The Manitou Springs High School weight room, which is used for Athletic Conditioning classes, is currently being moved into the space that used to be the Language Hallway due to ADA compliance issues and student interest. The current goal surrounding the delay is that renovations will be completed by October.
The delay surrounding the weight room is predominantly due to a slowdown in the production of the flooring. Anna Conrad, the principal at MSHS, wants to ensure that the flooring will last a long time. “We want the floor to be not only safe for folks to be able to use to promote their own wellness,” Conrad said, “but also safe in terms of the structure and because we’ve invested a lot in it we want to make sure that it is a space that lasts for a long time.”
These changes were contracted through Nunn Construction, who has worked with District 14 on multiple projects across schools, as well as some subcontractors.
Across all of the courses that MSHS offers, Athletic Conditioning is the highest requested by students. Administration considered several ways to prioritize this student interest, along with the compliance issues. “We did need to work through the ADA compliance element, and there had been a lot of different ideas around how to do that,” Conrad said, “even talking about potentially putting in an elevator up to the weight room. But this ultimately was the most effective in terms of managing physical resources and also creating a space that we hope will be incredibly inclusive and welcoming for a lot of different groups and really benefit our community as a whole.”
Conrad is grateful for all of the community support this project has received. “I’d like to thank our district for wanting to invest in our space and say that we appreciate the prioritizing of not only student interest and need, but also investing in our facilities,” Conrad said.” And additionally, I’d also like to really thank the world language teachers. They obviously had to go through some transition in terms of moving into some new classrooms, and they had exceptional professionalism and positivity around knowing that it was what’s best for kids.”
