COLORADO SPRINGS — It's the first of it's kind in the country - a school designed by students and for students.
The new Chinook Trail Middle School officially opened on Tuesday and dozens of people came out for a ribbon cutting ceremony.
Academy District 20 said the new building will house about 1,080 students, sixth through eighth grade.
News 5 learned that about 300 students helped in the design process. They picked out furniture for spaces like the library and also helped create the mascot for the school - the owl.
The building is meant to promote health and wellness for students by having a lot of natural light as well as several flexible learning spaces to help students who maybe don't fit into the traditional model.
Seventh-grader Reid Andrew said one of his favorite areas is The Learning Stair.
Andrew said, "You can be presenting this project that you've been working on to your whole pod and it's just great for presenting and group projects."
Seventh-grader Gaby Molina who helped design the library said, "There's different just seating and tables that you can go at and have a small space where you can just talk with a group and stuff."
Students like Molina shared that they learn differently than other kids and having this kind of school will help them in their education.
Building the middle school was made possible by the passage of the district's $230 million bond initiative back in 2016. This is the fourth new building the district has opened from the proceeds of the bond.
