In a sudden move that has left many families in limbo, the University Preparatory Academy in West Palm Beach has announced that it will not reopen for the upcoming 2025-2026 school year. A staple in the community since its opening, the charter school was a tuition-free K-8 institution, which had been a favored option for many parents seeking alternatives to traditional public schools, as detailed on the WPBF website.
The closure comes on the heels of a series of poor academic performance reports. CBS12 News reported that the school had received grades below a “C” for three consecutive years. In the 2022-2023 school year, the Academy was rated a D, followed by an F in 2023-2024, and another D in the 2024-2025 school year. These academic struggles seemingly led the school’s administration to make the closure decision just weeks before the new term was set to begin.
Parents, many of whom found out about the closing through social media or an email from the principal, are facing the daunting task of finding new schools for their children with very little time to prepare. “It’s just disheartening. It’s really devastating. It really is,” Tiffany Bassett told CBS12 News, expressing the sentiments of over 300 families impacted by the abrupt announcement. One of the pressing concerns for parents like Bassett is finding an appropriate educational setting for children with special needs, as some require smaller class sizes and more personalized attention…