Our experience here thus far has been exceptional and positive. They do not teach to the test. The teachers are passionate about life long learning and providing a learning environment that encourages a passion for knowledge and to think critically and interact with the content being taught. The cultures at MacLaren is truly community minded.

This school truly lives it’s culture of knowing truth, creating beauty, and practicing goodness. The teachers genuinely care about the students and are invested in teaching them to really love learning. The leadership at the school is second to none and sets the tone for the entire school. We are so grateful that our children have the privilege of receiving this kind of high quality education.

This school has been amazing for my sixth grader. It’s so wonderful dropping my kiddo off knowing he’s in great hands. Teachers are happy to communicate with you. Staff is always willing to answer questions. My son has flourished in this environment. I would highly recommend this school to anyone.

Great school, my son got into the US Naval Academy after attending middle school and high school here. They do just about everything better. Love the orchestras led my Mr. Hanson of Colorado Springs philharmonic!

Great curriculum, but not in touch with reality and how it works. As much as the attempt to not to appear elitist is there, it is merely an attempt. If your children have any sort of learning disability, this is definitely not the place for them. If one wants their children to enter college with as much sense of how the world truly works for someone of that age, this is not the place to send them. While a classically based curriculum has its perks, the perks are not there if not executed correctly and is not an ideal fit for every student. The Humane Letters seminars may sound great, but what is the point of a college-seminar style experience, if it does nothing to resemble the honing of intellectual curiosities at the college level? Many of those who teach the seminars would rather discuss what the teacher thinks the writer is saying, rather than discussing what the students think is being said and then having the students argue and assess the value of the content.

Two of our five kids have already finished high school at TMS. Three more are currently students here. If youre looking for a truly classical education, this is the best weve found in the Springs.While the academics are incredibly rigorous, the school is actually wonderful for one of our dyslexic children. Since shes been formally diagnosed with fairly severe dyslexia, we were very hesitant on having her attend. In fact, I would not let her participate in any extracurricular activities her first semester so we could see how things played out.As it turns out, because the school is accommodating with allowing her to participate in an assisted reading program and they grant a little extra time on tests, she was actually able to do Track and Field and to get straight As this past semester!As concerned parents, we highly recommend this school. What a blessing that our children love it too.

Do lots of research and think long and hard before sending your child here. If you have a have a child that fits in a mold they will do well here. If your child spills outside of the mold in any way this school is probably not for you.

A $10,000 per year education for free! MacLaren is a state charter school that any student can attend no matter where they live- because it is not tied to a district. You apply and get in by lottery. The curriculum is rigorous, and teachers encourage students to think for themselves, not just memorize things for a test. The teachers are caring, intelligent, and really know their subject.Every student studies a string instrument and plays in the orchestra every year. My student would never have chosen to study music, yet after 1 year of violin he asked for a guitar and plays it happily. Every student gets to physics, calculus and even a basic computer programming class in their junior year. This really makes their college applications stand out. They take 4 years of Latin in grades 6-9, plus another language of choice in high school.In high school they have a unique 2 hour seminar-style class called Humane Letters class that goes through a certain time (American History in 9th grade, European history in 10th, etc) and combines literature, philosophy and history. Students read original texts, discuss them in class, and write papers. Instead of focusing on letter grades or memorizing what they are told to memorize, teachers encourage students to think and write in a way that is unusual before college.Every child gets 7 years of a string instrument, with the discipline and brain development that goes along with it. I since learned that even the odd things like same-gender classes results in better focus in class, and girls doing better in high school math.The Clans are cool! All 6-12 students are assigned to a Clan that participates in school events like Field Day together. Clans plus daily Morning Assembly, help students feel unified across grades. Older students have opportunities to develop leadership in Clubs and Clans, and they learn to be kind to the younger students.The education MacLaren provides freely actually costs $10,000 per student annually at the private schools on which MacLaren is based. They do not even charge for instrument rental! Although they do not have PE during the day for the Upper School, students can choose from a variety of after school sport teams (Track, Soccer, Cross Country, Basketball, etc) so kids who enjoy sports will still be challenged.Your student will have to be willing to do one hour of homework every night (this increases in high school). They can get a head start on it during 7th period tutorial time). And, when students need help in a certain subject, teachers can tutor them right away during that same 7th period tutorial time without getting that child labeled.Before applying for MacLaren, students do a shadow day, and I highly recommend it. If your student does not want to come here, however, do not make them, because they will chafe at the homework, no cell phones allowed during the school day, uniforms, and the set curriculum. But if your student is able and wants to work at learning, they will thrive here.I am so grateful for how the administrators, caring teachers and interesting classes have given my students an excellent education.

The school challenges my children to think outside the box. They read the classic literature that has become absent in most curriculums today. They are doing algebra in 8th grade and moving into the higher maths the first year of high school. The school is known for its exceptional music program, although I do think there is value in more than just strings and classic music. But its a great jumping off point into other genres, giving the students a firm grasp of music theory and an appreciation for where music comes from and how it has changed through time. The staff is caring and student focused, seeing each child as whole.

How your child is treated will be based on if their teacher likes them or not, or how much money youve poured back into this mediocre school. Also, their teacher will not like them if they dont fit into their idealistic mold. There is racism, bullying and prejudices all over there. It is handled based of how much you donate to the school, not by who is wrong or right. Ive experienced this first hand. Instead of them finding a proper solution, they pathetically asked me to help them come up with a racism protocol as they stupidly couldnt come up with one themselves. This is a great school for a very specific type of student, it is certainly not for everyone. Id like to give more than 1 star because there are some great aspects about the school, but the negativity unfortunately has encompassed any possibility of positive words. Thats ok, I know several students personally who graduated for this school and are NOT doing anything extraordinary than that of a kid in regular public school. In fact some didnt even pursue college, or work in fast food. They needed a break after the unnecessary difficulty of the curriculum. Im happy Ive decided to remove my son from this school. He now has the opportunity to surprise me with so many unique options his new school offers that Thomas Maclaren can never offer. Latin is not used unless you want to use its roots to learn more used languages such as Spanish, but WHY waste time on latin when you can jump right into one of its root languages? They added that to seem unique (and attractive to SPECIFIC people) but whats more unique is school aged students being fluent in a second language they learned from typical public school teachers. And they put in orchestra also to seem attractive, but again its only attractive if you want to pursue it otherwise its a waste of time. In normal public school you get dozens of different electives to choose from that will help you become what you want to be in life, not what Thomas Maclaren thinks you should be. Think very deeply before throwing your kid in this boring school that is just so repetitive and uninteresting.

Best possible High School Experience--engaging, knowledgeable faculty, powerful, in-depth curriculum, and a magnificent, supportive community! SO grateful that the school opened!

They can speak very well and sell you a dream but beware of this school it is not what they make it seem like. Too many incidents have occurred from teacher bullying kids, kids sending threat messages to other kids, kids bringing alcohol into the school, lockdowns due to shooting or outsiders trying to break in... (I can go on and on). They don’t have a consistent discipline method so kids receive their concequence according to how the teacher feels about them. I never write reviews but this is something extremely important for me to speak out about as a concerned parent.

An amazing school with an amazing staff.

All the plans of mice and men oft gang agley

BEST SCHOOL EVER!!!!!!!!