Students, teachers and parents spent the afternoon of Nov. 13 protesting on Wiles Road near the back of Forest Glen Middle School in Coral Springs, urging Broward County school leaders to keep the campus open.
The Broward County School Board is scheduled to vote on Dec. 15 on Superintendent Howard Hepburn’s recommendation to close Forest Glen and other under-enrolled schools.
Parent Desriee Guell said the group wanted to raise awareness with the board. Parents and teachers describe Forest Glen as an “A” school with an award-winning chorus and band program and other strong arts and academic offerings. The school has 742 students, about 64 percent of its capacity. Guell said about 700 students who could attend are instead learning at home, in charter or private schools, or at other public schools.
Art teacher Dawn Bustamente said the school is approaching its 40th anniversary and serves as a neighborhood school that would be difficult to replace. Civics teacher Megan Waller said staff have proposed turning Forest Glen into an artistic magnet school with musical theater, a drum line, jazz band and dance. Waller said the school faces tough competition from charter, private and homeschool options.
Seventh grader Skyler Hoffman, who lives within a five-minute walk of the campus, said she wants to return next year.
