Alternative to School Without Walls | Templeton Independent School

If School Without Walls is on your list, you already know what you're looking for: a school that uses Washington, DC as a classroom, where learning extends beyond four walls into the institutions, communities, and civic spaces that make this city extraordinary. You want your child engaged with the real world, not just reading about it.

The challenge is getting in.

School Without Walls is a DC public selective school with lottery-based admissions. For every family that receives a seat, others are left without one — regardless of how well the philosophy fits their child. And because SWW begins in 9th grade, families who want this kind of education for middle schoolers are left waiting.

Templeton Academy shares School Without Walls' foundational commitment to experiential, city-integrated education — but as an independent school with guaranteed placement, a middle school program starting in 6th grade, and classes of just 10 students. If the SWW philosophy resonates with your family, Templeton delivers it with the personalization and certainty that the public system can't provide.

The Same Philosophy: The City as Your Classroom

What makes School Without Walls distinctive in the DC landscape is its commitment to using the city's resources as extensions of the classroom. Templeton was built on the same premise.

Templeton's Fieldwork program — one of the three foundational pillars of a Templeton education — takes students into DC's civic, cultural, and institutional landscape every week:

• The Smithsonian museums: where students have published research in collaboration with Smithsonian researchers
• Capitol Hill: studying legislative processes, democratic governance, and civic engagement through firsthand observation
• Federal agencies and government offices: connecting classroom content to the work of governance
• Embassies and international organizations: exploring diplomacy and global perspectives
• Community organizations and cultural landmarks: service learning, primary-source research, and place-based investigation

Like School Without Walls, Templeton believes that DC itself is the most powerful educational resource available to students in the nation's capital. The difference is structural: at Templeton, this philosophy is delivered within an independent school framework that provides smaller classes, daily mentorship, and guaranteed access.

Where Templeton Goes Further

While the philosophical alignment with School Without Walls is strong, Templeton's independent school model provides advantages that the public school system structurally cannot:

Starts in 6th grade, not 9th. School Without Walls begins in high school. Templeton's middle school (grades 6–8) gives families three additional years of project-based, experiential education during the critical developmental period when learning habits and academic identity form.

Average of 10 students per class. School Without Walls is an excellent school, but it operates within the constraints of public school class sizes. At Templeton, classes of 10 students ensure every learner receives genuinely individualized attention — the kind of mentorship that transforms the student-teacher relationship from transactional to transformative.

Daily Core Advisory. Every Templeton student has a dedicated faculty mentor who guides their social-emotional development, academic planning, and personal purpose discovery through the Core Advisory program. This daily, structured mentorship goes well beyond what any homeroom or advisory period in a public school can provide.

Curriculum flexibility. As an independent school, Templeton isn't bound by DCPS testing mandates or standardized curriculum requirements. Our teachers design learning experiences around student needs, real-world relevance, and mastery — not test preparation.

One-on-one college counseling beginning in ninth grade, with counselors who know each student's strengths, passions, and aspirations from years of close relationship.

How the Two Schools Compare

Both schools produce engaged, capable graduates. The question is whether the lottery uncertainty, later start date, and larger class sizes of the public model are worth the cost savings — or whether the guaranteed access, earlier start, and deep personalization of Templeton's independent school model better serve your child.

Available to All Students

School Without Walls selects students through DC's lottery system. Your child's admission depends on factors outside their control — and outside yours.

Templeton's admissions process is holistic and relationship-based. We look for students who are intellectually curious, motivated, and ready to engage — and we welcome families from DC, Virginia, and Maryland. There's no lottery, no audition, and no minimum test score. If the philosophy fits your child, there's a pathway to enrollment.

For families who've been turned away by the lottery — or who don't want to leave their child's education to chance — Templeton offers certainty.

Addressing the Investment

School Without Walls is free. Templeton is $35,000 per year. That's a real difference, and it deserves honest consideration.

Here's what you're investing in: classes averaging 10 students instead of 20+, a middle school program that begins three years earlier, daily Core Advisory mentorship, one-on-one college counseling, independent school curriculum flexibility, and weekly Fieldwork that's been refined over a decade. Need-based financial aid is available through Clarity, and applying for aid does not affect admissions.

For families who value the SWW philosophy but want it delivered with greater personalization, earlier access, and guaranteed placement, Templeton represents a meaningful return on that investment.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Templeton a "backup" for families who didn't get into School Without Walls?

Not at all. Many Templeton families choose us instead of lottery schools — specifically for the smaller classes, earlier start (6th grade), daily Core Advisory, and guaranteed access. Templeton is a first-choice independent school for families who share the SWW philosophy but want the advantages that independent school structure provides.

Both schools use DC as a classroom. What's actually different?

The core philosophy is similar. The structural differences are significant: Templeton's classes are roughly half the size, every student has a dedicated daily advisor, the program starts three years earlier, and the curriculum has independent school flexibility to design learning experiences around student needs rather than standardized testing mandates.

Can my child attend Templeton for middle school and then apply to School Without Walls for high school?

Yes. Templeton's middle school (grades 6–8) provides an excellent foundation for any high school path. Students who transition to other schools arrive with project management, public speaking, and independent learning skills that set them apart. Many families, however, choose to continue at Templeton through 12th grade because of the program's continuity and strength.

Experience the Philosophy — Without the Lottery

We invite DC families to schedule a campus tour and see Templeton's experiential model in action. If School Without Walls' philosophy appeals to you, visit Templeton and experience how that same commitment to city-integrated learning works within an independent school built for personalization.

No lottery required. Contact us to schedule your visit.

Now enrolling grades 6–12.