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James Simons Montessori

Q: Is James Simons Montessori a good school?

James Simons Montessori ranks 234 th of 640 South Carolina elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

Public Grades PK, KG-8

234^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 640 South Carolina Elementary Schools

Better than 63% of South Carolina elementary schools

Summary

James Simons Montessori is a public elementary school serving 371 students in grades PK-8 in Charleston, South Carolina, which is part of the Charleston 01 school district. Despite facing challenges such as high poverty and chronic absenteeism, the school has consistently outperformed the district and state in standardized test scores, suggesting it is effectively utilizing its resources to support student learning.

James Simons Montessori has a 100% free and reduced lunch rate, indicating all students come from low-income households. This is a key differentiating factor compared to nearby schools like Harbor View Elementary and Orange Grove Charter School, which have a more diverse student population in terms of socioeconomic status. The school's high per-student spending and relatively low student-teacher ratio suggest it is well-resourced and able to provide more individualized attention to its students, which may contribute to its academic success.

However, the school has struggled with high chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 15.5% to 24.7% in recent years, which is significantly higher than the state average. This is an area of concern that warrants further investigation and targeted interventions to address the underlying causes. Overall, James Simons Montessori appears to be a high-performing school that is effectively utilizing its resources to support student learning, despite the challenges of serving a predominantly low-income student population.

392

Students ?

14.2

Student/teacher ratio ?

$26,187

Per pupil spending ?

100%

Free/discounted lunch ?

741 King Street
Charleston, SC 29403

(843) 724-7763

District: Charleston 01

Students who attend James Simons Montessori usually attend:

Middle:	Simmons Pinckney Middle
High:	Burke High

Racial breakdown:

White:

55.9%

African American:

28.3%

Hispanic:

8.7%

See top rated South Carolina elementary schools

Compare James Simons Montessori to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 14th percentile in 2015 → 63rd in 2025

Strengths

✓Test scores above the South Carolina average (59% vs 54% meeting standards)

✓Ranking is trending up — up 49 percentile points since 2015

✓Above the South Carolina median (63rd percentile)

Worth a look

!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school59%

District avg60%

South Carolina avg54%

234^th of 640

South Carolina public elementary schools ?

Top 37%▲ up 49 pts since 2015

From bottom 14% (2015) to top 37% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of South Carolina Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

22^nd of 43Elementary Schools in the Charleston 01

23^rd of 75Charleston 01 among South Carolina districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Elementary school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	63.7	234 of 640	63.4%	★★★☆☆
2024	76.6	144 of 638	77.4%	★★★★☆
2023	62.3	233 of 644	63.8%	★★★☆☆
2022	56.1	265 of 625	57.6%	★★★☆☆
2021	42.8	356 of 622	42.8%	★★☆☆☆
2019	14.3	573 of 643	10.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	16.1	547 of 624	12.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	7.2	623 of 639	2.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2016	15.7	558 of 619	9.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	22.5	548 of 638	14.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2014	23.9	536 of 630	14.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	32.5	455 of 599	24.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	38.5	413 of 594	30.5%	★★☆☆☆
2011	40.5	404 of 597	32.3%	★★☆☆☆
2010	21.3	522 of 589	11.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	14.7	535 of 580	7.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2008	12.9	539 of 577	6.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2007	20.2	496 of 566	12.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2006	22.3	478 of 559	14.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2005	21.5	483 of 557	13.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2004	23.7	463 of 550	15.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2003	27.3	433 of 542	20.1%	★☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2022	33.0	276 of 393	29.8%	★★☆☆☆
2021	23.4	300 of 350	14.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	12.2	408 of 421	3.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	13.2	398 of 412	3.4%	☆☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	51.6	274 of 581	52.8%	★★★☆☆
2019	9.2	556 of 588	5.4%	☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2022	22.7	484 of 600	19.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	17.8	494 of 580	14.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	8.2	584 of 600	2.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	7.4	583 of 588	0.9%	☆☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2021	45.0	311 of 561	44.6%	★★☆☆☆
2019	29.9	422 of 590	28.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	18.1	498 of 571	12.8%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	63.6	172 of 460	62.6%	★★★☆☆

