Following a tumultuous year that saw its students and staff relocate to neighboring schools, Colorado Springs District 11 is making critical repairs to Jenkins Middle School, which was deemed structurally unsafe by the Colorado Springs Fire Department and forced to close last December.

Opting for a partial rebuild that will include new wings and features, the middle school is slated to welcome back sixth- and seventh-grade students by the start of the 2025-26 school year.

Like last semester, eighth-grade students will attend the nearby Doherty High School in a converted wing of the campus for Jenkins.

Doherty High finishes school year strong, despite mid-year adjustments

Transportation routes are still being confirmed and will be communicated to families as soon as they are finalized.

Jenkins opened in 1999, southwest of Austin Bluffs Parkway and Dublin Boulevard, and has been subject to freezing, thawing and runoff impacts because of its close proximity to Cottonwood Creek north of the school.

D-11 had previously earmarked $10 million in renovations for Jenkins planned to take place during the 2026-27 school year as part of its facilities master plan, but a recent fire inspection found the school had reached a “critical point” and was in need of fire safety repairs.

The final report on the building’s structure found that soil settlement and increased moisture content and density caused its foundation to shift and fire barriers to go out of flush with their frames.

Jenkins Middle School final report released; points to soil issues

The board would go on approve the allocation of $5 million to repair Jenkins’ gym and media center and later $26 million to demolish and rebuild its seventh- and eighth-grade wings last April.

Among the construction remedies include a structural slab to be put beneath Jenkins’ media center, which was found to be among the areas in most need of remediation. The new slab will ensure there is no foundational movement like what compromised it before.

The new Jenkins will also feature fire suppression systems that are up to today’s fire codes. Because of its construction in the ‘90s, much of the original building didn’t have modern-day requirements like sprinkler systems.

The construction will also introduce new features to the school that include an amphitheater, outdoor learning spaces and an academic wing with modernized learning spaces constructed south of the existing structure.

“It’s not a building slipping into the creek anymore, it’s a building rising on the other side that will have new instructional space and a 21st century media center that will open up to Pikes Peak, that will make it the destination middle school for our northeastern part of town,” D-11 Superintendent Michael Gaal said during a June 4 board meeting.

Starting in late July, Jenkins staff will begin moving back into the building in phases ahead of the school year.