We love the Huntington-Surrey School. It is what school should be! The teachers at HS love teaching…read morethere because they can enjoy their profession, without worrying about huge class sizes or standardized testing. Very small class sizes ensure that nobody gets left behind. This is a quality not quantity place. The school has a wonderful, caring environment and we are thrilled that we discovered it.

Huntington Surrey has provided an excellent education to my daughter during her four years of…read moreattendance. The most striking feature of the school is the very small class size and the extraordinary personal attention that each child receives from the school's devoted staff. Nearly all of the teachers have taught at the school for a long period of time. Dr. German has operated the school since the 70's, and has a masterful knowledge of how to work with high school students. Without fail, I found each teacher and advisor to be fully committed to my daughter's education, and meticulous in their assessment of strenghs and weaknesses. More importantly, these teacher had the time to dovetail the curriculum to the needs so carefully determined. I have no doubt that my daughter's success relied upon this very unique approach to education. This small, nurturing environment has afforded my daughter a very enriching high school experience. She blossomed at Huntington Surrey. She leaves well prepared for college, and with happy memories of her high school years. For this, I am very grateful to the school, and to its remarkably-devoted faculty.

We absolutely love Kirby Hall. It has been a great fit for our child, who transferred from a strong…read morepublic school that wasn't able to meet his needs academically. He came in passionate about math, art, and sports and in the time he's been at Kirby, he's grown to love history, Spanish, and drama. He's developed deeper skills as a writer and his passion for reading and discussing diverse books has expanded tremendously. His classmates are academically curious and creative: they have the opportunity to write, perform, and build for the stage each semester. Their grade-level performance yesterday was incredibly funny and sweet, definitely exceeded my expectations! Overall, Kirby Hall is academically rigorous and welcoming, the teachers and staff are kind, accessible, and open, and the athletics are inclusive, positive, competitive, and well-run by the excellent PE teacher. The teachers and staff know each child so well and work hard to bring out the best in each-- and they chat easily with parents in the hall after school. The education has inquiry-based components, and they take multiple field trips each semester. The academic offerings for upper grades are constantly evolving as they are building a thoughtful and unique middle school. Most faculty have advanced degrees. I can't imagine a better education. I'd recommend Kirby Hall to anyone looking for a well-rounded, rigorous, inspiring education for their child.

"Mom, I love Kirby Hall School! Can I go there for 3rd grade? Can I go there all the grades? How…read moremany grades to they have?" This is a direct quote from my son will doing his reading homework recently. This is the type of school experience we as parents were hopeful for, that our son would love school and enjoy his "job" as a child of learning, growing and socializing. I have never seen a school environment where the kids literally run inside in excitement to begin the day at 8:10 I may add, and have such agency and confidence walking inside. It's gratifying to see how staff support and teach kids in ways that I was petrified of or suffered through myself in school. They're on stage in front of the whole school, they make presentations to their class, they have advisory to ask for help, they are learning to read music; I didn't learn a lot of this until after college! Everyone enjoys being there and supporting one another. It's a relaxing and engaging place to be. It's only our first year and we can't believe the difference.

My teen is in their second year at Griffin and we feel so grateful for this school. The staff is…read moreamazing and have been so supportive. I feel they genuinely care about my child and they are very responsive. It is also really wonderful to have a place where kids are encouraged to be themselves. The education is also top notch - challenging, but not overloading kids with homework and busywork. Class sizes are very small and teachers get to know each child.

You know how sometimes you think it would be fun to try a new hobby but then decide it's equally…read morefun and less trouble to have drinks with friends instead? Art+Wine night provides a solution to this dilemma. Show up with your favorite wine and whatever art skills you do (or don't) possess and Natalya will provide all the supplies and knowledge you need to paint something worthy of displaying in your home. The website shows the project that will be taught on each date so you can pick and choose which nights you want to sign up for. The classes are small which allows Natalya to give everyone individualized instruction. I've been to four Art+Wine nights and I see SO much improvement since my first painting! I had never used oil paint and after taking a 2 session oil class I left with a legit fruit bowl painting. Artists of all skill levels come to Art+Wine night and everyone learns something new or improves their technique. It's a great way to spend a Friday night and accomplish something while drinking!

