The top reported proficiency rate is 40% in English language arts. The lowest is 25% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on St. Vrain Community Montessori School
St. Vrain Community Montessori School is a public charter school in Longmont serving preschool through eighth grade. It operates under the St. Vrain Valley School District and offers the Montessori approach, a pedagogy that emphasizes self-directed learning, mixed-age classrooms, and hands-on exploration. Because the school only goes through eighth grade, there is no high school graduation rate to report.
The school is relatively small for its grade band and has a student body that is predominantly white, with a smaller share of Hispanic students and a modest share of students identifying as two or more races. About one in nine students qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, a rate well below what is typical in the district. Data on the share of students with disabilities and English learners was not available; a parent may want to ask the school directly about how it supports these populations and what its enrollment looks like.
State testing results show that on the 2024-25 Colorado Measures of Academic Success, math proficiency was below average across tested grades, and English language arts proficiency was higher but still below the midpoint. Compared with other Boulder County districts, the school’s overall proficiency index landed in the bottom quartile. A parent should keep in mind that the school had a very low participation rate on state tests, with only a small share of eligible students taking the exams. This makes the reported results less representative of the whole student body than they would be at a school with near-universal participation, and a parent may want to discuss the school’s assessment approach directly with staff. Science results for both fifth and eighth grade were suppressed, meaning they are not reported due to very low count or participation.
Longmont itself is a mid-sized city with a mix of residential, commercial, and industrial areas. Its downtown along Main Street has seen a revival since the 1990s and now supports a restaurant and craft brewing scene that includes well-known breweries. The city has a historic agricultural background but has shifted toward high-tech and manufacturing, with major employers including the school district itself, Seagate Technology, and several health care providers. The city has a Saturday farmers market, extensive parks and open space, and was recognized as a silver-level bicycle-friendly community. It offers bus service to Denver and Boulder and has a planned commuter rail extension that may be completed in the early 2040s. The median home value in the area is above the state average but slightly below the national figure, and rents have been rising modestly. Home affordability is stretched relative to income, which is typical for the Front Range.
The St. Vrain Valley School District won voter approval in 2024 for a large capital bond, the largest in district history, to fund school construction, renovations, and facility improvements across its many schools and programs. This signals a district-level commitment to capacity and facility quality that could matter to families choosing a school.
For a family considering St. Vrain Community Montessori, the draw is the Montessori method in a public school setting, with a small and relatively homogeneous student body. The academic results on state tests are below average and participation is low, which gives an incomplete picture. A family that values the Montessori philosophy may want to look past the test scores, but should also ask the school how it measures student progress and how it serves the full range of learners in a small charter environment.
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