BOISE — The Marian Pritchett School wraps up an era this evening as they hand out diplomas to the last group of seniors to ever attend the school as it stands today.
The new school is in the Boise West end off Emerald near Maple Grove, and it’s a school for pregnant and young parents. Word from the school is, it’s just over 70-percent complete. That’s where all future graduations for students at Marian Pritchett will be held after six young seniors wrapped up the last of the diplomas to be received from school at the historic Booth House.
“We are the last class graduating from the original Marian Pritchett Booth School,” said senior graduating student Hayleigh McDonald.
The Booth House is a nearly century old building that served as a Salvation Army hospital in 1921, it later transitioned to a high school for young parents to receive their diploma in 1964, and now, it’s undergoing a big change.
“It’s a bittersweet graduation as we kind of close the end of an era on this campus,” said Lindsay Klein, Director of Social Services for the Boise Salvation Army.
The Booth Marian Pritchett School is a collaborative effort between the Salvation Army, the Boise School District, and Giraffe laugh, as a support for both young mothers and fathers. Klein said, “We offer prenatal education, parenting education, some life skills.”
They also offer on-campus child care, which students say is a big help, “I had my daughter at the end of January, and I breastfeed her, and they bring her to class to me whenever she’s hungry,” said McDonald.
The services offered at the Booth Marian Pritchett School are ones students say they couldn’t do without, “They are very flexible with their schedule, like, a lot of us work and being a mom we have to work. And, I don’t know, I’m blessed,” said Sonia Aleman, a senior graduating student.
And while the school itself is here to stay, the Booth House where the Marian Pritchett School is housed will be repurposed in the months to come.
“It had an impact in my life because it was able to achieve my diploma while I had my daughter and so I think it will be really weird going to the new school because it won’t be as special," said McDonald.
The Marian Pritchett School is expected to continue in the Booth House through the end of September, then that’s when they plan to relocate to this building here.
