Miami-Dade closes nine public schools, many eyed by ‘Schools of Hope’ charters

Education admin June 23, 2026 0 Comments

Miami-Dade closes nine public schools, many eyed by ‘Schools of Hope’ charters

Nine schools across Miami-Dade will close for good this summer after a unanimous vote from the district’s school board last week.

The board was initially considering the closure and consolidation of four schools, but five others were added to the agenda before the Wednesday meeting. Those five schools had been under discussion for closure, and were recommended by the board’s Attendance Boundary Committee, but were not on the board’s agenda one week out.

The schools include four South Dade schools, two in central Miami and three in the northern part of the county.

The full list is as follows:

Robert Russa Moton Elementary
Parkway Elementary
Phillis Wheatley Elementary
Rainbow Park Elementary
Lenora B. Smith Elementary
Pine Villa Elementary
Mandarin Lakes K-8
Miami Springs Middle
Richmond Heights Middle

All of those schools have seen their attendance drop sharply, some by more than half in the last ten years. In Feb. 2016, Rainbow Park Elementary had 409 students; this February, it had 151, per district data. Robert Russa Moton Elementary fell from 367 students to 123 over that same period.

As of late last year, almost all the schools have received letters of intent from charter school operators under Florida’s expanded “Schools of Hope” law. The new statute requires districts to make underused and ”persistently low-performing” schools available to be occupied by approved charter operators, often at a low cost.

Supporters say the law expands options for families and spurs school improvement all around — especially in districts with subpar schools. Critics argue it weakens local control, redirects public funding without voter input and forces districts to accommodate privately managed schools whether they want to or not.

Two of the schools — Mandarin Lakes K-8 and Richmond Heights Middle — received letters from multiple operators, according to a Nov. 2025 memo obtained by the Miami Herald.

The four schools that were previously slated for closure are set to be consolidated with adjacent or nearby schools. Lenora B. Smith Elementary is to consolidate with Georgia Jones-Ayers Middle School to become a K-8 center, Richmond Heights Middle will consolidate with BioTECH at Richmond Heights High School and Pine Villa Elementary will merge with Arthur and Polly Mays Conservatory of the Arts to form a K-12 campus. Miami Springs Middle would consolidate with Miami Springs High, which is located about a mile and a half away.

Under the , students living within the boundary for Robert Russa Moton Elementary in West Perrine will attend Dr. Henry Perrine Elementary. Students assigned to Rainbow Park Elementary will be split between Robert B. Ingram Elementary and Bunche Park Elementary. Frederick Douglass Elementary and Paul Dunbar K-8 Center are mentioned as destinations for students assigned to Phillis Wheatley Elementary. Mandarin Lakes K-8 students will be reassigned to either Irving & Beatrice Peskoe K-8 or Leisure City K-8. Students assigned to Parkway Elementary will move to Norland Elementary.

‘The state failed them’

There was limited discussion about the item during the board meeting, as it was placed on the board’s consent agenda.

Still, Lisette Fernandez, co-founder of the group Moms For Libros, spoke against the item.

Her comments centered on the impact of school closures on communities with high levels of poverty.

“The state has underfunded public schools to the point where this district is closing the schools that serve children who have the least. These families are not losing their schools because their schools failed them, they are losing their schools because the state failed them,” Fernandez said.

Fernandez also expressed frustration that charter schools might come in and use the buildings at a low cost.

One such charter school, KIPP Miami, a Schools of Hope charter operator, is set to open next school year Liberty City in the building that used to house Poinciana Park Elementary.

“Our community is watching a pattern: public schools close, charters move… Once a charter is in a public building, how does that district ever get it back? And what are the terms when the next one moves in? Will this board negotiate protections every time, or will taxpayers foot the bill for the buildings we no longer control,” Fernandez asked.

Some members of the board and administration have shared that anxiety, but the new law essentially blocks them from saying no in many cases.

Concrete plans for the future of the school buildings were not shared at the meeting. However, board members expressed interest Wednesday during a separate discussion in constructing a new building to house Phillis Wheatley Elementary.

Enrollment has been sliding in traditional public schools for several years, including the 2025-2026 school year when the district experienced a drop in enrollment of about 13,000 students.

School officials have linked the dramatic decline to fewer newly arriving immigrants from other countries, declining birth rates, and families leaving for more affordable places. Meanwhile, enrollment at charter schools remains robust and more students are using taxpayer-funded vouchers to help pay for private schooling, a mechanism that was recently expanded to virtually all Florida private school students who opt in.

When discussing planned closures earlier this month, Superintendent Jose Dotres emphasized to the Miami Herald that the cost to the district was just one factor in school closures and consolidations. Educational quality and resources, he said, were the main guiding factors.

“When we have to consolidate a school, we do it because, yes, [it’s] under-enrolled, but what that under-enrollment creates. It creates a school that is less resourced… that’s basically the trigger of the majority of the decisions that go into when we have to consolidate schools,” Dotres said.