We hit the jackpot when we found Mackintosh Academy-Boulder. As educators (school leaders and innovators), my husband and I have high expectations for our son and daughters education. Both are very different and Mack has met their needs. The teachers are passionate, caring, and apply best practices in their approach. They specialize in making learning relevant and sticky, using brain-based approaches. Character and leadership development is at the core of what they do. Teachers are able to make such an impact because of the clear direction and support from the administration, which provides sufficient planning time, professional development and professional learning communities. If you want your familys dinner conversations to include the recent Mars rover landing, what we can learn about our brains when we dissect other animal brains, and how we can use our strengths to bolster our areas of challenge, then Mackintosh Academy-Boulder is the school for your family.

As a public school kid myself, I had reservations about sending my child to a private school. But after two years of public school, we decided it was time for a change. At Mackintosh Academy, our child is getting an educational experience that I dont think would be possible in a public school setting. Its not just the wide-open 20+ acre campus, which is fantastic...at Mack, there is an openness amongst teachers and staff to many different learning styles. Mack is thoughtful about every aspect of the way kids learn and grow, and consistently demonstrates thoughtfulness and introspection as well as a dedication to our community. I am very happy with Mack and looking forward to our family growing along with this amazing group of people.

Mackintosh is not a perfect fit for every kid... the experiential learning programs, lots of outdoor time, and International Baccalaureate program will, however, definitely meet the needs of some very well. Small classes are very nice, and the Head of School has done a good job hiring excellent teachers (writing this in 2016).The property is really extraordinary with a terrific playground, outdoor learning spaces, incredible view, and a garden and animals (chickens as of this writing), create lots of additional learning opportunites and open up the space for imaginative play and nature play.The school bills itself as gifted and an entrance test of some kind is required. Tuition is on the high end of average for Boulder area, scholarships are available, but rare. And, as is true of most private schools, expect to be hit up for lots of additional money throughout the year for field trips, fundraisers, etc.

We absolutely love this school. Our daughter left public school due to bullying, military style teaching, being shut down and lonely. You will not find any of that at Mackintosh Boulder. This school made her blossom. She loves all her teachers. Being a teacher myself, I can only agree, they are excellent. The teachers are not only fantastic at academics, but they are also warm-hearted, relatable, super supportive, and always give you updates on your kid. Parent-teacher communication is superb. Our daughter enjoys small classes, nice and quirky kids (just like her), individual groups for different skills in math and reading, buddy-system for book club with older kids, a fantastic outdoor area with animals, rope garden, beautiful outdoor sitting and playground area for recess.The administration could not be more qualified and friendly. Oh, did I mention a well-equipped design lab, science room, art house? We are so glad we found Mack Boulder.

My best friend always talks about this school and makes it sound so epic and if I didn’t live in Chicago I would beg my mom to go here because it is a very fun interactive school.

Its ok.