Public Charter Montessori school in Colorado wins another award

Steamboat Montessori Charter School in Steamboat Springs has been recognized as one of Colorado’s top charter schools, according to this story from Steamboat Pilot and Today. This is the third year the school has earned the “Performance with Distinction” honor from the Colorado Charter School Institute, putting it in the top 25% of all schools in the state. 

The school’s hands-on approach and developmental focus have driven its success. “We believe that we’re being very developmentally appropriate in our approach to how we’re teaching kids,” Head of school Emily Barnhart said. “We’re finding great success with making sure that kids have hands-on access to didactic materials that then is translating into success academically as they get older,” she added.

Steamboat Montessori first opened its doors in 2016. Today, it serves 155 students across seven classrooms. “What we really want to highlight is that we’re a free option in our community for kids, and we’re not a private school,” Barnhart said.

There are currently close to 600 public Montessori schools in the United States including district, magnet, and charter programs. For more information, check out montessoricensus.org.