The top reported proficiency rate is 60% in English language arts. The lowest is 33% in Social studies.
Original Research by School Decision on Edmonson Montessori
Edmonson Montessori sits on Canfield Street in Detroit's Midtown area, part of the Detroit Public Schools Community District. It is a regular public school with a Montessori approach, serving grades from pre-kindergarten through eighth, though the current enrollment is concentrated in the early and middle elementary years, with the upper grades quite small and no students listed in pre-kindergarten or eighth grade for the most recent year. The school draws a predominantly Black student body, with a smaller white enrollment and a handful of students from other racial backgrounds. A moderate share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.
The Montessori designation is the defining feature here. Families considering Edmonson should understand that Montessori pedagogy emphasizes self-directed work, multi-age classrooms, and hands-on materials rather than conventional whole-group instruction. This is a question of fit and philosophy, not of quality. For families drawn to that model, Edmonson offers a public-school version of it within a large urban district, which makes it unusual in the Detroit landscape.
On state assessments, the results from the most recent year are mixed but generally above what many Wayne County schools post. In English language arts, third graders showed a strong majority of students reaching proficiency, and fifth graders did even better, with most of that grade's tested students proficient. Fourth and sixth graders landed closer to the middle. Math results were more uneven: third grade was the strongest, with a majority proficient, but fourth and sixth grades dipped below that level, and fifth grade sat in between. Science proficiency for fifth grade was solid, with roughly half of tested students proficient. Social studies was the softest spot, with only about a third of fifth graders reaching proficiency. Taken together, Edmonson's overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades places it in the top quartile relative to districts in Wayne County, which is a strong standing for a Detroit public school.
A parent may want to look into the upper grades further. Seventh and eighth grade state test results were suppressed because no students were tested in those grades for the most recent cycle, and the enrollment figures show very few students in those upper grades. This means families with older children may find limited peer cohorts here, and the school's academic picture is really an elementary-grade picture. Whether the Montessori model extends robustly through the middle grades, or whether the school functions primarily as an elementary program in practice, is something a family would want to ask about directly.
Several data gaps are worth naming. The school's individualized education program rate and English learner rate were not available, so there is no way to characterize special populations from the provided data. Discipline data, staffing levels, attendance figures, and chronic absenteeism rates were also absent. Program offerings beyond the Montessori label were not reported. Title I status was not listed. None of these gaps reflect a finding of weakness; they simply mean the data on this page does not cover those dimensions.
The surrounding community is Detroit itself, and Edmonson's location places it in one of the city's more walkable and culturally active zones. Midtown anchors the Detroit Institute of Arts, the main branch of the Detroit Public Library, and a concentration of restaurants and small businesses. The city has seen two consecutive years of population growth after decades of decline, with publicly reported development concentrated in Midtown, Corktown, and the East Riverfront. The district has announced a multi-year facilities improvement plan aimed at renovating and modernizing school buildings across Detroit Public Schools Community District, which could affect Edmonson's physical environment in coming years.
Housing in the school's zip code carries a typical home value above both the Wayne County median listing price and the state benchmark, reflecting the relative desirability of the Midtown area within the broader Detroit market. Rents are moderate relative to national income figures. The county market currently shows a large inventory of active listings, with prices edging down modestly year over year and homes taking a bit longer to sell than they did a year ago, suggesting a market with growing supply and softening demand.
Edmonson Montessori fits a family looking for a public Montessori option in a central Detroit neighborhood, especially for the elementary years, where the school's test results are strongest and its enrollment is healthiest. The upper grades are thin, and several important data dimensions are missing from what was available. A family with children approaching middle school would want to have a direct conversation with the school about what those later years look like in practice before committing.
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