For the first time ever, top officials at Broward County Public Schools shared on Monday a detailed plan to fix the main crisis affecting the sixth largest school district in the nation: the loss of nearly 54,000 students over two decades, a trend that’s expected to continue.
In order to slow the hemorrhage of funds and students, administrators proposed moves that would impact a total of 30 schools. Three schools would close, and the other 27 would be impacted through boundary, program, grade and other changes.
Superintendent Howard Hepburn and Alan Strauss, the school district’s task-assigned chief strategy and innovation officer, presented the ideas during the first of seven town hall meetings scheduled to take place this week and next week. If you’re interested in attending one, click here for the details. To read their presentation, click here.
Hepburn will gather feedback and said he could change his recommendations before he presents them to the Broward School Board during a workshop on May 14. The board will vote on a final plan on June 18.
The Herald team built a map to help you visualize Hepburn’s proposed changes:
Southeastern Broward
Pines Middle in Pembroke Pines would transform from a traditional 6-8 middle school to a 6-12 school. The district would replicate the Millennium 6-12 Collegiate Academy in Tamarac, formerly known as Millennium Middle School, which Strauss said U.S. News & World Reports ranked as the No. 2 high school in Florida last week.
Silver Shores Elementary in Miramar would evolve from a K-5 boundary elementary school into a K-8 full choice school, the latter meaning any parent would apply to enroll their kid there. Strauss said this would help families commuting on I-75.
Most students assigned to Silver Shores would move to Silver Lakes Elementary in Miramar and some to Silver Palms Elementary in Pembroke Pines, too.
The two special needs preschool programs for students with disabilities at Silver Shores would relocate to Panther Run Elementary in Pembroke Pines.
Southwestern Broward
Hollywood Central Elementary in Hollywood would switch from a traditional K-5 elementary into a K-8 school. Strauss said the community asked for that years ago but the district never implemented it.
Olsen Middle would close and its campus would become school district administrative offices. Olsen students would go to Attucks Middle, Hollywood Central Elementary (turned K-8) and McNicol Middle — all in Hollywood, Strauss said.
Oakridge Elementary would close and its campus would become affordable housing for the district’s workforce, Hepburn said.
Oakridge neighboring schools — Mary M. Bethune Elementary and Stirling Elementary, Hollywood Hills Elementary and Colbert Elementary in Hollywood, as well as Collins Elementary in Dania Beach — would need boundary changes to absorb Oakridge students and to better define the zoning there so some families don’t have to commute as much, Strauss said.
WEIGH IN: Have you or your child recently left a South Florida public school? Tell us why
Centeral Broward
Broward Estates Elementary would close and its campus would become an early learning center that would mirror Gulfstream Early Learning Center in Hallandale Beach, Strauss said.
Sunland Park Academy used to be a poor-performing school years ago, and the district staff changed it back then from a K-5 elementary school to a K-3 academy. Since, the school “has been doing well,” Strauss said, so they want to return it to a K-5 elementary.
Neighboring schools to Sunland and Broward Estates — Thurgood Marshall Elementary and Westwood Heights Elementary in Fort Lauderdale, as well as Plantation Elementary in Plantation — would need boundary changes to absorb Broward Estates students.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Montessori Academy in Lauderhill would change to a regular school instead of a Montessori. Strauss said that because it’s a boundary school, the Montessori aspect of it may not be attractive to some families assigned to it, so they want to turn it into a regular school to cater to everyone assigned there. If someone wants a Montessori program, they can apply to another.
Midwestern Broward
Virginia Shuman Young Montessori in Fort Lauderdale would turn into a regular, boundary elementary school instead of a Montessori, full choice one, the latter meaning any parent would apply to enroll their kid there. Strauss said this would help open up seats for families moving into those neighborhoods and looking for a local school.
The Montessori program in that area would move from Virginia Shuman to Bennett Elementary in Fort Lauderdale. Bennett is located by Sunrise Middle School, which is already a Montessori middle school, so the transition would let the district offer a “seamless” K-8 Montessori option, Strauss said.
North Fork Elementary in Fort Lauderdale would switch from a boundary school into a full choice to add another full choice option there. North Folk would also become a “commuter” school, Strauss said, meaning it wouldn’t offer transportation but families who use I-95 to commute would use it.
The changes described above would also require boundary changes at Harbordale Elementary, Walker Elementary and North Side Elementary — all in Fort Lauderdale, Strauss said.
READ MORE: How much will Broward’s new schools superintendent make? Here’s what we know
Northwestern Broward
Quiet Waters Elementary, Deerfield Beach Elementary and Tedder Elementary, all in Deerfield Beach, would be impacted through public-private partnerships.
Hepburn mentioned a historic building at Deerfield Beach that would be refurbished and used by working with a private company.
He didn’t mention any specific ideas for Quiet Waters or Tedder.
Most Popular
Comments / 0