Middle school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2024	68.7	81 of 325	75.1%	★★★★☆
2023	44.3	173 of 325	46.8%	★★☆☆☆
2022	13.2	283 of 310	8.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	22.9	238 of 311	23.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	5.7	311 of 315	1.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	6.9	297 of 303	2.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2017	6.3	312 of 317	1.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2016	15.9	268 of 303	11.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	22.4	246 of 301	18.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2014	21.9	244 of 291	16.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	58.4	117 of 276	57.6%	★★★☆☆
2012	23.0	231 of 271	14.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	5.0	263 of 269	2.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2010	7.7	249 of 261	4.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2009	31.3	195 of 249	21.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	8.1	235 of 244	3.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2007	40.3	160 of 236	32.2%	★★☆☆☆
2006	7.0	222 of 231	3.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2005	37.3	160 of 230	30.4%	★★☆☆☆
2004	32.2	168 of 230	27.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2003	17.9	199 of 225	11.6%	★☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2022	33.0	177 of 249	28.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	10.0	249 of 252	1.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	13.0	234 of 237	1.3%	☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2022	17.4	269 of 300	10.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	10.9	265 of 280	5.4%	☆☆☆☆☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

Elementary school

White (2025)63rd percentile~ school

Female (2025)53rd percentile-11 vs school

Male (2021)45th percentile~ school

African American (2022)30th percentile-28 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2022)19th percentile-38 vs school

Middle school

African American (2022)29th percentile+20 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2022)10th percentile~ school

By subject vs South Carolina (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts73%+12 vs state

Science59%+10 vs state

Mathematics45%-3 vs state

★

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Schools Near James Simons Montessori

