Jenkins Middle School welcomes back students months after structural concerns forced abrupt closure
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – Students are returning to Jenkins Middle School today, months after unsafe conditions forced District 11 to shut the campus down.
The school abruptly shut down in January after fire safety officials discovered severe structural issues and cracks in the building's walls and floors during an inspection, which they said had gotten worse over time.
Officials said those issues had compromised the school's fire protection systems and "rendered the building unsafe for occupation."
Jenkins Middle School was subsequently closed down, and the school's students were split between Russell Middle School and Doherty High School to finish the semester.
The district has been working on renovating areas of the school since the closure, and in March, announced plans to reopen as early as August in time for the 2025-26 school year.
Those plans are now coming to fruition. Though some parts of the school remain under construction, some students were welcomed back to Jenkins on Aug. 12.
District leaders say the grand reopening marks a major milestone in addressing decades-old infrastructure problems.
“We've passed our occupancy inspection with the state. We're ready to go for students, and we have grand plans for both the rest of the interior and the new exterior portions that will be built for next year,” D11 Superintendent Michael Gaal said.
But not all students are back on campus yet. For now, only 6th and 7th graders are returning to Jenkins, while 8th graders will continue attending Doherty High School for the rest of the year, D11 says.
Gaal says he expects 8th grade students to rejoin their peers at Jenkins by the start of next school year.
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