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Glenwood Elementary School will permanently close in Fall 2027, following a unanimous vote Thursday night by the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools (CHCCS) Board of Education.
This decision comes amid declining school enrollment over the past ten years. The student population in CHCCS declined from 12,004 students in 2016 to 10,758 in 2026. By 2036, the district estimates that number will drop by 1,000 more, with 111 of those projected losses in elementary schools. These population changes come as a result of falling birth rates, families moving out of the district, and parents sending their children to private and charter schools.
The state provides funding per-pupil, so with fewer students enrolled, the school system has a tighter budget. The board began discussing potential closures in Fall 2025 to address the budget concerns and in March, the board narrowed the list to three elementary schools: Ephesus, Glenwood, and Seawell. These schools were chosen based on their existing renovation needs, with each school more than 50 years old and requiring more than $20 million in repairs.
On Thursday, the board voted to shutter Glenwood due to its position as a magnet school, where students already commute from all parts of the district for its two Mandarin language programs. A report released in early May showed that transportation costs to the district would remain similar after closing Glenwood, but it would cost the district more than $110,000 to change bus routes and send students further from their home schools if either Ephesus or Seawell were to close.
Glenwood students in the STEAM²—Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math, and Mandarin—Dual Language program take half of their classes in Mandarin, and the STEAM² World Language program incorporates 90 minutes of Mandarin per week.
Glenwood will open normally next school year. For Fall 2027, the school district plans to reallocate the 394 Glenwood students to other CHCCS elementary schools, where there are currently 1,100 empty seats, according to Deputy Superintendent of Operations Al Ciarochi. By August 20, the school system will present options to the board for where the dual language and world language programs can be incorporated. The two programs will likely have to separate, according to the district.
Board member Melinda Manning said that shutting a magnet program would be much less disruptive than a neighborhood school.
“Students, in many cases, can follow their teachers and their program, and hope that community can work to stay intact,” Manning said.
Glenwood parent Megan Goodwin said with the magnet program dissolving, she’s considering private and charter schools for her kids as soon as this fall.
“I think you’ll find many families from Glenwood making the same hard decisions and plans, and this may not be the enrollment fix that you hoped,” Goodwin said to the board.
The decision to close Glenwood comes after…
