Jenkins Middle School is fully open again, returning all students to campus after a closure that began in January 2025 and stretched across two school years.

The school was shut down in January of 2025 after the fire department found major structural issues during an inspection. The problems were not new to district officials. At the time, officials said the Colorado Springs Fire Department had been monitoring the building for the past few years, and it had experienced "cracking and physical separation of walls and floors."

Part of the problem on the campus may have been that it was built too close to a nearby creek, which may have caused issues with the building settling, according to officials.

During the closure, students were split between Russell Middle School and Doherty High School. In March of 2025, the school announced plans to reopen as early as August of that year. When that reopening came, it was only partial. Only 6th and 7th graders were brought back to Jenkins Middle School when it reopened in August of 2025, while 8th graders remained at Doherty High School.

The District 11 Superintendent, Michael Gaal, said the district decided last year that they wanted to completely close the building rather than pursue temporary fixes. "We made the decision a year and a half ago that said, 'No more Band-Aids, no more micro openings, no more repainting hallways,'" Superintendent Gaal said. "We are open, we are safe and we are ready for the next 75 years right here."

District 11 has not yet indicated whether additional structural monitoring of the building or the surrounding site near the creek will continue going forward.