Our child is absolutely THRIVING at Mackintosh and has become a more confident person since…read morestarting at Mack over a year ago. Like many kids, my son was apprehensive about changing schools, but within a month he realized that he was where he belonged, and now he tries to spend every extra minute he can at school attending before or after school clubs. The International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum is an excellent basis for in-depth education and exploration, but the true strength of Mackintosh is the amazing teaching faculty and staff. All of the teachers seem to love their jobs and their students and with the low student/teacher ratios, the teachers truly know the kids and how to elicit their best thinking and work. Like all learners, gifted students have strengths and weaknesses, and the teachers are able to offer broad enrichment to support a student's strengths as well as support and scaffolding for a student's challenge areas. They are able to support a learner who may be three years ahead in math, but who finds writing a struggle. The teachers are willing to differentiate instruction and assignments and meet students where they are and gently push them to grow and believe in their abilities. Some more things that I love about the school: amazing grade-level theatrical performances, multi-day nature-based field trips for the older grades, outside lunch as weather allows, and a well-rounded curriculum that includes PE every day, plus either performing or visual arts every day and a period every day that is split between Spanish some days and design others. I wish more kids could experience a Mackintosh education. I saw some comments about bullying. I am not personally aware of any bullying at the school, and I haven't had any parents share any bullying experiences with me. Also, I haven't experienced any "cliques" among the parents. Everyone seems very nice and genuine. If you have a gifted learner who would benefit from a warm, enriching, education, we strongly recommend that you consider Mackintosh Academy.

My daughter went to Mackintosh. I believe Mackintosh was instrumental in her development. They…read morereally work hard on teaching students the why, the how, and they emphasize on "critical thinking" , evaluating arguments, and analyzing information (areas other schools don't have time or resources for) We also were lucky the school created a "heritage Spanish" class for a few kids like my daughter who were raised bilingual. Maria Cardona was in charge of creating from scratch the curriculum for a handful of kids for a few years. My daughter improved in her writing and reading comprehension a lot. The topics covered during all those years touched on many areas so I'm very appreciative of Maria Cardona's creative curriculum and patience throughout those years. We also had very good experiences with all classes, from advanced math, to art, and everything in between. I'm sure that will be key for my daughter's high school and college future

Our son attended MHA for kindergarten and first grade. Here are the positives: people are kind. Our…read moreson's elementary teacher Ms A rocked it. MHA staff was very open to communication. MHA community seemed to have good hearted people in majority. Here are some of the negative experiences we had: Covid management and operations management spoke unprepared and very weak. After care homework program was very unique. Staff did not communicate properly in regards to bullying that was going in the classroom. School should have been more transparent on bullying policies.

This school has been amazing for both of my children this is a close knit family at Mile High. You…read morealso have some of the alumni working here as well.I'm very happy I found this school.The parents also have been very inviting and helpful.

I am the building engineer at this school. I've worked at a few other schools and this is by far…read morethe best. The staff is friendly and its a very clean well organized school. I wouldn't prefer any other school.

I remember going to this church when I was 4/5 years old. I had a great time. God bless!read more

This school has been wonderful! My daughter goes twice a week for preschool and has absolutely…read morebloomed. She has learned so much. I'm so grateful for the teachers.

If I could give Aspen Academy 10 stars I would. I moved my child here after she attended public…read moreschool for kindergarten. I was very concerned with the lack of attention as well as other issues in general at the public school system. We took a tour of Aspen Academy in January 2019, and my child spent the day there shadowing other students in the kindergarten class. When I came to pick her up she was all smiles. Fast forward to today. My daughter has been in the first grade class at Aspen Academy for over half of the school year, and every day I pick her up she is smiling and wanting to tell me about everything that happened during her day. The school is innovative, welcoming, kind, inclusive, forward thinking and so much more. The parent community is strong and supportive. The overall student community is strong and supportive. This school is developing the leaders of today and the future. I always feel that no matter what arises, it will be attended to quickly and with kindness. A specific example is this time of the coronavirus - this school was so prepared for any situation that in less than 24 hours (i think actually 12), the school had all of its education online for school students to do virtual learning. The teachers were prepared and humble. The students were excited and happy to continue their learning. I cannot say enough about the school, it's teachers and it's founders. Aspen understands what children need to succeed, and they provide the resources, support and kindness to ensure that each child has the best possible experience.

