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James Simons Montessori

Q: Is James Simons Montessori a good school?

James Simons Montessori ranks 239 th of 661 South Carolina elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

Public Grades PK, KG-8

239^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 661 South Carolina Elementary Schools

Better than 64% of South Carolina elementary schools

Summary

James Simons Montessori is a public Montessori school in downtown Charleston, SC, serving 392 students in grades PK through 8 as part of the Charleston 01 school district.

This school has one of the most remarkable turnaround stories in the state. Just a decade ago, it ranked in the bottom 10% of South Carolina schools; today it sits solidly in the mid-to-upper tier (64th percentile statewide). What makes this especially impressive is that 100% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch—a demographic where lower performance is common. Despite this, the school posts standout results in reading, with 81% of 3rd graders and an extraordinary 91% of 6th graders meeting ELA standards, far outpacing district and state averages. Perhaps the most striking difference from nearby schools is attendance: only 14% of students are chronically absent, compared to 44% at Sanders-Clyde Elementary (0.7 miles away) and 47% at Mary Ford Early Childhood Learning and Family Center. The Montessori model—with its hands-on, student-driven approach—appears to keep kids engaged and coming to school.

However, there are clear challenges. While reading is a strength, math lags significantly, especially in upper grades: only 31% of 4th graders and 30% of 8th graders are proficient, well below district averages. This suggests the language-rich Montessori approach may not translate as well to math instruction. The school also spends heavily—$26,187 per student, nearly double what Orange Grove Charter School spends—yet still trails that school's performance. For parents, this is a school with genuine strengths in literacy and engagement, but one where math support at home and targeted interventions may be especially important, particularly as children move into upper elementary and middle school grades.

392

Students ?

14.2

Student/teacher ratio ?

$19,989

Per pupil spending ?

33.2%

Directly certified for free meals (2023-24) ?

All students receive free meals (Community Eligibility, 2023-24)

95%

Students (all grades) with required immunizations (2025-26)

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 — 10th percentile in 2016 → 64th in 2026

Strengths

✓Test scores above the South Carolina average (61% vs 54% meeting standards)

✓Ranking is trending up — up 54 percentile points since 2016

✓Above the South Carolina median (64th percentile)

Worth a look

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

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school61%

District avg63%

South Carolina avg54%

Elementary school

239^th of 661

South Carolina public elementary schools ?

Top 36%▲ up 54 pts since 2016

From bottom 10% (2016) to top 36% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of South Carolina Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

Middle school

30^th of 341

South Carolina public middle schools ?

Top 9%▲ up 80 pts since 2016

From bottom 12% (2016) to top 9% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of South Carolina Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

22^nd of 45Elementary Schools in the Charleston 01

22^nd 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
2026	62.9	239 of 661	63.8%	★★★☆☆
2025	63.7	234 of 639	63.4%	★★★☆☆
2024	76.6	146 of 643	77.3%	★★★★☆
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 580	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 459	62.5%	★★★☆☆

Middle school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	89.6	30 of 341	91.2%	★★★★★
2024	68.7	79 of 322	75.5%	★★★★☆
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 (2025-2026) ?

English Language Arts74%+13 vs state

Science57%+5 vs state

Mathematics50%~ state avg

★

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Schools Near James Simons Montessori

