Desert Sky Montessori

We are the only free/public/non-profit Montessori school serving Central Oregon. We serve 180 students in grades K-6 from Deschutes and Crook counties. We select students on a lottery system basis, just as public charter sponsor, Bend La Pine Schools, does, giving every family and equal chance at a private-like education (most Montessori schools in the US are private), no mattery their income level. Many of the students we serve are neurodiverse whose learning needs are accommodated by the rather individualized educational approach we provide. Established as a non-profit in 2015 and opened in 2017, we are nearing our 10th anniversary of serving Central Oregon students on our campus in Bend, Oregon. Because we receive about 50% of funding that a traditional public school does (e.g. lower amount per student, no facility support), we minimize our expenses by holding fundraisers, donations and volunteerism.