Unfortunately, unless your child fits into the perfect and ideal box, they will not succeed or be…read morehappy at Aspen. Does your child have stage fright? Too bad, they have to get on stage and perform. Do they have test anxiety? Deal with it. The counselor seems involved and like he cares, but when it comes down to it he passes blame and plays as if he doesn't know what's going on and he wasn't involved in the group conversation. Once the administration makes up their mind, it doesn't matter what your child does, they have decided they want them out. Most of the parents are fine, but many seem very impressed with themselves. We were thrilled that there was an opening in 6th grade for the upcoming year at Denver Academy.

Our experience with Brightmont Academy in Castle Pines was a complete disappointment and a very…read moreexpensive mistake. From the start, the lack of organization was obvious. We attended an open house where no other families showed up, which should have been a warning sign. The director made confident promises about socialization, ADHD support, individualized learning, and keeping students on track without relying on homework. None of those promises held up. What we actually experienced was a disorganized, inconsistent environment with constant teacher turnover and no clear structure. There was no onboarding, no real explanation of how the program worked, and no access provided to track our child's progress. It genuinely felt like we were expected to "drop our kid off and figure it out later." Despite being told homework wouldn't be necessary, it was assigned repeatedly. Communication was consistently poor, emails rarely resulted in direct answers, and there was no proactive outreach when our child began falling behind. Instead, we were blindsided. At one point, we were told, without warning, that our child was significantly behind and that we would need to pay thousands more (around $7,000) just to get him through required credits. That is not a small oversight, that is a complete failure in communication and accountability. For the amount we paid, comparable to a year at a four-year university the value simply was not there. The educational model felt heavily reliant on pre-existing computer-based curriculum, with limited oversight and little sense of urgency to ensure students stayed on track. There was no clear system in place to prevent students from quietly falling behind until it became a financial problem for the family. Socialization was essentially nonexistent. There were very few students, and no meaningful effort from staff to create interaction or a sense of community. There were also concerning gaps in communication around safety. At one point, we were notified that a firearm had been found near the school, but there was no meaningful follow-up or reassurance beyond a brief message. This experience was frustrating, disheartening, and incredibly costly for what was delivered. We trusted what we were told during enrollment, and that trust was not earned. I would strongly caution any parent considering Brightmont Academy to ask very detailed questions, get everything in writing, and think carefully before committing. Based on our experience, this is not a program I would recommend especially given the financial investment required.

From the owner: Brightmont Academy has served K-12 students since 1999 and has campuses in Arizona, Colorado,…read moreGeorgia, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, and Washington.

I'm so glad Ivybrook Academy opened a location in Highlands Ranch! Half day preschool was exactly…read morewhat I was looking for and this place has been perfect for my son. The facility seems brand new, is super clean and has amazing amenities for the kids. They even have an indoor gym for those cold, snowy days. Everyone who works there has been so sweet and kind to both my son and myself. Ms Viv in the preschool classroom and the owner/principal, Miss Bobbie, in particular have been so wonderful. They truly go above and beyond! I only wish this location had been around when my oldest was in preschool and pre-k.

We are very pleased with our experience at Ivy Brook. Our child enjoys going to school and has…read moreflourished in this positive environment. The classrooms are kept clean and tidy. Every child is made to feel included. The teachers and director of the program takes the time to understand each child's needs and assist where a child needs extra help or present learning opportunities for growth. We feel that we are very lucky to find this school!