Location: South Austin
9808 Briar Ridge Dr.
Austin, TX 78748
Students served: Enrolling children ages 2–4
Current enrollment: 12-student maximum class size; 6:1 ratio with two full-time, certified teachers
Model/philosophy: Pío Pío is a Reggio-inspired, Spanish immersion home preschool located in South Austin, distinguished by its low student-to-teacher ratio and highly qualified, experienced educators. With over 30 years of combined teaching experience, co-founders and sisters Alexandra and Michelle are thrilled to welcome you to Pío Pío Preschool, a project that is the fruit of their passion for early childhood education, creativity, and respect for humans of all sizes. Pío Pío offers a child-centered, play-based program that follows an emergent curriculum, where children are encouraged to inquire into the world around them through exciting projects and developmentally appropriate learning experiences.
Special features: Spanish immersion—all programs are taught fully in Spanish to help children develop their Spanish language skills and the accompanying neurological benefits of second-language acquisition. Reggio-inspired—the program celebrates the idea that children have “100 languages” with which to express themselves; students are provided with opportunities to create and demonstrate understanding through art, music, drama, sculpture, movement, and the culinary arts. Art & Music—as part of an interdisciplinary approach to education, sound and aesthetics are used as vehicles for both expression and learning. Extracurricular Program (EP)—Monday, Cooking; Tuesday, Sport; Wednesday, Atelier; Thursday, Music & Movement
Schedule: Regular Program runs Mon–Thurs 8am–3pm; Extracurricular Program runs Mon–Thurs 3pm–5pm; Pollitos Program runs on Fridays 9am–9:30am and 10am-10:30am; Pío Pío follows the AISD calendar Sept–May and offers a Summer School Program during the month of August.
Tuition: Regular Program, $1,225/month; Extracurricular Program, $350/month; Pollitos Program, $175/month
Contact: info@piopiopreschool.com | 512-799-4026
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.
