Average Cost of Private School in Alabama

Private schools can offer opportunities to students that might not be found in public schools, like more one-on-one attention between students and teachers, high-quality campus facilities and classes, rigorous academics, and fantastic extracurriculars. There’s all this great stuff, but they can get pretty expensive, right?

The average cost for private schools in Alabama is $7,492 per year. For elementary schools, the average cost is $7,452 per year. For high schools, the average cost is $7,933 per year. Preschools average $6,100 per year.

Here’s some more information on some of the least and most expensive private schools in Alabama, including tuition costs, faculty numbers, student body stats, and student life opportunities.

High Schools

For private high schools in Alabama, the average tuition cost is $7,933 per year. The lowest tuition is $1,850 per year at Deeper Life Academy, which is primarily a nursery and preschool and will be discussed later. The next lowest tuition is $2,500 per year at Atmore Christian School. The highest tuition can be found at Indian Springs School at $26,500 per year.

Atmore Christian School

Atmore Christian School is a private, Mennonite school that enrolls students from kindergarten to grade 12. Tuition is $2,500 per year and the school has an 82% acceptance rate. There are 13 official teachers and 4 administrative staff members, and the teacher to student ratio is 8:1, average class sizes being 10 students. Currently, 109 students are enrolled, 17% being students of color, and the grade sizes range from 5 to 13 students.

For students, the dress code is specified to be Khaki or navy blue knee-length skirts (girls) or pants (boys) and a white polo shirt, though there are “dress out days” on occasion. It offers baseball, basketball, soccer, and volleyball as extracurriculars, in addition to regular religious lessons.

Indian Springs School

Indian Springs School is a private school that enrolls students from grade 8 to grade 12. Its student body is made up of 321 students, 248 of which are day students and 73 who are boarding students.

The tuition for day students for the 2022-23 academic year is $27,300, while the tuition for boarding students ranges from $50,400 to $63,200 depending on where the student is from. The acceptance rate is 62%. It has 38 official teachers, 78% of which have an advanced degree, and the teacher to student ratio is 8:1 (the national average is 13:1).

The school’s campus is set on 350 acres located 16 miles away from Birmingham. It includes four classroom buildings, administrative buildings, dorms, a cafeteria, a theater and studio, a gymnasium, several sports fields, a garden, an art building and craft-work space, and a 12-acre lake.

Elementary Schools

The average tuition cost for private elementary schools in Alabama is $7,452 per year. The lowest can be found at Deeper Life Academy for $1,850 per year, though as stated above it is primarily a nursery and preschool. The next lowest tuition can be found at Prichard Preparatory School for $2,150 per year. The highest is found at Indian Springs School for $26,500 per year.

Prichard Preparatory School

Prichard Preparatory School is a non-denominational Christian private school that serves kids from PreK4 (the student must be 4 years old on or before October 1) to grade 5. There are 20 staff members: 9 official teachers, 3 media specialists, and 8 administrative faculty, 30% of which have an advanced degree. The student-teacher ratio is 13:1 with no class size exceeding 16 students. The majority of the student body and faculty are students and teachers of color.

There is a school uniform for students. Archery, ballet, dance, and track and field are offered as the school’s official sports, and the extracurriculars offered are of a wide variety: Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, National Elementary Honor Society, Newspaper Staff, Safety Patrol, Student Council, and Choir. There are daily music, P.E., and technology classes, an open-access library, and a Chapel held every Wednesday.

Preschools

The average private preschool tuition in Alabama is $6,100 per year. The lowest is once more at Deeper Life Academy for $1,850 per year, followed again by Prichard Prep with $2,150 per year, and then by St. Mary Catholic School for $2,900 per year. The highest tuition is at Highlands School for $15,650.

Deeper Life Academy

Deeper Life Academy is known for its low tuition and is primarily used as a nursery or preschool, though it enrolls students from grades PreK – 12. The school has a Pentecostal affiliation, 19% of the student body is made up of students of color, and classes are co-ed. The teacher to student ratio is 36:1 with class sizes of around 10 students. For the high school-aged students, there are 5 AP courses offered. Basketball is offered as a school extracurricular.

St. Mary Catholic School

St. Mary Catholic School is a Catholic private school that serves students from nursery and preschool to grade 8. Tuition is $2,900 per year. There are 56 official teachers and several other administrative and auxiliary staff; 58% of the faculty has an advanced degree. The teacher to student ratio is 10:1 and the average class size is 25 students.

There is a formal dress code, but also a variety of extracurriculars:

  • Ballet
  • Basketball
  • Cheer
  • Cross Country
  • Flag Football
  • Football
  • Soccer
  • Tennis
  • Track and Field
  • Volleyball
  • Local Science Fair
  • Middle School Enhancement Program
  • National Junior Honor Society
  • Piano Lessons
  • Regional and State Technology Competition
  • Regional Spelling Bee
  • Scholars’ Bowl
  • St. Jude Mathathon
  • Student Yearbook Staff
  • Altar Servers
  • Boy Scouts
  • Chess Club
  • Girl Scouts
  • Pro-life Club
  • Recycling Club
  • Art Competitions
  • Children’s Choir.

Highlands School

The Highlands School serves students from 6 weeks in age to grade 8. Tuition is $15,650 for K – 8 enrollment and $12,840 for 6-weeks to K3 enrollment. Acceptance rates are at 88% of applicants. The school has 31 official teachers along with 28 more administrative and assistive faculty members, 68% of which have an advanced degree, and the teacher to student ratio is 10:1. It has been ranked among the top 50 best private elementary schools in the country for several years.

The student body is co-ed with 19% of the enrolled children being students of color; the grade sizes are relatively similar, at around 30 students per grade, the smallest grade having just over 20 students and the largest having just over 40.

The dress code is casual and several extracurriculars and sports teams are offered: basketball, soccer, cross country, track and field, golf club, Junior United Nations Assembly, National Junior Honor Society, Scholars’ Bowl, and Student Council for the Middle School aged students.

The campus totals 12 acres, located 6 miles from downtown Birmingham. It has 7 classroom and administrative buildings, 4 playgrounds, a soccer field, gardens, and a walking trail.