Doherty High School

4515 Barnes Road

School District

Colorado Springs 11
Grade

9-12
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:22
Type

public

School Map for Colorado Springs 11 School District

GreatSchools Rating

The school rating calculation is based on four ratings: the Student Progress Rating or Academic Progress Rating, College Readiness Rating, Equity Rating, and Test Score Rating each designed to show different facets of school success. Learn more about GreatSchools Ratings

Reviews

Submitted by student on December 02, 2024

This school needs to get it together. Horrible communication during actual crises, horrible new policies, and a complete lack of parental involvement. Last year we had a situation that involved a gun off campus and the school sent out nothing, absolutely nothing about what was going on until after the crisis was over. We students had to tell our parents about it ourselves and rely on the notiriously bad source of social media for information using our phones which are banned this year. The phone policy does not work, everyone puts burner phones in the pouches instead of their actual phones so the $50,000 they spent was useless. Plus, they have security focused on calls for phones out instead of actual threats. The tardy policy is ridiculous and only makes students miss more instructional time which I thought was the ultimate no no. If you care even a little bit about your child, find a different school in a different district that can actually handle crises and phone policies competently!
Submitted by student on September 09, 2024

This is an absolutely terrible public high school.
Submitted by parent on June 04, 2024

I'm posting after reading a recent review from a parent whose son has already graduated college. I can't speak to how good the school used to be, but my child is a current student (about to be a junior) & I can say the last two years have been rough. My child is an AP/honors student so my husband & I are involved. Most of the teachers are very good, however, there's always at least two each year that don't reply to parental emails, etc. The teachers are hit or miss, but administration is brutal to deal with - and so rude to the kids! My biggest problem is that the school is dangerous - lots of fights & kids getting hit by cars. I would love to choice my child out of the district (current superintendent is terrible & the school board who picked him needs to go), however, they would like to stay in the same school with their friends from elementary & middle school, so we will continue to be vocal about problems that need to be addressed. If I had to do it again, I would have chosen another district. It wasn't so bad in the younger years, but forget high school!
Submitted by student on February 24, 2023

This school does the absolute bare minimum, the teachers are doing their best however the kids are constantly doing drugs in bathrooms, having sex in bathrooms, and smoking and nobody does anything about it. The school also does nothing about people being isolated, some teachers dont care and further ridicule the student by saying "you cant do this assignment alone!!" when its a quick little quiz. I would not recommend this school to anyone who cares about their kid.
Submitted by parent on January 28, 2023

The 'We before me' spirit is everywhere and makes you feel welcome and included. We love the variety of AP classes and pathway programs. The admin and staff is easy to talk to and work with. They care about my student.
Submitted by parent on January 27, 2023

I love the we before me attitude. Awesome band, orchestra, choir, dance, and theater programs. Great teachers.
Submitted by parent on January 27, 2023

We have choiced our kids into D11 from D20 for the past 6 years. As a parent of bi-racial kids, I appreciate the diversity of the student population at Doherty. My two gifted daughters have received an excellent education through Honors and AP classes in the core content areas. Our family benefits from the very valuable skills both girls learned as part of the culinary arts program. We have been amazed with the band program under Mr. Saprienza.
Submitted by student on January 27, 2023

Teachers are very nice. However I am only rating 4 because of the fact that my peers do not know how to make good choices
Submitted by parent on November 07, 2022

Doherty High School has amazing teachers that care about each student!! The staff bend over backwards to assist students on their educational journey!!All four of my students had great pride in DHS and had received strong education!! Doherty’s moto “We Before Me” has been a great life lesson for them too!!
Submitted by parent on September 27, 2022

Understaffed, underfunded and overcrowded. Unaddressed bullying, rampant racism, drugs and sex in bathrooms. There are some great teachers lost in this mess but more who are coasting to retirement and do not care. Our daughter’s now in an alternate school for no other reason than a smaller learning environment. Doherty’s M/O is to push students through no matter what. Preparing students for the future? Yeah, a future at McDonald’s. I want to support our local public school, but Doherty is a lost cause short of a complete overhaul of how they do (or don’t do) things.
Submitted by parent on June 08, 2022