My ASD son has never been as happy as he is in this school....we did the public school, Catholic…read moreschool, French school. We did everything and then we found....THIS AWESOME SCHOOL . He is happy and engaged. He is growing as a person and as a productive member of society. All good.

Love this school. Both of my kids started attending here at Kindergarten age, and it's been such a…read morebeautiful environment for them to grow in. Highly recommended if you trust that children have a natural, inherent impulse toward learning, development, and moving toward their full potential.

We've been more than thrilled to have found this Family Learning Center! The staff is excellent! Ms…read moreAmelia stays on top of everything and runs a great operation. Ms Natasha knows all the kids names and welcomes you with a bright smile every mornin... Ms Yuliana and Ms Maritza are just the sweetest and always remind that my little sunshine will be cared for and looked after with the most care... I'm at peace with this institution... Can't recommend them enough...

We had a mixed experience with PromiseLand. We had our daughter there in the infant room from the…read moretime she was about five months old. The teachers were loving and I generally felt like she was in good hands. From our perspective, it didn't seem like a ton of enrichment/learning activity was happening-- but we figured maybe that was because she was so young, and those activities don't happen until the babies are a little older. It was only after we switched daycares that we realized that other places pay close attention to enrichment/learning from the time babies are old enough to be in daycare in the first place. Another thing: when she was six months old, our daughter contracted RSV (scary respiratory virus) and had to be hospitalized for four days. When her hospital stay was over, we (by happenstance) found out that one of her classmates had also been hospitalized for RSV shortly before our daughter had. We were pretty dismayed that we hadn't been given a heads-up about a contagious illness in the classroom as a matter of policy. If we had, we might have been able to avoid sending our child to daycare that week and potentially avoided the hospital stay. It could be that the PromiseLand policy of notifying parents of illnesses has changed since then. But from our perspective, communication was not very strong and enrichment in general was pretty limited.

We are beyond thankful and equally impressed with this school. From the start, the Director gave…read moreme much confidence that we were making the right choice for our then 3.5 year old son. We felt at home from the beginning when we showed up to observe on a tour last fall. I sat in on both 3-6 yr old classes (one of the classes was set up in the back of the main house while the other class took up the front space). During my 10 min observation of each class, I noticed the following montessorian traits: -focus that each child or group of children exhibited in respective work/socialization -what appeared to me as a very calm and controlled environment from the children themselves -a sense of enjoyment by all At the time, I was extremely cautious mainly around how my son would behave knowing his impulse control behaviors and most importantly his delay in speech had been issues at a prior school. I laid my concerns out for the TMC and they only reassured me that our son was the typical 3 yr old. Within a weeks time, we transferred our son to TMC with a gradual transition based on his needs. That was over 6 months ago and our son couldn't be thriving more. We attribute this to an entire staff of loving, caring and very patient super-star individuals at TMC. While our son still is difficult to understand with his speech and still has outbursts, luckily they're short-lived; but furthermore, our son's vocabulary has exploded since his time at TMC. And even more importantly is that our son really does enjoy going to school and when we pick him up rarely does he want to leave. When your child begins to talk about his friends and the teachers he says he loves, unsolicited --- you know you made the right decision with TMC!! I wish all of our friends' kids could experience The Montessori Center!