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				SC READY English Language Arts (2026)						SC READY Mathematics (2026)						SC READY Science (2026)		Vaccination (2025-26)		Per Pupil Expenditures (2026)
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	Directly certified (2023-24)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	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	Vaccination: Students (all grades) with required immunizations	Vaccination: Exemption rate	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	33.2%	219 (55.9%)	111 (28.3%)	34 (8.7%)	3 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	25 (6.4%)	62.9	239^th of 661 public elementary schools	63.8%		63.7	234^th of 639 public elementary schools	63.4%	5	81.1	61.1	70.0	90.9			62.1	30.6	60.0	50.0			41.6	81.8	95%		$19,989	$809	$555	$1,364	$15,235	$3,390	$18,625
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	90.5%	6 (3.2%)	167 (88.8%)	5 (2.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (5.3%)	8.7	640^th of 661 public elementary schools	3.2%		7.3	621^st of 639 public elementary schools	2.8%	19	28.5	25.1	45.0				33.4	12.6	40.0				18.7		96%		$29,668	$2,756	$1,086	$3,841	$20,385	$5,442	$25,827
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	94.1%	9 (2.4%)	326 (88.3%)	12 (3.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	21 (5.7%)	25.2	495^th of 661 public elementary schools	25.1%		26	479^th of 639 public elementary schools	25.0%	16	46.0	52.3	46.2				50.0	34.1	30.8				43.2		90%		$26,926	$1,727	$1,201	$2,928	$19,292	$4,706	$23,998
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	73.2%	0 (0.0%)	151 (100.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	35.2	428^th of 661 public elementary schools	35.2%					(n/a)				57.7		65.0				15.3		15.0		42.3	≥ 96%		$20,812	$1,411	$625	$2,036	$14,331	$4,446	$18,777
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	80.8%	2 (1.1%)	173 (94.0%)	3 (1.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (3.3%)	54.3	284^th of 661 public elementary schools	57.0%		44.8	342^nd of 639 public elementary schools	46.5%	58	68.9	70.0	58.8				62.0	45.0	38.2				65.0		96%		$31,322	$1,214	$1,184	$2,398	$22,311	$6,613	$28,924
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	48.7%	221 (50.5%)	176 (40.2%)	11 (2.5%)	3 (0.7%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	26 (5.9%)	33.3	436^th of 661 public elementary schools	34.0%		30.2	449^th of 639 public elementary schools	29.7%	13	53.0	55.5	37.1				53.0	47.2	31.5				52.8		96%		$20,141	$773	$606	$1,379	$14,866	$3,896	$18,762
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	35.2%	450 (58.5%)	166 (21.6%)	82 (10.7%)	15 (2.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.3%)	54 (7.0%)	82.6	104^th of 661 public elementary schools	84.3%		86.3	75^th of 639 public elementary schools	88.3%	29	81.6	76.5	66.1				83.2	67.2	61.7				73.1		95%		$15,639	$817	$475	$1,292	$11,579	$2,768	$14,347
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	31.4%	483 (77.8%)	71 (11.4%)	29 (4.7%)	7 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.5%)	28 (4.5%)	90.4	47^th of 661 public elementary schools	92.9%		91.1	41^st of 639 public elementary schools	93.6%	6	78.3	82.8	87.5				76.6	73.1	75.0				80.7		96%		$15,782	$908	$467	$1,375	$11,358	$3,049	$14,407
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	18.8%	948 (81.0%)	95 (8.1%)	49 (4.2%)	24 (2.1%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	53 (4.5%)	96.3	15^th of 661 public elementary schools	97.7%		96.6	11^th of 639 public elementary schools	98.3%	4	86.5	94.0	91.1	87.3	80.5	94.0	86.4	85.2	88.9	82.6	79.4	86.2	74.0	81.0	96%		$4,280	$485	$255	$740	$2,705	$836	$3,541
Mary Ford Early Childhood Learning and Family Center	Public	PK-K	3180 Thomasina McPherson Boulevard	North Charleston	29405	Charleston County	Charleston 01	No	No	No	Yes	(843) 745-7131	244	26	9.3	91.9%	2 (0.8%)	214 (87.7%)	17 (7.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (4.5%)								(n/a)															89%		$30,943	$1,035	$1,427	$2,462	$22,949	$5,532	$28,481

Frequently Asked Questions about James Simons Montessori

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

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.

Is James Simons Montessori a good school?

James Simons Montessori ranks 239^th of 661 South Carolina elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

How many students attend James Simons Montessori?

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

What district is James Simons Montessori in?

Charleston 01

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Latest South Carolina data All new data »

2024–25 through 2025–26 immunization ratesNewOct 20, 2026

2025–26 school spending dataOct 12, 2026

2025–26 attendance data, dropout rates & graduation ratesOct 12, 2026

2025–26 EOCEP & SC READY test scoresAug 10, 2026

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.