'At a sweet spot': Despite Pueblo West High School's growth, no need yet for another school

With 432 freshmen in the Class of 2026, Pueblo West High School is experiencing significant growth — but Principal Jamison Wagner does not yet see a need for another high school in the area.

Wagner, who's in his second year as the school's principal, has been a member of the Pueblo West High School staff for almost for the entirety of the school's existence. He started his Cyclone career in 2000 and served as a DECA advisor for 11 years, followed by nearly eight years as athletic director and three as assistant principal. He's watched the school blossom from a 2A school to a 4A school with 5A baseball, basketball, boys tennis and volleyball programs.

"(People) always ask, are you going to build another one?" Wagner said. "I just say not at this time. I don't see that happening. We'd have to obviously pass another bond, a huge bond ... I think with all our programs, we are at a sweet spot right now."

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In May, Pueblo West High School celebrated the graduation of 289 seniors, which was 60 more graduates than any other high school in Pueblo County. From fiscal year 2018 to Sept. 18, total enrollment at Pueblo West has grown from 1,399 to 1,490, according to Pueblo County School District 70.

Built in 1996, the Pueblo West High School building has a capacity of about 1,700 students, Wagner said.

"We don't really have an empty classroom, but we have one or two we can probably make work if needed, but right now we're good," he said. "There's no traveling teachers. There's no modular (classrooms). Everybody has a classroom. If we grow by a couple of teachers next year, we'll have to be creative, but we still should be able to make it work."

Surpassing the 1,700-student mark would be the catalyst for Pueblo West to consider using traveling teachers and other methods of accommodating growth, Wagner said.

In the meantime, Pueblo West High School is benefitting from a districtwide bond that will repave and maximize parking space within the school's main parking lot. Other improvements resulting from the bond include paving student parking lots, student overflow parking lots, football and tennis parking lots; adding handicap access to baseball and softball fields; replacing moveable walls; and fire door repairs.

Career and technical education offerings growing with school's enrollment

While growth at the school may require Pueblo West to get creative to address demand in the future, the growth has its perks.

The school is "not too big, but big enough" to support several programs, including robust career and technical education offerings, Wagner said. The school currently offers pathways for students interested in entering fields in business, construction, multimedia, health science, engineering and digital technology.

"It's definitely a recruiting tool," Wagner said. "We're trying to get kids out here that want a specific career, and we offer a lot of things that other schools don't."

In August, the school will add what it's calling a "Law Academy." The academy will include two components: a legal and judicial studies pathway that will educate aspiring lawyers, judges, politicians, policymakers and paralegals; and a law enforcement pathway that will educate aspiring police officers, sheriff's deputies, corrections officers, state patrol staff and law enforcement clerks.

"We are partnering with the (Pueblo County Sheriff's Office) with the Explorer Program, the Pueblo Police Department, corrections, the (Colorado) State Patrol, and then we have some lawyers who are going to be part of our advisory board as well," said Tonja Odell, academy coordinator for career and technical education programs at Pueblo West High School.

An additional partnership with Pueblo Community College will allow Law Academy students to take college-level courses on the Pueblo West High School campus, Odell said. Law Academy courses will be taken through electives so students will also be able to take core classes in the International Baccalaureate and Advanced Placement programs.

"(Students) can be on their way to almost having an associate (degree) by the time they graduate from here," she said.

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Pueblo Chieftain reporter James Bartolo can be reached by email at JBartolo@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Pueblo West High School enrollment growing