Desert Sky Montessori

As a cozy K-5 school in Bend, Oregon, Desert Sky Montessori works with 168 students from grades K through 6, one of the schools within Bend-LaPine Administrative SD 1. By comparison, Oregon's public schools average about 321 students each, so Desert Sky Montessori sits 48% leaner than that benchmark.

Desert Sky Montessori is one of 35 schools operated by Bend-LaPine Administrative SD 1, a district that teaches 16,838 students overall.

Looking at the student body, Desert Sky Montessori reports that 86% of students identify as White, making the school strongly White-majority. Beyond that, the school logs 7% multiracial, 5% Hispanic. Compared to Deschutes County overall, the school's racial mix sits in roughly the same range.

On the income-and-resources front, On paper, Desert Sky Montessori has 8 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 21.2:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 16.5:1, putting Desert Sky Montessori higher than the state norm the norm.

Zooming out to the county, census data for Deschutes County shows the typical household earns roughly $92,758 per year, roughly 45% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and the poverty rate sits near 5%. Across Deschutes County's 53 public schools (combined enrollment of about 25,823 students), Desert Sky Montessori is one campus in the mix.

The closest other public school is Bend International School, roughly 0.5 miles away. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Desert Sky Montessori.

Geographically, the school is in a high-density area. Desert Sky Montessori operates as a public charter school, meaning it is publicly funded but governed independently of the surrounding district's traditional schools.

Five-year trend. Over the past 7-year window, the student count climbed 66%: 101 students in 2018 compared to 168 in 2025. The White share of enrollment declined from 91% to 86% over that span. The student-to-teacher ratio tightened from 25.3:1 in 2018 to 21.2:1 today.

In the discussion threads here, the feed for Desert Sky Montessori typically covers science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.