Best Independent (non-religious) Elementary Schools in Pinellas County

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

AdmitCompass tracks 75 independent (non-religious) elementary-level schools in Pinellas County. Annual tuition ranges from $9K/yr to $24K/yr, with a median of $15.1K/yr across schools that publish a number. Clearwater has the highest concentration with 20 schools, followed by St. Petersburg (14). 51 of these schools accept Florida Step Up / FES scholarships — roughly 68% of the list — so families using state-funded scholarships have real choice here.

Elementary admissions decisions tend to weigh family fit and developmental readiness more than test scores. Most schools assess via a play-based visit at age 4-5 and rolling interviews for K-5 transfers. 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: Private, Charter, Catholic.

  1. 1

    Skycrest Christian School

    Clearwater, Pinellas County · Grades PK-08

    Tuition
    $15.7K/yr
    Type
    private
    • ~600 students
  2. 2

    Clearwater Academy International Inc.

    Clearwater, Pinellas County · Grades PK-12

    Tuition
    $15K/yr
    Type
    private
    • ~300 students
  3. 3

    Delphi Academy Of Florida

    Clearwater, Pinellas County · Grades PK-12

    Tuition
    $12K/yr
    Type
    private
    • ~300 students
  4. 4

    Country Day School

    Largo, Pinellas County · Grades PK-08

    Tuition
    $15.5K/yr
    Type
    private
    • ~250 students
  5. 5

    Safety Harbor Montessori Academy

    Clearwater, Pinellas County · Grades PK-09

    Tuition
    $17.4K/yr
    Type
    private
    • ~170 students
  6. 6

    L.i.f.t Academy

    Clearwater, Pinellas County · Grades KG-12

    Tuition
    $15.3K/yr
    Type
    private
    • ~160 students
  7. 7

    Solid Rock Community School

    Tarpon Springs, Pinellas County · Grades KG-12

    Tuition
    $16K/yr
    Type
    private
    • ~150 students
  8. 8

    Palm Harbor Montessori Academy

    Palm Harbor, Pinellas County · Grades PK-08

    Tuition
    $16.5K/yr
    Type
    private
    • ~130 students
  9. 9

    Suncoast Waldorf School

    Palm Harbor, Pinellas County · Grades PK-08

    Tuition
    $14K/yr
    Type
    private
    • ~130 students
  10. 10

    Autism Inspired Academy

    Clearwater, Pinellas County · Grades PK-12

    Tuition
    $24K/yr
    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 elementary schools in Pinellas County?
Across the 75 schools on this list, annual tuition ranges from $9K/yr to $24K/yr, with a median of $15.1K/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 in Pinellas County?
Admissions selectivity ranges from open-enrollment (most charters and parish schools) to highly selective (top independent K-12 programs). Each school's profile page lists deadlines, test requirements, and any published acceptance rate.
Do these schools accept Step Up / FES scholarships?
51 of the 75 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?
Open Door School is the smallest with 2 students; Skycrest Christian School is the largest at 603. Smaller schools tend to offer more direct teacher contact and tighter community; larger schools usually have more elective and extracurricular breadth.
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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