With one of the biggest freshman classes ever being introduced to Manitou Springs High School (MSHS) in the fall of 2020, faculty and administration are prioritizing the safety and well-being of every new freshman now more than ever. Freshman introduction night was hosted on February 11th, where students and parents alike got a run-through of the expectations of being a high schooler and rising to a higher academic standard. Freshman orientation is designated for giving every middle schooler the opportunity to explore the grounds and facility where they will be spending the next four years learning and developing critical thinking skills. With a current student body sitting slightly over five hundred, having even more students could overwhelm staff and increase class sizes in the approaching years.

Bradyn Dowling, an incoming freshman, learned a lot about MSHS from the event. “We went to different classes and sat listening to the teachers talk about what material we will be learning and what courses us eighth-graders can register to take for the 2020-2021 school year,” said Dowling, “All incoming freshmen will have to sign up pretty soon for their first high school classes. I liked the moving from class to class part because it gives us the feel for what the environment is actually like, instead of being glued to a chair for eight hours.”

Samuel Fournier, another incoming freshman, was curious about the future state of going off for lunch and parking. “Would faculty and staff ever consider letting freshmen go off campus for lunch with parental permission? As well, is the lot going to be expanded or are passes going to start costing money like Coronado High school does?” asked Fournier. 

Questions have already been raised, especially about parking in the upcoming years thanks to the number of sophomores already driving. “Parking on the hill is already common, so where will the lot eventually be expanded to, and we will get priority over underclassmen?” are questions that many current juniors ask.

“Parking at my old school was segregated to allow upperclassman the opportunity to secure better spots closer to the school entrance, and if the number of upperclassman driving to school on a specific day was larger than the number of spots available, they would just start overflowing into the sophomores spots, who would either have to get there early or face the consequences,” says Sam Richardson (11). 

These are all looming questions that need to be approached with long term goals in mind, because of how rapidly Manitou Springs and surrounding areas are growing. According to the World Population Review, over 50,000 newcomers have moved to Colorado Springs from 2010 to 2018, and the average growth rate is close to 1.8% per year. These statistics may not sound as overwhelming compared to Denver and other big cities, but the steady increase will have consequences on all school districts in the proximity. Surrounding school districts such as Cheyenne, Woodland Park, and Cornado all have up to three times as many students, which can only mean one thing for MSHS: inevitable growth.