The top reported proficiency rate is 41% in English language arts. The lowest is 25% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Lee Montessori Pcs
Lee Montessori PCS is a public charter school network in the District of Columbia operating two campuses, Brookland and East End, serving children from pre-kindergarten through sixth grade. As a Montessori program, it offers a particular pedagogical approach that families either seek out or do not, and that context matters when reading the state testing results that follow. Montessori classrooms emphasize self-directed work, mixed-age groupings, and hands-on materials rather than conventional whole-group instruction, and the academic data reported here reflects how children in that environment performed on DC's standard assessments.
The enrollment skews young, which is typical for Montessori programs that begin at the preschool level and see attrition as families transition to other schools for later grades. The pre-kindergarten classrooms hold the largest share of students, with each successive grade somewhat smaller. By sixth grade, only a handful of students remain. The tested grades therefore have small numbers of children sitting for state exams, which means a few students more or fewer scoring proficient can shift the results meaningfully. A parent reading these numbers should keep that small-scale context in mind.
On the DC math assessment, third graders showed the strongest performance, with roughly a third demonstrating proficiency. Fourth and fifth grade math results were lower, with about a fifth of tested students meeting the proficiency bar in each. Sixth grade math results were reported as a range, landing somewhere above the fourth and fifth grade levels but based on a very small group of test-takers. In English language arts, the pattern was different. Third grade ELA results fell in a reported range that sat below the later grades. Fourth graders reached about two-fifths proficient, and fifth graders were the strongest group, approaching half proficient. Sixth grade ELA results were reported in a range that began at zero, reflecting that no sixth graders in that very small cohort scored proficient on that assessment.
A single year of science data is available, from an earlier assessment cycle for fifth grade, showing about a quarter of students proficient. No multi-year trend data was available, so it is not possible to say from the provided information whether these results are improving, declining, or holding steady.
The student body is majority Black, with a substantial white population and smaller Hispanic, multiracial, Asian, and American Indian groups. Information on free or reduced-price lunch eligibility was not available, so the economic profile of the families served cannot be characterized from the data provided. Special education and English learner rates were also missing, so a parent wanting to understand what support services are available for those populations would need to ask the school directly.
No graduation rate applies here, because the school does not serve high school grades. No housing or community economic data was provided for the surrounding area, so this account cannot speak to the neighborhood market context families would face.
What the district brief does tell us is that the East End campus, located in Ward 8, is in the midst of substantial growth. Publicly reported information from the school indicates that East End is adding nine new classrooms in the current school year, expanding its capacity to serve more children from pre-kindergarten through sixth grade in a part of the city that has historically had little access to Montessori education. The school also participates in the My School DC lottery with Equitable Access designated seats, which give certain applicants priority in the admissions process. Families considering either campus should understand how those lottery priorities work and whether their child may qualify.
For a parent drawn to the Montessori model and looking for a public option in DC, Lee Montessori offers that pathway with two campus locations serving different parts of the city. The testing results, while based on small cohorts and showing mixed performance across grades and subjects, are one piece of the picture. The Montessori approach does not always align neatly with standard state assessments, and a family weighing this school may want to talk with teachers and administrators about how the curriculum prepares children for those tests and for the transition to middle school afterward. The expansion at East End signals institutional growth and a commitment to broadening access, which families east of the Anacostia River may find especially relevant.
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