Key Biscayne School Faces Enrollment Crisis, Residents May Teach

Key Biscayne, Florida – The Key Biscayne K-8 Center is facing a serious enrollment decline, prompting the Miami-Dade School District to suggest an unconventional solution. During a meeting with local leaders on June 12, school officials proposed that residents with expertise, but not necessarily teaching credentials, could volunteer to teach classes at the school.

Lourdes Diaz, the chief academic officer for Miami-Dade Schools, explained the initiative. “So there may be folks who live here on the Key, who are not full-time teachers that have expertise, that have something that we could leverage so that they could teach a couple of days a week, two periods, of something very special that we could offer here,” she said.

Village Vice Mayor Oscar Sardiñas supported the idea, noting that many residents could benefit from additional income. “I can tell you there’s a lot of people, you know, on this island that could use some ancillary income,” Sardiñas added.

The proposal comes amid troubling statistics for the K-8 Center. Enrollment in the sixth grade has dropped by 57% over the past few years, falling from 66 students in the 2020-21 academic year to just 28 today. Seventh and eighth-grade enrollments have also seen significant decreases.

This decline has raised concerns among village leaders and school officials, who met last week to discuss potential solutions. The meeting included representatives from both the school district and Key Biscayne’s Village Council.

According to the Village Council, families are increasingly opting to transfer their children to MAST Academy after fifth grade, believing it to be a guaranteed pathway to high school placement. Sardiñas noted that misinformation on social media is exacerbating the problem, complicating communication between the school and families.

“There’s a lot of information out there that is not necessarily accurate,” Sardiñas said. “So I think communication is a huge part.”

Other local leaders expressed concern about broader issues affecting public education, including legislative measures perceived to undermine public school systems. Council Member Frank Caplan highlighted the impact of legislative agendas on local schools, raising alarms about the long-term implications for public education.

In response to enrollment challenges, the village and school district plan to implement a community survey to gauge parent and resident input on education needs. “Without their voices, we’re just making assumptions,” Deputy Superintendent Michael Lewis stated, emphasizing the importance of community feedback for effective planning.

The debate continues as both the Key Biscayne community and the Miami-Dade School District work together to address the pressing enrollment crisis at the K-8 Center.