1
Calvary Christian High School
Clearwater·Pinellas County·Grades 9-12·~895 students
Accepts scholarshipsChristianCo-edAffordable
Tuition$18.9K/yr
TypeChristian
Students~895
Best Private Pre-K Schools for STEM
Independent rankings of Private Pre-K schools with STEM programs, built from director interviews and verified data — never from school payments.
11 schools indexed0 director-verifiedUpdated this week
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We track 11 private pre-k-level schools across our active markets in Florida and New York. Annual tuition ranges from $15.5K/yr to $48K/yr, with a median of $24K/yr across schools that publish a number. 7 of these schools accept Florida Step Up / FES scholarships — roughly 64% 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).
Showing 10 of 11 schools
- 2Jesuit High School
Tampa·Hillsborough County·Grades 9-12·~860 students
Accepts scholarshipsCatholicTuition$23.9K/yrTypeCatholicStudents~860 - 3Admiral Farragut Academy
St. Petersburg·Pinellas County·Grades K-12·~541 students
Accepts scholarshipsNone (nonsectarian)Co-edTuition$24.9K/yrTypeNone (nonsectarian)Students~541 - 4Academy at the Lakes
Land O' Lakes·Pasco County·Grades PK3-12·~540 students
Accepts scholarshipsNone (non-denominational, values-based)Co-edTuition$24K/yrTypeNone (non-denominational, values-based)Students~540 - 5Saint Paul's School
Clearwater·Pinellas County·Grades PK-08·~392 students
Accepts scholarshipsEpiscopalianCo-edTuition$25.5K/yrTypeEpiscopalianStudents~392 - 6Tampa Preparatory School
Tampa·Hillsborough County·Grades 6-12·~707 students
None (nonsectarian)Co-edTuition$34.3K/yrTypeNone (nonsectarian)Students~707 - 7Country Day School
Largo·Pinellas County·Grades PK-08·~273 students
Accepts scholarshipsCo-edAffordableTuition$15.5K/yrTypePrivateStudents~273 - 8Ransom Everglades School
Coconut Grove·Miami-Dade County·Grades 6-12·~1,100 students
None (secular independent)Tuition$48K/yrTypeNone (secular independent)Students~1,100 - 9Valrico Academy
Riverview·Hillsborough County·Grades K-5·~928 students
DOE 2026
TuitionFreeTypeCharterStudents~928 - 10Kinovu School Of Lithia
Valrico·Hillsborough County·Grades PK-05
Accepts scholarshipsCo-edAffordableTuition$16K/yrTypePrivateStudents—
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.
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Frequently asked questions
What's the average tuition for pre-k schools?
Across the 11 schools on this list, annual tuition ranges from $15.5K/yr to $48K/yr, with a median of $24K/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?
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?
7 of the 11 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?
Big Bend Academy Of Math And Science is the smallest with 16 students; Ransom Everglades School is the largest at 1100. 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 STEM programs?
11 schools on this page have documented STEM 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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