The Joule School

3402 Little Elm Trail

Austin, TX 78752

7 Reviews

School District
Grade

PK, K-6
Type

private

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Reviews

Submitted by parent on September 19, 2020

Low. Luckily we left when the two main teachers left as well. Outside of our positive experience with those teachers, it wasn't a good experience. And our concerns grew when we witnessed unsafe conditions, especially for younger students. Allowing for the children to explore and find their independence is so important, but kindergarten students should never be permitted to be outside of the school by themselves.
Submitted by parent on November 04, 2019

The school was amazing 2 years ago. Last year the school went into chaos with whole new teaching staff and too many children in too small of a building. The "high school" experiment this year was a complete failure due to Leadership's lack of ability to approach teenage issues with neutrality and kindness.
Submitted by other on December 05, 2017

I recently was a student at the Joule school, and I loved it! My favorite part was the small community aspect, so I could build relationships with all the students. Even today, I can hardly say one kid was more of a friend than others. The learning aspect was incredibly helpful too, for spelling we would get a weekly spelling game that we could play (but didn't have to, you could study however you wanted), or we could propose a game that we made up. This aspect was the same with a lot of things. For example, "libera" was a history project that we could do, but there would be 3 or more options like A: make a Viking cloak-pin out of copper wire, or B: a traditional Icelandic wooden mug out of a tree that our teacher cut down at her house (all the teachers were amazing!). Having no homework was a relief. Before when I went to public school, I would get so stressed out over the daily worksheets that I couldn't finish them and they stacked up. Now I can actually have free time at home, that I use for way more important things, like Family and educational Youtube channels etc. The Joule school helped me with a lot of things, the main one being math. I was horrible at math (And I still don't like it) which was pretty hard, but the teachers helped me through it. Now I'm much better than I used to be. Another thing they helped me with was writing! Again in public school I hated writing, it was my worst nightmare, and was probably because of my dysgraphia. But after a few weeks at Joule, I was already writing a 3 paragraph latin analysis every week without troubles. We did a lot of fun things also, like we would learn our geography with a dance and a song that the headmistress made up. I definitely recommend the joule school to anyone and everyone, it was the best school I've ever been in and I'm really sad I had to leave due to moving.
Submitted by parent on October 22, 2014

My daughter has always been a good student. She can sit quietly and concentrate on tasks with minimal direction. Our public school took advantage of that and kept her busy with mindless worksheets without any feedback. Eventually, she was learning that if she appeared busy, she didn't have to do any work. She was learning to hate school. The Joule curriculum consists of things I would have on a wish list of what the perfect school would offer. They teach middle school to high school spelling words and the kids rise to the challenge. They teach math a level or 2 above grade and the kids rise to the challenge. They cook, do art, build things, have music, foreign language, learn typing, cursive, go on field trips and ride bikes and do yoga. They are brand new and are currently leasing a nursery school building. The school is small and the playground is as well. The long term plan is to grow the student body and ultimately have their own campus. The students all love the school despite the longer day (8am-4pm but longer if you need after hours care) and especially love that there is no homework because of the longer school day. This school astounds me daily. I highly recommend Joule.
Submitted by parent on June 04, 2014

Our daughter attended The Joule School for one year until we were forced to move out of state for my husbands job. We were crushed that she wouldn't be returning! Their program is not only unique but it is also far above that of any other schools within the same category. Our daughter remained challenged without feeling as those she was sinking beneath her peers. She received the attention she needed and was able to learn in a matter that suited her learning style. I have nothing but amazing things to say about the Headmistress, Ms. McWilliams, and her staff! We would recommend this school to any parent.
Submitted by teacher on April 07, 2014

I believe it's nigh-time the educational system gets a heavy working over. It's outdated, unproductive, and is singlehandedly pulling this country out of educational leadership. We need new ideas, and I believe the Joule School is a pioneer in creating new and ingenious methods for educating our children. The principle is that children tend to learn through action, manipulation, and are clever in figuring out how things work. This isn't your ordinary Montessori or Tools of the Mind curriculum. It's history-centric, driving all concepts from historical eras. The students are involved in hands-on, creative, project-based explorations that prepare them and equip them with the same critical thinking skills as the early philosophers and Founding Fathers. It teaches relevance for the highly active, kinesthetic, gifted learner. It's a new school looking for new families to be a part of something great. Any one can send his or her child to school. It takes a certain amount of courageousness to enroll in a school that will make the modern educational system reconsider its goals. I'm a teacher who has never had more fun than when I am with my students. It's fun learning to learn again.
Submitted by parent on June 22, 2013

This is a WONDERFUL school. My husband and I always planned to put our daughter (6) in a private school, but we kept running into problems: 1) Money. It seemed like the top-rated private schools in the area were all about money, money, money. I sent ONE inquiry to a different preschool and then I was getting constantly swamped by sales calls from their staff. When my husband and I went in for a tour, it seemed like what they actually wanted was for us to drop off a check for the registration fee and leave. 2) Religion. My husband and I are practicing Christians and we plan to raise our daughter in the church. However, my sister is gay, and I don't want my daughter immersed in a school where people are telling her that her aunt is going to hell. It was extremely hard to find a private school around our home that had good values, but wasn't going to teach bigotry. The only thing that I would have preferred would be an actual Montessori program, but the principal did a really good job of explaining how they incorporate Montessori Method with their own curriculum. It works - my daughter is happy, my husband is happy, I'm happy. The teachers are phenomenal.