Miami Springs Middle School may not be around next school year if the current proposal from the school district is approved by the the Miami-Dade County School Board.
What’s the proposal?
According to a proposal presented by former Miami Springs City Attorney and current Miami-Dade County School Board Member, Dan Espino, at Thursday’s Town Hall at the MSSH Auditorium, Miami Springs Senior High would become the “Miami Springs 6-12 Golden Hawks Academy.” In other words, the students attending Miami Springs Middle School would transfer to the newly expanded 6-12 academy at Miami Springs Senior High.
What’s the benefit for the students / parents?
More advanced classes.
For Middle School Students, they get more options for electives and even high school level courses while still being in middle school grades. Academically, this allows advanced middle schoolers the ability to progress faster.
More elective choices.
The merger doesn’t only benefit the most advanced students as it also gives any student the ability to access more elective courses.
More sports / extracurricular activities
Middle school students will also get more access to sports and extra curricular activity that they may not have otherwise had access to at Miami Springs Middle School. Furthermore, the high school already starts off with far superior athletic facilities than what’s available at the Middle School.
What’s the benefit for high school students?
Most of the benefits were geared for the middle school students. So a parent asked the obvious question. I’m paraphrasing, but “What’s in it for the high school students?”
The answer basically boiled down to this. More funding for the school will ensure more options for teachers, electives, and sports. So, while the majority of the benefits were geared for the Middle School Students, there are financial benefits for securing funds for high school academics and programs that benefit the high schoolers.
Why is this being proposed?
Money. Plain and simple.
As more and more parents choose charter, private, or even home schooling, the enrollment at both Miami Springs Senior High and Miami Springs Middle School has dwindled. Schools receive funding based on their enrollment. Less students = less money for the school.
Enrollment has dropped so much that the High School can handle all of its current students and all the current Middle School students and still have room left over for even more students.
It’s more efficient for the school district to pull the money that is being split between the Middle School and High School and funnel that money to just one school. From a business perspective, it makes perfect sense. Why pay for 2x the light bills and the maintenance of two properties when you can cut the property expenses in half.
Plus, there are further efficiencies in reduced administration and staffing by merging the two schools into one.
Not the first time MSSH has expanded grade levels
Miami Springs Senior High used to only have 10th grade through 12th grade. In the 1986 – 1987 school year, MSSH was expanded to offer 9th grade through 12th grade education.
Now, 40 years later, it looks like it’s going to expand again to include 6th through 8th grade.
What will happen to Miami Springs Middle Property?
For now, nothing. It will continue to operate as the Middle School through the end of this school year. However, if the proposal moves forward (which, by all accounts it’s steamrolling ahead) then, according to School Board Member Dan Espino, it will rent out the property for tutoring, academics, and even local governments.
It will not be sold for housing or commercial purposes.
However, it does give credence to the speculation that AIE (the Academy for Innovative Education) may continue its expansion towards the Miami Springs Middle School property.
it also seems like the City of Miami Springs may have an opportunity to lease a portion of the property to provide City Services, possible even the Police Department. if you weren’t aware, the City of Miami Springs has long outgrown its facilities at City Hall that house both the City Administration and Police Department.
For now, it’s just a proposal and not yet official. But all indications seem to point to the merging of Miami Springs Middle and Miami Springs Senior High into the new Miami Springs 6-12 Golden Hawk Academy.
What about traffic? Start / Stop times?
One of the questions asked by a parent at Thursday night’s town hall meeting was scheduling? Will the Middle Schoolers follow the High School schedule? Will they have split shifts?
The district hadn’t yet fine tuned their plans on this one. However, one thing’s for sure. Residents near the high school will see an increase in drop offs, pick ups, and school buses.
That being said, while the traffic will go up, it’s no where near the level of students Miami Springs Senior High had back in the 1990s when all the Doral kids came to Springs. Back then, Doral didn’t have a single high school ready to take on kids. Obviously, a lot has changed in the last 30 years.
What will happen to the staff / teachers at MSMS?
It’s unknown yet what will happen. We suspect many teachers will be moved over to the new 6-12 Golden Hawks Academy. However, there may be redundant staff in the administration, security, janitorial, maintenance, and cooking staff that might be re-assigned elsewhere. Right now, it’s too early to tell.
Watch the full Town Hall Meeting below:
What do you think?
Let us know in the comments section on the bottom of this page or via social media.
