The Miami-Dade Public Schools identified five educational centers that could close due to declining enrollment, in a new phase of the reorganization process that also includes relocating students to other schools and modifying the grade levels of some institutions.
According to a report released this Thursday by WLRN, the district has resumed its review of schools with fewer students and postponed the School Board's vote, originally scheduled for December, until March 2027.
Authorities will hold community meetings throughout November before presenting the final recommendations.
The five schools facing the possibility of closure are Golden Glades Elementary, Myrtle Grove Elementary, Carol City Middle, Lorah Park Elementary, and Hammocks Middle.
This latest one is located in The Hammocks, in the southwest of Miami-Dade, near Kendall, an area where many Cuban and Hispanic families live who could be affected by the school assignment changes.
A sixth institution, Southside Preparatory Academy, is not listed among the proposed closures, but it could be transformed from a school serving preschool through eighth grade into a center that extends to twelfth grade, allowing students to complete their secondary education there.
The official statement published on Wednesday by the school district identifies six institutions as Targeted, a category that anticipates potential modifications in their operation or in the school attendance zones.
Other 28 schools have been classified as Advised, meaning they will remain under monitoring and evaluation before considering possible changes. In total, there are 34 institutions included in this new stage of the process.
The authorities clarified that none of those classifications constitutes a definitive decision regarding the future of the schools.
What would happen to the students if the closures are approved?
The proposals announced by the district include distributing students among nearby schools, with adjustments to the attendance zones and, in some cases, changes to the grades offered by the receiving institutions.
Students from Golden Glades Elementary and Myrtle Grove Elementary would be transferred to Carol City Elementary School.
In the case of Carol City Middle, students would transition to Lake Stevens Middle School and Miami Carol City Senior High School, which would be transformed into a center for students in grades six through twelve.
The students from Lorah Park Elementary would be redistributed among Earlington Heights Elementary, South Hialeah Elementary, and Lincoln Diaz-Balart Hialeah Elementary.
For Hammocks Middle, the proposal includes relocating its students to Felix Varela Senior High School, which would also be reorganized to serve grades six through twelve.
These changes remain proposals. Families will have to wait for the School Board's decision to find out if they will be implemented and how the final assignments for their children will be determined.
The lack of students limits resources and educational opportunities in schools
The superintendent of Miami-Dade, Rafael Villalobos, explained to WLRN that the district is conducting a deeper evaluation of the institutions before recommending changes that could impact their communities.
Villalobos stated that schools with few students face challenges in providing certain educational services due to the way they receive their funding.
"Those schools with low enrollment may not have an art teacher available every day. They might also lack a music or physical education teacher on a daily basis," explained the official.
According to Villalobos, these differences limit students' opportunities, while schools with sufficient enrollment can maintain those programs on a regular basis.
The proposal comes after, in August, 27 public schools in Miami-Dade were placed under review for possible closures, mergers, or reorganizations.
That list caused concern among parents and educators in Miami Gardens, Opa-locka, Kendall, and other communities in the county.
In September, Villalobos temporarily suspended the process after taking office as superintendent, with the intention of reviewing the data and listening to the families before moving forward.
Now, the district is resuming evaluations with a new classification and an extended timeframe for making decisions.
The decrease in students is one of the main issues facing the educational system in the county.
At the beginning of the 2026-2027 school year, the schools directly managed by Miami-Dade recorded a loss of more than 15,000 students compared to the previous year, dropping from 230,172 enrolled to 215,078.
Among the reasons cited by the authorities are the decline in birth rates, migration changes, and the high cost of living in South Florida, factors that have altered the composition of many school communities.
One of the most significant declines occurred in the arrival of foreign students. Former superintendent José Dotres revealed in October that the district had gone from receiving up to 22,000 immigrant students in certain sessions to enrolling hardly 3,000 in the last period.
The significant decline in new enrollments from abroad is compounded by the departure of families from Miami-Dade and changes in the demand for public education, amidst a context of tightening federal immigration policies.
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