Salida Montessori Charter School

Salida Montessori Charter School is a small public charter school in Salida, Colorado, serving 186 students in grades PK–8 under the State Charter School Institute. The school's defining feature is a striking split: its 8th graders outperform the state by roughly 40 percentage points in ELA, math, and science, while its 3rd and 4th grade ELA scores trail the state by double digits.

The middle school results are exceptional. In 2025–2026, 8th grade ELA proficiency was 84.2% versus 42.2% statewide, and 8th grade math was 77.8% versus 37.8% statewide. But All Grades ELA proficiency has fallen sharply, from 70.0% in 2023–2024 to 50.5% in 2025–2026, driving the school's state ranking down from the 65th to the 43rd percentile (2 stars). Math, meanwhile, has improved from 27.8% to 40.0%. Just a quarter mile away, Longfellow Elementary School — a traditional district school with 449 students in grades K–4 — outperforms Salida Montessori in nearly every overlapping elementary subject. Fourth grade ELA tells the story: 33.3% at Salida Montessori versus 67.4% at Longfellow, which also holds a 13.9-point advantage in overall math and earns 4 stars.

Chronic absenteeism is another concern, rising from 22.9% in 2023–2024 to 29.7% in 2024–2025 — well above Longfellow's 19.0% and slightly above the state average of 28.4%. Salida Montessori does enjoy a favorable student–teacher ratio of 13.4, compared to Longfellow's 14.7, and both its ELA and math scores are well above the State Charter School Institute district averages. The school's future ranking depends on improving early-grade literacy and reducing absenteeism while protecting the remarkable 8th grade success it has achieved.