Students, teachers, and parents protest the possible closure of Forest Glen Middle School. {David Volz}
Skyler Hoffman loves being a student at Forest Glen Middle School.
She is a seventh grader who lives in Coral Springs. She enjoys being on the cheerleading team and the student advisory council, and she likes her art classes.
“I live within a five-minute walk to the school, and I really love the art classes. I like to draw and paint, and I want to continue to go to Forest Glen next year,” said Hoffman.
She and a group of students, teachers, and parents spent the afternoon of November 13 demonstrating on Wiles Road near the back of the school to keep it open.
On December 15, the Broward County School Board will vote on Superintendent Howard Hepburn’s recommendation to close Forest Glen along with other under-enrolled schools.
Parent Desriee Guell said, “We are here to bring awareness to the school board not to close our school.”
Parents and teachers point out that Forest Glen is an “A” school with an award-winning chorus and band program, as well as other strong arts and academic programs.
Guell and other parents and teachers have attended school board and community meetings to fight for Forest Glen. The school is at about 64 percent capacity with 742 students in the building.
About 700 students could be attending the school but are being educated at home, in charter or private schools, or have chosen other public schools, according to Guell.
Megan Waller, who teaches civics at Forest Glen, wonders what the teachers could have done to make Forest Glen more attractive to families and Broward school officials. “We have the best middle school chorus and a great band program. We have a great academic program here,” she said.
Parents and teachers have proposed creating an artistic magnet school at Forest Glen. They would work to create a strong band and chorus program along with musical theater, a drum line, jazz band, dance, and other artistic expression programs. But they know they are facing strong competition from charter and private schools, along with families who choose to homeschool, according to Waller.
Dawn Bustamente, who teaches art and ceramics classes, believes county school leaders should recognize the value Forest Glen adds to the community.
“We are coming up on our 40th anniversary, and we are a great neighborhood school. If we lose this school, it will be hard to replace it. We have a great art program here, and I have worked hard to build it up,” she said.
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