Boulder’s Premier K – 8 IB World School

Gifted and Creative Learners

Mack Boulder has a one-of-a-kind learning environment that nurtures the seeds of unique genius in every child. A Boulder K-8 progressive, independent school for creative and gifted students, our school is designed for children who are by nature curious, creative, and highly driven to learn. We recognize the whole child and cultivate innovative thinkers, balanced learners, and caring individuals.

At Mackintosh Academy, we pride ourselves on being pioneers in a new kind of education, uniquely meaningful and inspiring, built to prepare our gifted and creative students for a happy future in this uncertain world. Mackintosh Academy supports our learners through:

Low student-teacher ratios

Allowing for personalized instruction for diverse learning styles, designed to bring out the gifts in each student.

Balanced IQ and EQ

Gifted students need support that not only addresses their mind but also their hearts and bodies. We believe that empathy, compassion, and other social-emotional skills are core to our children’s development.

Personalized, child-centered approach

Recognizing that every child is uniquely gifted, we tailor the depth, speed and complexity of our lessons to each child’s needs and learning capacities. Project-based learning makes room in the classroom for children’s interests and passions.

Hands-on, inquiry-based learning

Creative and gifted students thrive on the challenge of meaningful questions and problems worth solving. An accredited International Baccalaureate (IB) school, Mackintosh Academy Boulder emphasizes hands-on, inquiry-based learning with an internationally accredited academic program. Students leave Mack Boulder inspired, confident, and prepared to flourish in our complex and quickly changing world.

Collaborative environment

We incorporate teamwork and group projects into our curriculum to develop students’ collaborative skillsets. Collaborative learning not only fosters intellectual capacity but students’ ability to solve problems with a variety of peers—qualities needed to stand out in the 21st century.

Curious Minds Make Many Connections

Mack Boulder takes a cross-disciplinary approach to traditional subjects. Our teachers draw from a variety of methods to meet the needs of their gifted students. A single class may use several math or reading books simultaneously with children moving from group to group or class-to-class depending on their individual needs. Teachers adjust their expectations to fit the abilities of the children.

Teachers Don’t Just Seek Connections – They Create Them

Our Specialist classes — P.E., Spanish, Visual Arts, Performing Arts, Design, Library, and SEL — are deeply connected with the work being done in homerooms. Teachers don’t just seek connections- they create them. Specialist teachers plan collaboratively with homeroom classroom teachers to design Units of Inquiry together.

creative and gifted students at Mackintosh Academy Boulder