We moved to Austin recently and were in search of a summer program for our three year old. I felt…read morean instant connect with Jessica - the director of the school, she is warm and very accommodating. Our son was here for two months and we loved it. They teachers are wonderful - Bekah, Barbara, CJ and Augusta.It was easy to slip into conversation with them during pick up and they were generous with mindful observations about how my son was doing at school. The school is located in a charming street with plenty of green tress and has been a place of learning since 1970. The bricks have inscriptions on them and the tiles have pictures that peek and tell stories of children who were here. The classrooms have plenty of material for children to choose from and they are very aesthetically done. Every time I drop off the little one the atmosphere has been so lively with music and sprinklers - I wish I could stay a little longer. My wish was granted when Jessica allowed me to stay for an hour and shadow the class. The rest of my review is details of the a few hours I spent in the classroom with Barbara and Bekah. It was the last day of summer so the excitement and restlessness was palpable. Children were being dropped off and they were helping themselves to a snack of whole wheat toast and delicious cream. They started to settle down and pick activities. Some worked on alphabet activities, some with books, some with puzzles, some picked numeric activities and some art and sensory activities. Children either worked alone or in small groups. The teacher helped the children who worked with letters to understand phonetics. Two little girls settled down with books - the younger a little distracted and the older focussed, learning from each other. Another little girl got a bunch of pocket books and flipped through them alone - immersed. The teachers did a fine job of balancing - offering help when needed and letting the children be as needed. The little ones seemed to prefer sensory work - coloring, playing with cotton swabs, watering plants and painting. Each activity is set up on a quaint tray and children are encouraged to clean up after they are done. The class is soon settled and bustling with an air of calm, busy, enthusiasm. Everyone finding their zone, their space, taking time to choose an activity, work and wind up. Some stick with an activity for 10 mins, some 20 and others longer. Little girls are busy drawing a unicorn, a boy in learning to sew with thread and paper. Two little girls sit together and play with colored tiles, learning to match and compare. A little boy who has been playing with shimmer - used a dust pan to clean up and does a throughout job. Older kids tend to persist more and interaction with adults definitely encourages them. Overall a great environment to learn to pick what you like, stick and find meaning in what you do, learn to wind down and clean up when you are done and derive joy through the process.

We transferred here to 1st grade from a public charter school and I didn't realize how unhappy my…read moredaughter was at the charter school until she was enrolled in Sankalpa and seeing the difference. She now looks forward to going to school and describes school as awesome and fun - every parents dream come true for their kid to love school! She now comes home singing songs whereas before she needed to disconnect and would beg to watch TV (she's not interested in TV since Sankalpa - I think the environment fosters self esteem and love of productivity). She does yoga, learns Chinese and Spanish, and the staff are unflinching in their standards for teaching the children grace and curtesy. I'd say this school is great for any child, but more for children and parents who: 1. Like a quieter learning environment: it gets loud, but at specific times. During the work hours it's quiet and relaxed. 2. Love nature (they're often out and even with clipboards studying things like plants and fractals) 3. Like forging deeper relationships with others: because of the more intimate setting, you're going to interact with parents and the teachers every day. This isn't for everyone, but if you like that sense of community and extended family, it's like that here. 4. Are ok with their child not taking state tests: there are other tests given (one of the very cool things about Sankalpa, it's what first perked my ears) to see where the child is in their learning, and then to tweak their learning program to "fill in the gaps" so to speak. This is how every child has their own individual learning program. 5. Are willing to pay tuition: I was worried about this until I saw how much she loved school and learning, then I realized it was the best investment ever. They're only this little once, and it's the best thing ever to find the school where they can thrive and be enlivened. 6. Want experienced teachers: Sankalpa might be a new school but all the teachers are seasoned and it shows in their interactions with the kids. The principal also has worked at nearly all the alternative schools in Austin so she knows what's what. 7. Are okay with going through Sankalpas admission process: for us this was actually fun, but everyone is different. We enjoyed taking the tour, meeting with the principal and spending an hour getting to know each other, and our daughter loved her trial time at the school which was a week, some kids might be longer or shorter. I loved going through all this because it really helped us make a decision based on facts rather a feeling. It's like getting to know someone before getting married or making a commitment. :) If you're considering Sankalpa at least go through the admission process, it's the best way to really know if it's the right match for your family (but more importantly your child).

