Doherty High School in Colorado Springs

Category	Rating	Details
College Readiness	3/10	The College Readiness Rating uses this high school's graduation rates, college entrance exam participation and performance, or AP, IB, or Dual Enrollment participation to determine how well schools are preparing students for success in college and beyond. The College Readiness Rating was created using the following data from the 2021 Civil Rights Data Collection: percentage of students enrolled in IB, AP or Dual Enrollment classes in grades 9-12, using 2025 4-year high school graduation rate data from Colorado Department of Education, using 2025 Average SAT score data from Colorado Department of Education, and using 2025 demographic data from the National Center for Education Statistics.

Posted: March 12, 2026

As a parent, my experience with Doherty High School has raised serious concerns about student accountability and safety.
On one occasion the school reported that my daughter was not in the building, when she was actually inside the school the entire time. Staff could not account for her location. For a school responsible for hundreds of students, that level of uncertainty is alarming.
Students frequently appear able to leave campus during the school day without anyone noticing or following up. In practice, there seems to be very little real accountability for where students are once they arrive at school.
Academic support has also been disappointing. When students begin falling behind, meaningful help or intervention is difficult to find. Concerns about grades are often minimized rather than addressed, which leaves students struggling without the guidance they need.
There are also broader issues with the environment at the school. Students smoking or using substances in bathrooms appears to be widely known among students. Reckless driving through the parking lot is common and creates real safety risks for students walking to and from the building.
Perhaps most concerning is that some teachers themselves have expressed frustration that the culture and standards at the school have been declining over time.
Every school has challenges, but parents expect strong leadership, clear supervision, and real support for students. Unfortunately, that has not been my experience here, and I would strongly encourage other parents to carefully research this school before enrolling their children.

Posted: April 3, 2025

AVOID THIS RACIST SCHOOL AT ALL COST

Posted: April 3, 2025

Posted: December 2, 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!

Posted: December 2, 2024

Posted: September 9, 2024

This is an absolutely terrible public high school.

Posted: September 9, 2024

Posted: June 4, 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!

Posted: June 4, 2024

Posted: 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.

Posted: February 24, 2023

Posted: 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.

Posted: January 28, 2023

Posted: January 27, 2023

I love the we before me attitude. Awesome band, orchestra, choir, dance, and theater programs. Great teachers.

Posted: 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.

Posted: 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

Posted: November 7, 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!! Dohertys moto We Before Me has been a great life lesson for them too!!

Posted: November 7, 2022

Posted: 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 daughters now in an alternate school for no other reason than a smaller learning environment. Dohertys M/O is to push students through no matter what. Preparing students for the future? Yeah, a future at McDonalds. I want to support our local public school, but Doherty is a lost cause short of a complete overhaul of how they do (or dont do) things.

Posted: September 27, 2022

Posted: June 8, 2022

Ive 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.

Posted: June 8, 2022

Posted: March 25, 2022

bad bad bad bad bad bad bad

Posted: March 25, 2022

Posted: 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.

Posted: February 23, 2022

Posted: October 7, 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.

Posted: October 7, 2021

Posted: April 15, 2019

I think the teachers are so good. They care about the students and really challenge and encourage them.

Posted: April 15, 2019

The students show compassion and inclusion for those that are differently-abled. Treating them kindly.

Posted: April 15, 2019

Leadership is very evident when you attend a function. The students work hard and are great leaders.

Posted: 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.

Posted: November 22, 2017

I love this school and its people. There are no AP math classes that I am aware of, so idk why theres a statistic on it.

Posted: November 22, 2017

Posted: 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.

Posted: 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.

Posted: June 10, 2015

It depends on which teacher you connect with. I connected with my band director because I knew he would give me advise on how to deal with school work and helped me figure out what to do after college

Posted: June 10, 2015

I was never up past 10am doing homework because I used time in class wisely

Posted: June 10, 2015

I had a kid lie in my TCaps my freshman year about having his cell phone, Ive heard kids lie about homework, ive seen kids cheat. None got caught and when they did they deny it.

Posted: 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.

Posted: January 21, 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.

Posted: January 27, 2013

My daughter left a private school in the Springs deficient in math. The individual attention she gained allowed her to excel. She struggled through challenging honors classes to be brave enough to take on the extensive AP courses. She graduated 2012 and is pulling a 3.7 GPA at the University of Colorado. She insists it was the teachers specifically in Math, English Composition, Biology, Chemistry, Anatomy, Government, Psychology... and their dedication to her success were in sync with her determination to succeed. Pair that with top notch extra curricular activities and you have a great school. In a year when it comes time for our son to attend high school we are certain Doherty is the best choice. We've found our school

#	Name	Type	City	State	Distance
1	Dakota Ridge	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Colorado Springs	CO	1.6 mi
2	Pronghorn Meadows	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Colorado Springs	CO	2.9 mi
3	Stetson Hills	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Colorado Springs	CO	3.5 mi
4	Briargate - Fairfax	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Colorado Springs	CO	3.7 mi
5	Wolf Ranch	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Colorado Springs	CO	4.3 mi
6	Wolf Ranch (Briargate)	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Colorado Springs	CO	5 mi
7	Cordera	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Colorado Springs	CO	5 mi
8	Windmill Apartments	Apartment Complex	Colorado Springs	CO	5 mi
9	Mountain Shadows	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Colorado Springs	CO	7.1 mi
10	Falcon	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Peyton	CO	7.2 mi
11	Flying Horse	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Colorado Springs	CO	8.8 mi
12	Meridian Ranch	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Peyton	CO	9.6 mi
13	Security Valley	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Colorado Springs	CO	9.6 mi
14	Cheyenne Mountain	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Colorado Springs	CO	10 mi
15	Comanche Village	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Fort carson	CO	10.6 mi
16	Fountain Valley	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Colorado Springs	CO	12.1 mi
17	Forest Lakes	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Monument	CO	13.8 mi

#	Name	City	State	Distance
1	Colorado Springs Co	Colorado Springs	CO	5.9 mi
2	North Gate Blvd	Colorado Springs	CO	9.6 mi
3	North Cheyenne Canyon	Colorado Springs	CO	11.4 mi
4	Manitou Springs	Colorado Springs	CO	13 mi

Base	Distance
Peterson AFB	5.7 mi.
US Air Force Academy	10 mi.
Fort Carson	11.1 mi.
Cheyenne Mountain Air Station	11.8 mi.
Schriever AFB	13 mi.

Doherty High School

Colorado Springs, CO 80917

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Doherty High School

Colorado Springs, CO 80917

School Ratings

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