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 a months-long discussion process, with loyal families from each of the three institutions concerned that their child’s school was on the chopping block.
In February, the board weighed closing two schools based on recommendations from the district, but those recommendations were adjusted to one school in May.
In a packed meeting room Thursday evening, the room was clearly divided in three: parents and teachers dawned red “EphesUS is all of us” shirts in the center section, facing the panel of board members. On the left was a mass of green, with Glenwood Elementary families sporting school colors and gator shirts. And on the right, a sea of blue in support of Seawell Elementary.
“I want to acknowledge the real damage of this process, pitting neighbor against neighbor and school against school,” Lorelle Babwah Brennen, parent of a Seawell student, said to the board in her blue shirt.
During an hour of public comment, parents and students from each of the three camps stood up to defend their schools. Then one by one, several of the board members read prepared remarks ahead of the vote.
Board member Barbara Fedders went first, announcing she would be voting to close Glenwood as the most logical choice. Parents in the room drew in their breath. Rani Dasi followed with similar remarks, then Meredith Ballew. As the fourth council member, Manning, expressed preference toward closing the magnet program, Glenwood families started filing out of the room.
The board then cast its vote, and parents from each of the schools embraced each other, with Seawell and Ephesus families relieved to be in the clear. Glenwood parents gathered outside the meeting room, confused at the board’s decision.
Several Glenwood parents said that, with the magnet school at the highest capacity of the three (currently at 96% and projected to reach 101% by 2036), it doesn’t make sense to close its doors. Seawell is currently at 81% capacity and is expected to drop to 76% by 2036. Ephesus is currently at 79% capacity, but based on plans for new housing developments nearby, that number is expected to grow to 97%.
A Glenwood second-grader named Xavier walked up to the podium and pulled the microphone down so he could reach. He began speaking in Mandarin and concluded his speech in English.
“If Glenwood closes, many kids like me will have to leave the school—teachers, friends, and routines that are important to us. That will make me feel very sad and worried,” Xavier said. “I know adults have to make hard decisions, but I hope you remember that this decision is not only about buildings for money. It’s about kids, teachers, family, languages, and a school community.”
His mother, Tongde Wu, told the INDY she feels embedded in the Glenwood community, and the dual language program helped her son become confident in both Mandarin and English.
“I understand that it’s a hard decision, and they want to minimize the hardship on the process towards the community, but it’s a real shock to me that they think that dissolving the program is the easiest way,” Wu said after the vote. “Certainly, from where we sit, it’s not.”
Wu expressed concern that the Glenwood community will fracture if the programs are split, emphasizing the benefit of the dual language program in connecting her son with his Chinese heritage.
“It’s a legitimate concern of theirs, and I think we need to listen to that and pay attention if they’re speaking their truth,” board member George Griffin told the INDY. “So we need to put that at the top and say, OK, how can we help preserve a sense of community with whatever we do next?”
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