Our family has enjoyed our time at Sankalpa. We really appreciate how warm and welcoming the staff…read moreis every single time we see them - it is clear they are all dedicated to the students and to their growth and success. The small class size is wonderful, as it is a great location for walks and field trips. They do a great job of instilling a sense of ownership in the students - the kids are responsible for their rooms, their supplies and their work. It's awesome to witness them tiding up at the end of each day. An all around inclusive education.

Our family loves St. Francis School (SFS, a pre-K through 8th-grade private nonprofit…read moreinterdenominational school operating for 30+ years near the ACC Highland campus in north-central Austin). After a mixed but ultimately disappointing experience in 1st - 3rd grades at a crowded, overpriced, chaotic start-up foreign language immersion school, our family needed a fresh start. Our once confident and joyful learner of a child had been reduced to an overstressed student who loathed school and struggled through hours of tedious homework each night. St. Francis provided the small, truly diverse and welcoming community environment we wanted for our child, with a balance of challenging academics, ethics reinforcement, and attention to the nurturing & development of the whole child by experienced educators who really know how to differentiate instruction to many types of learners. This approach has totally turned around our child's experience of school and his learning & achievement have skyrocketed over the past 2 years. His school grades are now more in line with his always high standardized testing results, and homework no longer comes to tears! Another parent reviewer said it well when she described the diverse and "unpretentious atmosphere" at SFS. Every imaginable demographic is represented in both the student body and faculty. People are kind and friendly and welcoming, and individual differences are celebrated. Every time I'm on campus, I just feel inspired and hopeful. Because SFS keeps class size (max of 15) and total enrollment (around 400) in check and teachers love the place so much they stay for decades, the small, cohesive "neighborhood school" feel is maintained. Huge props go to the incomparable founding head of school, Barbara Porter, who has since 1985 guided SFS on its core mission of "excellence without exclusivity." SFS backs that sentiment up by supporting 25% of the student body with scholarships and charging one of the lowest private school tuition rates in the Austin area, while consistently graduating their students into the most competitive public school magnet programs and private high schools. Another wonderfully unique feature among area private schools is the SFS Learning Center, where students with special needs can receive tutoring and additional services to support their success in school. Kids with learning differences are fully integrated into SFS classrooms and are able to thrive as part of a truly diverse school community. At the same time, a large proportion of the student body would be described as "gifted & talented," demonstrating highest performance in academics, the arts, and sports. Each Friday morning, an optional hour of "chapel" is held in which the entire student body and faculty, as well as any parents & family members who wish to attend, gather together in the gym to share an uplifting community-building and/or character-building assembly or pep rally to celebrate that month's achievements. It's not actually religious (although some religious content is shared from time-to-time; the school is named for St. Francis of Assisi, after all). The 8th-grade year culminates in a transformative Spring Break trip to Italy to visit the hometown of St. Francis (among other sites), and the kids raise all of the money for the trip themselves over the course of their years at SFS. I could say much more about all the reasons we love SFS, but if you are considering private school or are just looking for a better school for your unique learner, I encourage you to take a tour and see for yourself. Curriculum and other details are available on the school website at http://www.stfrancis-school.org.

Well run institution with a great culture…read more Pro: - Long Term: with over 35 years in operation, they've had time to build a strong program that will last through economic downturns. - Culture: teachers, students and parents are fully bought-in to the schools values (see school site for details). - Student attention: lower than average student/teacher ratios plus a dedicated, free-standing tutoring building adjacent to the school. Con: - Playground: nice but not inline with the quality of the rest of the institution. - Admissions: it's a centrally located, high quality private school in a growing city, meaning demand is high Personal lessons from our school search: After spending 12 months searching for the 'best school', we realized the importance of finding the 'best school for our child'. Initially, I was too tied up in rankings to spend the time to understand what was important for our family and how that lined up with each program. In the end, we loved the goals at St. Francis of (1) excellence without exclusivity, (2) a meaningful commitment to diversity and (3) attention to the needs of every student. Covid-19 update: School is really stepping up to deliver for students in a difficult time. The teachers are really going above-and-beyond.