minded peers. Close-knit, caring community.
Schedule: Tuesday through Thursday, 9am–3pm, August–May, with short breaks throughout the year to allow time for recharging and travel; drop-off from 8:30am, pick-up until 3:30pm. Optional Mondays, same schedule.
Tuition: $15,500 per year, with a $600 supply fee. Optional 4th day (Monday) program, $3,800. 20% sibling discount.
Contact: Deanne Repich, Head of School | 512-750-1417 | info@greatmindslc.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.
