‘Incredibly grateful.’ Glades Middle School not on recommended list of closures
Glades Middle School in Miramar is safe from the chopping block — for now.
The plan to close the school on Bass Creek Road and turn it into a branch of Sheridan Technical College is off the table as of Friday, Dec. 12.
After considering the opinions of the Broward County School Board, parents, students and the School Boundary Advisory Committee, Superintendent Howard Hepburn announced his recommendations on which schools should close and which boundaries should change.
Glades Middle was considered for closing during the Redefining Our Schools process, but it is not listed in the official recommendations.
The Redefining Our Schools Initiative was created as a response to rapidly declining enrollment in Broward County Public Schools. Glades Middle had 862 students this year but is built to hold 1,842, according to district data. Closing Glades would have saved the county about $2.7 million, officials said.
Instead, Hepburn recommended consolidating seven other schools while changing the boundaries of others.
“I am incredibly grateful that the voices of our community were heard,” Glades teacher Christine McMahon-Nebe told the Miramar News on Dec. 16. “It means so much to see that advocacy honored by the board and superintendent.”
Parents, teachers such as McMahon-Nebe and administrators at Glades formed their own redefining committee in response to the board’s recommendations and came up with a plan: Turn Glades into a K-8, removing the need for students to go to New Renaissance Middle or turn too many elementary schools into K-8s.
They also formed a Change.org petition that had 2,736 verified signatures as of Dec. 16.
District 2 Board Member Rebecca Thompson brought this plan to the board to consider at a Dec. 8 workshop.
“This approach preserves the middle school infrastructure and adolescent-appropriate supports our students need, while also allowing elementary students to benefit from those same resources,” McMahon-Nebe said.
At the Dec. 2 Boundary Advisory Committee meeting, during which recommendations were made to the school board, members voted 43-6 against closing Glades Middle.
Meanwhile, Dolphin Bay Elementary was being considered for transformation into a K-8, but did not make the list. Sunshine Elementary, however, is being recommended for consolidation into Fairway Elementary.
As for Miramar High, the superintendent recommended they “shift the portion of the Hallandale High School boundary west of Interstate 95 to Miramar High School, so that beginning in the 2026-27 school year students in this area will be assigned to Miramar High School.”
Per the recommendations, Hallandale would turn into a four-day-a-week magnet school.
