You would have never known that Fountain-Fort Carson D-8 called a snow day on Dec. 4 at Abrams Elementary.

That day, the school’s students, parents and staff members, along with distinguished guests including school board members, Fort Carson garrison commanders and Colorado Governor Jared Polis, crowded into a state-of-the-art building that will soon be called home.

D-8 welcomed these guests into their newly built and relocated elementary school, an 80,000-square-foot, two-story building, for a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Complete with transparent walls that showcase the westward mountain range, the new Abrams will accommodate up to 650 pre-kindergarten through fifth-grade students and will seek to improve its educational offerings and safety.

The rebuild and relocation is the result of years-long discussions and collaboration between the school district and Army base leadership to meet the unique needs of their families. According to the district, they are comprised of approximately 70% military-connected students, with most of their students residing on the army base. Abrams Principal Ben Baldner said this percentage is nearly 100% at his school.

D-8 Superintendent Keith Owen told those in attendance that scoping out the location for the new Abrams began shortly after his arrival in 2014 with then-Fort Carson Garrison Commander Col. Joel Hamilton.

“That day was very impactful because it started us on a journey, which took us over 10 years, to get to this point,” he said.

D-8 Deputy Superintendent Dr. Montina Romero told The Gazette in 2024 that Abrams, built in 1975, was the oldest school in the district that had not been remodeled. The school has added interior walls and additional academic wings as needs were identified over the years.

Recent housing developments on the army base west of Chiles Avenue raised concerns about increased traffic flow and student safety, as the original Abrams was located east of the road. Since building renovations alone couldn’t address students still needing to cross the busy street, talks to relocate and rebuild the school picked up about a decade ago.

District administrators regularly met with Fort Carson’s garrison commanders and architects to determine the specific features of the school.

Additionally, because the school is located on the base, the process of acquiring new land and selling old buildings involves communication and coordination between D-8, the Army and Balfour Beatty, the Army’s housing provider. The district owns its school buildings while leasing the land from the Army.

In addition to addressing these safety concerns and relocating to the west of Chiles, new features at Abrams include digital smart boards in every classroom, a lab dedicated to science, technology, engineering, arts and math (STEAM) instruction and dedicated special education and preschool classrooms to accommodate the needs of its ever-changing student body and families. The building also features improved security and access control.

For long-time Abrams teachers like Yuki Martinez, these improvements have been in the making since her arrival 20 years ago, when she was first told that they would be getting a new building “in about five years.”

“We know it is bittersweet to say goodbye to the old Abrams, with all the memories and laughter within those walls,” she said, holding back tears. “We’re looking forward to seeing those students arrive on the first day at the new Abrams.”

Following the transition into the new school building in January, D-8 will relinquish the existing Abrams building to the Army, which will repurpose it. While it was planned to become a spiritual fitness center last year, a Fort Carson official told The Gazette that the base is now considering several options and that a decision has not been made at the time of this writing.