Parents Dropping Off Students Find Private Elementary School in Miami Closed – NBC 6 South Florida

Most schools in South Florida reopened Monday after the winter break but not a small private school in Miami.

Normally there would be around 150 K-5th students at Allapattah Wynwood School but many of them showed up Monday to find the gates locked and the school closed.

“We’re not able to go to work. All of the children are here in uniform ready to get an education and the school is closed, the building is closed,” parent Tina Cintron said. “We’re in the United States, we’re in 2023 for God’s sakes, how are you gonna leave a child, over 150 students out in the air?”

Some parents had a letter from a law firm that told them the school was closing on Dec. 23, but several parents said they’d received voice messages saying the school would reopen Monday.

But when they arrived to drop off their kids, everything was shut down.

“Right now I’m outraged at the situation, my son is in fourth grade, he’s losing school, we don’t know what’s going to happen with the school, we have no idea what is gonna transpire,” parent Jennifer Hernandez said. “We have no transcripts to even do anything, schools are not accepting kids in the middle of the year, it’s a really frustrating situation not only for myself but for all of the parents.”

The close appears to have been cause by a legal battle among the family that owns the school.

NBC 6 reached out to the law firm representing the school and haven’t received a reply.

Miami-Dade County Public School Superintendent Dr. Jose Dotres said the students will have an immediate place with the district.

“By tomorrow morning, we should be able to register them. Transcripts are not going to be an impediment, documentation won’t be, we want these children in school,” Dotres said. “Our school district welcomes all students, and we have a very quick and good process to get students registered because we do not want them lingering and being at home.”