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				SC READY English Language Arts (2025)						SC READY Mathematics (2025)						SC READY Science (2025)		EOCEP Algebra 1/Mathematics for the Technologies 2 (2025)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	SC READY English Language Arts 3rd Grade	SC READY English Language Arts 4th Grade	SC READY English Language Arts 5th Grade	SC READY English Language Arts 6th Grade	SC READY English Language Arts 7th Grade	SC READY English Language Arts 8th Grade	SC READY Mathematics 3rd Grade	SC READY Mathematics 4th Grade	SC READY Mathematics 5th Grade	SC READY Mathematics 6th Grade	SC READY Mathematics 7th Grade	SC READY Mathematics 8th Grade	SC READY Science 4th Grade	SC READY Science 6th Grade	EOCEP Algebra 1/Mathematics for the Technologies 2 End of Course	Per Pupil Expenditures: Total	Personnel Spending from Federal Funds	Non-Personnel Spending from Federal Funds	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Personnel Spending from State and Local Funds	Non-Personnel from State and Local Funds	Sub-total Spending from State and Local Funds
James Simons Montessori	Public	PK, KG-8	741 King Street	Charleston	29403	Charleston County	Charleston 01	No	No	No	Yes	(843) 724-7763	392	28	14.2		219 (55.9%)	111 (28.3%)	34 (8.7%)	3 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	25 (6.4%)	63.7	234^th of 640 public elementary schools	63.4%		76.6	144^th of 638 public elementary schools	77.4%	90	70.0	75.0	77.8			65.0	50.0	59.4	33.3			30.0	59.4			$26,187	$3,838	$1,653	$5,491	$17,053	$3,643	$20,696
Mitchell Elementary	Public, Magnet	PK, KG-5	2 Perry Street	Charleston	29403	Charleston County	Charleston 01	No	Yes	No	Yes	(843) 724-7261	188	24	7.8		6 (3.2%)	167 (88.8%)	5 (2.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (5.3%)	7.3	622^nd of 640 public elementary schools	2.8%		8	615^th of 638 public elementary schools	3.6%	7	17.2		24.4				41.3		17.8							$36,173	$8,691	$2,278	$10,969	$18,813	$6,391	$25,204
Sanders-Clyde Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	805 Morrison Drive	Charleston	29403	Charleston County	Charleston 01	No	No	No	Yes	(843) 724-7783	369	40	9.2		9 (2.4%)	326 (88.3%)	12 (3.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	21 (5.7%)	26	480^th of 640 public elementary schools	25.0%		15.2	553^rd of 638 public elementary schools	13.3%	73	44.0	47.4	47.1				42.0	47.4	35.3				36.8			$39,483	$8,228	$3,738	$11,966	$22,862	$4,655	$27,517
Charleston Development Academy	Public, Charter	PK, KG-8	233 Line Street	Charleston	29403	Charleston County	Charleston 01	Yes	No	No	Yes	(843) 722-2689	151	15	10.2		0 (0.0%)	151 (100.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)					65.2	87.5					0.0	16.7
Charleston Progressive	Public, Magnet	PK, KG-5	382 Meeting Street	Charleston	29403	Charleston County	Charleston 01	No	Yes	No	Yes	(843) 720-2967	184	21	8.5		2 (1.1%)	173 (94.0%)	3 (1.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (3.3%)	44.8	342^nd of 640 public elementary schools	46.6%		44.8	353^rd of 638 public elementary schools	44.7%	11	54.5	65.7	52.0				63.6	40.6	64.0				25.0			$36,481	$7,724	$2,465	$10,188	$20,136	$6,156	$26,292
Memminger Elementary	Public, Magnet	PK, KG-5	20 Beaufain Street	Charleston	29401	Charleston County	Charleston 01	No	Yes	No	Yes	(843) 724-7778	438	37	11.8		221 (50.5%)	176 (40.2%)	11 (2.5%)	3 (0.7%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	26 (5.9%)	30.2	450^th of 640 public elementary schools	29.7%		19.7	526^th of 638 public elementary schools	17.6%	76	62.1	47.6	40.7				56.7	38.0	34.4				28.6			$26,342	$4,773	$1,844	$6,616	$15,297	$4,429	$19,726
St. Andrew's School of Math and Science	Public, Magnet	PK, KG-5	30 Chadwick Drive	Charleston	29407	Charleston County	Charleston 01	No	Yes	No	No	(843) 763-1503	769	52	14.8		450 (58.5%)	166 (21.6%)	82 (10.7%)	15 (2.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.3%)	54 (7.0%)	86.3	75^th of 640 public elementary schools	88.3%		89.7	57^th of 638 public elementary schools	91.1%	18	75.9	73.6	80.6				80.0	70.5	70.9				65.6			$18,113	$3,633	$1,283	$4,916	$10,805	$2,392	$13,197
Harbor View Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	1576 Harbor View Road	Charleston	29412	Charleston County	Charleston 01	No	No	No	No	(843) 762-2749	621	42	14.6		483 (77.8%)	71 (11.4%)	29 (4.7%)	7 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.5%)	28 (4.5%)	91.1	41^st of 640 public elementary schools	93.6%		89.7	58^th of 638 public elementary schools	90.9%	17	80.9	83.0	82.1				77.6	75.8	69.5				73.7			$16,949	$2,536	$1,313	$3,849	$10,363	$2,737	$13,100
Orange Grove Charter School	Public, Charter	PK, KG-8	1225 Orange Branch Road	Charleston	29407	Charleston County	Charleston 01	Yes	No	No	No	(843) 763-1520	1,170	75	15.5		948 (81.0%)	95 (8.1%)	49 (4.2%)	24 (2.1%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	53 (4.5%)	96.6	11^th of 640 public elementary schools	98.3%		97.3	6^th of 638 public elementary schools	99.1%	5	90.9	88.7	85.2	80.0	89.1	82.5	90.9	87.2	82.9	78.3	77.5	54.4	81.9	75.0	98.4	$14,448	$1,546	$1,080	$2,625	$10,296	$1,527	$11,823
Mary Ford Early Childhood Learning and Family Center	Public	PK-K	3180 Thomasina McPherson Boule	North Charleston	29405	Charleston County	Charleston 01	No	No	No	Yes	(843) 745-7131	244	26	9.3		2 (0.8%)	214 (87.7%)	17 (7.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (4.5%)								(n/a)																$98,909	$15,099	$9,014	$24,114	$59,023	$15,772	$74,795

Frequently Asked Questions about James Simons Montessori

What district is James Simons Montessori in?

Charleston 01

Is James Simons Montessori a good school?

James Simons Montessori ranks 234^th of 640 South Carolina elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

What is the racial makeup of James Simons Montessori?

Students at James Simons Montessori are 56% White, 28% African American, 9% Hispanic, 6% Two or more races.

What schools do graduates of James Simons Montessori attend?

Students who attend James Simons Montessori usually go on to attend:

Middle : Simmons Pinckney Middle
High : Burke High

How many students attend James Simons Montessori?

In the 2024-25 school year, 392 students attended James Simons Montessori.

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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the South Carolina Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.