I feel strongly that any parent considering Dawson for high school should read this review.
Perhaps like you, we wanted a school that would give our son the best opportunity to be successful in college and in life from academics to social to sports/clubs/travel, etc. After many meetings with them, Dawson sold us as the best choice in the area.
First off, Dawson, no matter what they tell you, is a pretty standard curriculum, similar to the excellent public schools in Boulder. Also, we didn't find our son got any more attention from the staff as a private school. In fact, we found our son actually got less help which was very frustrating.
Socially, Dawson gets failing grades. There is a meanness in the kids, an extreme cliquey environment and a bullying attitude that we found quite troublesome. The administration and parents who are not affected by this dynamic turn a blind eye to this pervasive and painful social problem so, should you find yourself in this situation, you will likely find it impossible to enact any change to the culture.
What was most upsetting is I had read many reviews (most of which are deleted from the internet now apparently due to settlements) as well as talked to parents who said these social issues exist. When I asked Dawson, they said it was "in the past", that they had "handled the issue" and that our child would find a wonderful culture of inclusion. NOT.
Even more significant is the draconian contract you will be forced to sign. It has such restrictive, one-sided provisions contained within it that you cannot cancel your child's enrollment for ANY reason without them keeping ALL of your $20,000.
My son had major health issues within the first 2 months and had to drop out of school altogether for his freshman year. He was very sick and recovered later that year and has gone on to make straight A's at another academic institution. But Dawson refused to ever give us one penny of my son's tuition, hiding behind their draconian contract. They even tried to keep the $3000 I paid for a spring trip he was to go on with his class. When I asked for an explanation, they evaded me and refused to provide details. So, I filed a chargeback and won. I even hired an attorney to go after them re: the tuition considering my child didn't even go to more than a couple of months of school and Dawson provided a hostile social environment during that time but they fought me every step of the way.
Dawson ONLY cares about money, not about the humans involved. When we tried to work with them to find a fair and equitable solution, they refused. Imagine being stressed about your child's health and future due to extreme illness and then having a school refuse to even discuss a fair solution for your family financially. Now imagine a possible scenario that could arise for you where you'd need to remove your child and this school/contract will NOT budge or help you. I think you'd be frustrated, upset and feel mistreated. I hope you won't ever have to put yourself at risk of going through that because you read this review. read more