Best Private Schools in Hillsborough County for Montessori

17 schools match. Top 10 ranked by size, tuition fit, and freshness of our data.

Hillsborough County has 17 private K-12 schools in our database, drawn from FLDOE, NCES, and direct outreach to school directors. Annual tuition ranges from $7.6K/yr to $17.8K/yr, with a median of $13.1K/yr across schools that publish a number. Tampa has the highest concentration with 8 schools, followed by Valrico (2). 16 of these schools accept Florida Step Up / FES scholarships — roughly 94% of the list — so families using state-funded scholarships have real choice here.

Private schools on this page set their own admissions criteria. Most ask for a school visit, prior records, and a family interview; competitive K and 6th-grade entry points often fill 6-9 months before the start of school. Every school is re-verified through direct outreach to admissions teams; data is refreshed on a 180-day cadence and timestamped on each profile.

See also: Learning Support, Gifted, IB (International Baccalaureate).

  1. 1

    The Riverview Montessori School At Rivercre

    Riverview, Hillsborough County · Grades PK-05

    Tuition
    $17.8K/yr
    Type
    private
    • ~110 students
  2. 2

    Southshore Montessori Ii

    Apollo Beach, Hillsborough County · Grades KG-06

    Tuition
    $17.8K/yr
    Type
    private
    • ~90 students
  3. 3

    Montessori House Day School 1

    Tampa, Hillsborough County · Grades PK-06

    Tuition
    $13.1K/yr
    Type
    private
    • ~80 students
  4. 4

    The Brandon Montessori School

    Valrico, Hillsborough County · Grades PK-KG

    Tuition
    $17.8K/yr
    Type
    private
    • ~60 students
  5. 5

    Montessori House Day School

    Tampa, Hillsborough County · Grades PK-06

    Tuition
    $13.1K/yr
    Type
    private
    • ~40 students
  6. 6

    Montessori Preparatory School

    Temple Terrace, Hillsborough County · Grades KG-05

    Tuition
    $7.6K/yr
    Type
    private
    • ~170 students
  7. 7

    Community Montessori School

    Tampa, Hillsborough County · Grades PK-9

    Tuition
    $8.8K/yr
    Type
    private
    • ~120 students
  8. 8

    Montessori Academy Of Tampa Bay

    Tampa, Hillsborough County · Grades KG-04

    Tuition
    $7.6K/yr
    Type
    private
    • ~80 students
  9. 9

    South Shore Montessori School at Waterset

    Apollo Beach, Hillsborough County · Grades PK-2

    Tuition
    Free
    Type
    private
    • ~130 students
  10. 10

    Montessori Children's House Of Hyde Park

    Tampa, Hillsborough County · Grades PK-06

    Tuition
    Free
    Type
    private
    • ~110 students
How we rank these schools

Built relationships, not scrapers. AdmitCompass ranks schools using a composite score that blends four signals: enrollment size (a proxy for stability and program breadth), tuition reasonableness within the local market, freshness of our most recent verification, and a small bonus for schools with full admissions detail published on their profile.

Public data comes from the Florida Department of Education (FLDOE), the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), and each school's own admissions pages. The information that actually matters to most families — acceptance rates, deadlines, what a director cares about — comes from direct interviews with school directors and admissions coaches across our active markets.

We do not publish scoring weights or per-axis thresholds. That keeps the moat intact: the rankings reflect actual conversations with people inside schools, not a formula anyone with a crawler could clone. Every profile is re-verified on a 180-day cadence, and the "last updated" date is timestamped on every school page.

Read the full methodology.

Frequently asked questions

What's the average tuition for schools in Hillsborough County?
Across the 17 schools on this list, annual tuition ranges from $7.6K/yr to $17.8K/yr, with a median of $13.1K/yr. Many schools offer financial aid, sibling discounts, or accept Florida Step Up / FES scholarships — check each school's detail page for current aid policy.
How competitive is admission to private schools in Hillsborough County?
Selective private schools review transcripts, teacher recommendations, an admissions test (ISEE or SSAT for grades 5-12), and an in-person visit. Acceptance rates vary widely — some schools accept nearly every qualified applicant, while top-tier programs admit fewer than 25%. Apply 9-12 months ahead of the start date.
Do these schools accept Step Up / FES scholarships?
16 of the 17 schools on this page accept Florida's Step Up For Students / FES-EO / FES-UA scholarships. That covers most or all of tuition for income-eligible families. Each school's detail page lists the specific scholarship programs accepted.
What's the smallest and largest school on this list?
Prodigy Academy At Creekside is the smallest with 16 students; Montessori Preparatory School is the largest at 170. Smaller schools tend to offer more direct teacher contact and tighter community; larger schools usually have more elective and extracurricular breadth.
How many schools offer Montessori programs?
17 schools on this page have documented Montessori programs. Program depth varies — some schools embed it across the curriculum, others offer dedicated tracks or after-school options. Visit each school's profile for specifics.
Is this list updated?
Yes. We re-verify school data on a 180-day cadence through direct contact with admissions teams, plus cross-checks against FLDOE, NCES, and published school sources. Each school profile shows the date of its most recent verification.

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