COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KOAA) — Going from middle school to high school: it's a life change we have all had to endure. For Jenkins Middle School student Jadie, Gray, she and her classmates have to make that change mid-year.
"I think it's uncomfortable," Gray said. "It's gonna take me a while. I don't adjust to things very easy."
Starting January 23rd, Jenkins 7th and 8th grade classes will relocate to Doherty High School, while the 6th graders will head to Russell Middle School.
"It's gonna take me at least a month," Gray said. "And it's probably going to take other people at least a month too."
Jadie's mother, Tina Akins, said the first she heard this announcement came from KOAA's reporting.
"I feel like we're being forced into a corner," she said. "If I had known earlier in the year there was a chance my daughter would go to Doherty, I'd have choices into another school."
Tuesday, one of three community meetings was held to answer parents' questions. Aside from where student's classes will be in a week, frustrated parents learned D11 is still trying to figure out how extracurricular activities like sports and music will work.
Students like Jadie, who walk every day to Jenkins can still walk to their old school. Going forward, they will be bussed from there to either Doherty or Russell every morning.
"We have a high schooler at Doherty," said Jenkins parent Tara Hefty. "I know that's not the case for a lot of families so they have a lot of logistics to figure out and that can be hard."
District 11 Superintended Michael Gaal said the plan is to reopen Jenkins by August 2025.
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