Our Request We, the parents, families, and community members of Kendale Elementary School, respectfully ask Miami-Dade County Public Schools and the School Board to keep Kendale Elementary open and pause any closure or consolidation decision until the District has completed and publicly presented a comprehensive evaluation of reasonable alternatives to increase enrollment and improve facility utilization. Kendale Elementary is an A-rated school and a School of Excellence. Before permanently closing or consolidating a successful neighborhood public school, we believe the District should demonstrate that every reasonable alternative has been seriously evaluated. Closing Kendale should be the last option—not the first. Who Is Impacted? Kendale Elementary is more than a school. It is a community of students, families, teachers, staff, and neighbors who have built a strong and successful learning environment. Established in 1969, Kendale Elementary has served generations of Miami-Dade families for more than 55 years and has built a strong record of academic excellence and innovation. Kendale is an A-rated school with a GOLD STEAM designation and has received significant recognitions throughout its history, including Blue Ribbon School of Excellence, the Florida Governor’s Sterling Award, 21st Century School of Distinction, and the Lighthouse School Award. Before considering the closure or consolidation of a school with this history of achievement, the District should fully evaluate every reasonable strategy to increase enrollment, expand programs, improve utilization, and preserve this valuable public-school resource for future generations. The children will experience the greatest impact if Kendale closes. Closing or consolidating the school could disrupt students who are thriving academically, socially, and emotionally, including students with disabilities, students with IEPs, gifted students, and other children who depend on established teachers, programs, services, routines, friendships, and support systems. Families deserve to know why closing a successful public school is being considered before every reasonable alternative has been fully evaluated. What Is at Stake? The issue is larger than one school. Traditional public schools throughout Miami-Dade are facing declining enrollment and utilization challenges. At the same time, families continue to be offered additional educational options outside their neighborhood public schools. Before Kendale is closed because of enrollment or utilization, the community deserves a transparent explanation of how enrollment trends, school boundaries, educational options, residential development, population changes, District policies, and other factors contributed to Kendale’s current enrollment. Most importantly, we need to know what can still be done to reverse that trend. Evaluate Alternatives Before Closure We ask M-DCPS to develop a comprehensive enrollment and utilization plan for Kendale and formally evaluate reasonable alternatives, including: * Boundary adjustments that could increase Kendale’s enrollment and improve utilization. * Expansion or addition of Choice, Magnet, Gifted, or other specialized academic programs capable of attracting and retaining families. * Analysis of current and projected residential development and population growth in the Kendale community and how future development could affect enrollment. * Expansion of early-childhood education opportunities, including programs similar to Sprouts, daycare, or other early-learning programs that could bring younger families into the Kendale community and create a pipeline of future Kendale students. * A formal feasibility study of expanding Kendale from K–5 to K–8, including projected enrollment, facility capacity, safety requirements, renovation or construction needs, costs, impact on neighboring schools, and potential long-term benefits. * Other enrollment-building, community-serving, or revenue-generating programs that could make better use of available space while strengthening the school. * Any additional alternatives available to the District that could preserve Kendale as a viable neighborhood public school. We are not asking the District to select one particular solution without analysis. We are asking the District to study the solutions before choosing closure. Questions We Need the District to Answer 1. What specific enrollment, utilization, financial, demographic, and facility data were used to identify Kendale Elementary for possible closure or consolidation? 2. What actions has the District taken during the past several years to increase or stabilize enrollment at Kendale before considering closure? 3. What alternatives to closure have already been evaluated for Kendale, and what were the results of those evaluations? 4. Will the District evaluate boundary adjustments, Choice, Magnet, Gifted, early-childhood, and other specialized programs as strategies to increase Kendale’s enrollment? 5. Has the District conducted a formal feasibility analysis of converting Kendale Elementary into a K–8 school? If not, will it conduct one before making a final closure or consolidation decision? 6. How many additional students could Kendale potentially attract or retain through K–8 expansion or other enrollment-building programs? 7. What would be the projected cost of implementing alternatives such as K–8 expansion or additional programs compared with the financial and community impact of closing or consolidating Kendale? 8. If Kendale students would be reassigned to another elementary school, what objective criteria are being used to determine which campus remains open—including academic performance, capacity, facilities, programs, location, transportation, utilization, and long-term enrollment potential? 9. How would closing Kendale affect students with disabilities, students with IEPs, gifted students, and other children who depend on specialized programs and established relationships with teachers and staff? 10. How does the District account for the impact of charter schools and other educational options on enrollment and public-school funding when determining that a traditional public school should close because of declining enrollment? 11. Has the District considered current and planned residential development in the Kendale area when projecting future enrollment, and what population and student-enrollment projections were used? 12. Will the District release the complete data, financial analyses, enrollment projections, utilization calculations, feasibility studies, and alternatives considered for Kendale before the School Board makes any final decision? Why Is Now the Time to Act? Once a neighborhood public school is closed, rebuilding that school community is extremely difficult. A decision of this magnitude should not be made solely because current enrollment is below capacity when reasonable strategies may exist to attract students, expand programs, improve utilization, and strengthen the school for the future. We recognize that declining enrollment presents real challenges for the District. But those challenges should be addressed through transparency, evidence, innovation, community participation, and long-term planning—not simply closure. What We Are Asking the School Board and M-DCPS to Do We respectfully ask Miami-Dade County Public Schools and the School Board to: KEEP KENDALE ELEMENTARY OPEN. PAUSE any closure or consolidation decision while alternatives are evaluated. DEVELOP a comprehensive plan to increase enrollment and utilization at Kendale. EVALUATE boundary changes, specialized programs, early-childhood programs, residential growth, K–8 expansion, and other viable alternatives. RELEASE the data and analyses supporting the District’s recommendations. GIVE parents, teachers, staff, and the community a meaningful opportunity to participate before any final decision is made. Our children deserve more than a closure recommendation. They deserve evidence that every reasonable alternative was considered first. OUR KIDS. OUR SCHOOL. OUR COMMUNITY. OUR FUTURE. SAVE KENDALE ELEMENTARY. Disclaimer: This petition is an independent parent- and community-led initiative. It is not sponsored by, affiliated with, or officially endorsed by Kendale Elementary School, its administration, faculty, staff, Miami-Dade County Public Schools, or the School Board. The views and requests expressed herein represent participating parents, families, and community members only.