James Simons Montessori, 741 King St.: pre-K through eighth grade, 392 students in 2024-25, rated Good for middle grades and Average for elementary grades.

Last checked Oct. 16, 2026. Sources: the school’s website; the school’s leaders page; Charleston County School District’s school lookup tool, 2026-27 academic calendar and 2026-27 bell schedule; the S.C. Department of Education’s 2024-25 report card data files; the federal NCES school directory.

James Simons Montessori is a public Montessori school in Charleston County School District, on upper King Street on the peninsula. On South Carolina’s 2024-25 report card it was rated Good for its middle grades, with 50 points, and Average for its elementary grades, with 52 points.

Who to call
Address 741 King St., Charleston, SC 29403
Phone 843-724-7763
Grades Pre-K to 8
District Charleston County School District
School hours 7:40 a.m. to 2:40 p.m.
State school ID 1001079

Principal

Principal Elizabeth Dillenkoffer, according to the school’s leaders page.

Enrollment and teachers

  • State count: 392 students in the 2024-25 school year, according to the state’s report card data.
  • Federal count: 371 students in the 2023-24 school year, with 24 full-time-equivalent teachers, according to the NCES directory. That is about 15 students per teacher.

State report card

South Carolina rates every public school each year as Excellent, Good, Average, Below Average or Unsatisfactory. An Excellent rating means “school performance substantially exceeds the criteria to ensure all students meet the Profile of the SC Graduate,” according to the state’s report card site. The overall rating is built from indicators such as academic achievement, preparing for success, student progress, English learners’ progress and school climate, with graduation rate and college and career readiness added for high schools.

2024-25 rating for middle grades: Good, 50 points. On the state’s middle school scale, Excellent 56 to 100, Good 48 to 55, Average 36 to 47, Below Average 29 to 35 and Unsatisfactory 28 and below.

Indicator 2024-25 rating
Academic achievement Good
Student progress Average
School climate Average

On the spring 2025 SC READY tests in grades 6 to 8, 68.6% of students met or exceeded expectations in English language arts and 39.2% in math, according to the state’s report card data.

2024-25 rating for elementary grades: Average, 52 points. On the state’s elementary scale, Excellent 61 to 100, Good 53 to 60, Average 42 to 52, Below Average 34 to 41 and Unsatisfactory 33 and below.

Indicator 2024-25 rating
Academic achievement Good
Preparing for success Good
Student progress Average
School climate Below Average

On the spring 2025 SC READY tests in grades 3 to 5, 73.1% of students met or exceeded expectations in English language arts and 45.2% in math; on the state science test, 62.1% did, according to the state’s report card data.

Across Charleston County School District, in grades 3 to 8, the figures were 67.6% in English, 56.2% in math and 57.2% in science.

The full report cards, with test results by group, teacher data, school safety and spending, are on the state’s SC School Report Cards site: middle grades card and elementary grades card. The state publishes new ratings each fall.

Attendance zone

Check an address with the district’s school lookup tool, which the district links from its lookup page.

James Simons is the zoned school for part of the peninsula for kindergarten to fifth grade, and the constituent Montessori option for the rest of the peninsula. The district’s application page says families who want a Montessori seat for 3- or 4-year-olds or for middle grades must apply through School Choice, “even if the student resides in the enrollment zone of the Montessori school.” The neighborhood zone feeds Simmons-Pinckney Middle and Burke High. In the 2026-27 layers it shares its area with Sanders-Clyde Elementary, which takes in Mitchell Elementary’s former zone.

We did not find a published feeder list on the district’s site, so these pairings come from the district’s own zone layers, for 2025-26 and 2026-27; where a zone is split, the street address decides.

Calendar and school hours

James Simons Montessori follows Charleston County School District’s 2026-27 calendar. Coming dates from the academic calendar (PDF):

  • Tuesday, Nov. 3: Election Day, schools closed
  • Nov. 23-24: no school; both are weather make-up days if the district needs them
  • Nov. 25-27: fall break
  • Friday, Dec. 18: half day
  • Dec. 21 to Jan. 1: winter break; students return Tuesday, Jan. 5

School hours: 7:40 a.m. to 2:40 p.m., with arrival from 7:15 a.m., according to the district’s 2026-27 bell schedule (PDF). Early-release days end at 12:40 p.m. and half days at 10:55 a.m.

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Frequently asked questions

What grades does James Simons Montessori serve?

James Simons Montessori serves pre-K through eighth grade, according to the state’s 2024-25 report card.

What is James Simons Montessori’s school rating?

James Simons Montessori was rated Good for its middle grades, with 50 points, and Average for its elementary grades, with 52 points, on South Carolina’s 2024-25 school report card, the latest the state has published.

Which high school does James Simons Montessori feed into?

In Charleston County School District’s zone layers, the James Simons Montessori zone feeds Simmons-Pinckney Middle and then Burke High.

What time does James Simons Montessori start?

The school day runs 7:40 a.m. to 2:40 p.m., with arrival from 7:15 a.m., according to the district’s 2026-27 bell schedule.