I’ve been a parent at Doherty for five years. The teachers and staff are always responsive and send frequent communications about their courses. I attend PT conferences and have had meetings individually other times of the year. When an issue has come up, it was handled quickly. Both of my children participated in athletics and my oldest has finished her freshman year of college with a 3.987 GPA so I feel my children are being well taught and prepared for college. We have one more child currently in middle school that will attend Doherty as well.
Submitted by parent on March 25, 2022

bad bad bad bad bad bad bad
Submitted by student on February 23, 2022

Honestly? I've been at this school at the beginning of the 2021-2022 school year. I have noticed quite a few things, if you aren't outgoing or conventionally attractive at the beginning of either semester, good luck making friends. I didn't. Even then, many of the people here are the sort of people who would talk badly about you behind your back for an ego rush. The teachers are either there just for the lackluster pay, or in just ONE of my classes, actually care about the students and how they are doing. Personally, I wouldn't recommend this public high school for kids that tend to be more reserved and antisocial, there's a decent chance you will not make friends. I have been ridiculed right next to me by people who I don't know, been made fun of behind my back by classmates, and much more isolating behavior from other students. Don't come here unless you're social, attractive and want to join a club, this school will destroy you. Unfortunately, the classes suck most of the time.
Submitted by parent on October 07, 2021

If you care for your child find a different school. Bullying goes unchecked by the administration. Kids in the bathrooms drugging and drinking and this is well know by security and the administrations- as long as they get on the bus to home they are not the schools issue. Reaching out to teachers or office staff generally takes persistence. Do not bother calling attendance as they do no mark correctly and you still get calls and have to call again to clear up the mess. Teachers overload students to the point of tears without help. Constant bullying goes unchecked by the teachers and staff. Counselors are not available and takes WEEKS for them to respond.
Submitted by parent on April 15, 2019

I love the staff, teachers and students. I like it that my kids are at a school that is racially and socio-economically diverse. It teaches the students compassion, kindness and to accept those that are different then them.
Submitted by student on November 22, 2017

I love this school and it’s people. There are no AP math classes that I am aware of, so idk why there’s a statistic on it.
Submitted by other on August 29, 2017

It was an awesome experience. All schools in the U.S. have some sort of problems with one or two teachers or students. Overall my experience was really good. The teachers really care about there students. I had the opportunity to join pretty much any club or sport possible. My teachers took me for a week long fieldtrip to learn about water, geology, astronomy, ancient cultures, etc... It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I would highly recommend any student to at least try out Doherty.
Submitted by other on December 19, 2016

Unfortunately Doherty is not as good as many people may tell you. I attended Doherty my starting in 2013 and I transferred halfway through my Junior year (2015). Doherty is a place of competition in every aspect weather it be in sports or personal status, i.e. Who is the most popular, who is in student council, or who throws the "craziest" party. Sports is one thing but once you cross the line into person status and ego that's where everything gets twisted and unethical. Without getting into detail, it can be hard enough to keep yours grades up and then add that the feeling of having to keep up with all the "cool" kids is ridiculous because if you don't, good luck ever finding your niche. I left because I lost sence of who I really was and the pressure of trying to keep up was not worth it anymore. Because in reality High School I just a stepping stone in our lives. All in all I would not recommend at all going to Doherty, but in the end it's your call.
Submitted by other on June 10, 2015

I had a great experience at Doherty (I was an AP/honors student juggling homework and 3 different bands as well as cheer and graduated with a 3.99 in 2014. It can be done as long as you focus), but I can't say the same thing for my brother. He was bullied so bad for wanting to do cheer that he ended up transferring schools. The admin did everything they could to stop it, but nothing worked. Doherty is a good place for academics and sports, but when it comes to the way kids treat each other, its one of the worst places ive ever seen. The teachers try to help, but kids will always lie about what happens. They also have a drug issue, but if you don't know people who do drugs, you'll never know about it.
Submitted by other on January 22, 2014

This school is one of the best things that's ever happened to me. One thing that really meant a lot to me was making the volleyball team at Doherty my freshman year even though I didn't make it all three years in middle school. Our athletic program is absolutely amazing if you ask me. The kids at Doherty are super friendly, as well as the staff! I'm super thankful and blessed to be part of such a great school with a lot of team spirit and support! I would recommend Doherty to any kid.