‘Blindsided.’ UNC Charlotte elementary school’s abrupt closure displaces 116 students

For many CMS teachers, students and families, the last day of school brought feelings of achievement, gratitude and joy.

For the Niner University Elementary School community, it brought shock and devastation, said director Pamela Broome.

The public school in west Charlotte started in 2020 through partnership between UNC Charlotte and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools to support students coming from low-performing schools or having education difficulties. CMS provided transportation, building and food services. UNC Charlotte staffed the school, molded curriculum and gave college students real-world experience.

But UNC Charlotte announced June 9 the school would close because of its aging facility and low enrollment. It remains unclear what role UNC Charlotte had in the closure. The college provided a statement saying it’s committed to supporting former staff and affected families.

“Everybody was just blindsided by it,” said Sietta Moore, a Niner Elementary parent.

Timeline and agreement

Niner University Elementary found its beginnings in 2016, when the North Carolina General Assembly approved the development of nine laboratory schools across the UNC System.

UNC Charlotte and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education agreed to a five-year contract from 2020 to 2025. Broome said CMS provided a letter of intent to renew Niner Elementary’s lease when the UNC Board of Governors renewed the contract in the fall.

A CMS spokesperson also confirmed the district communicated an intent to extend the agreement for the 2025-26 school year.

But in a June 6th letter to UNC Charlotte Chancellor Sharon Gaber, Superintendent Crystal Hill said CMS would not renew the contract before its expiration on June 30.

“By making this decision now, families have the opportunity to enroll in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (“CMS”) immediately for all students at the beginning of the 2025-26 school year.”

The lottery application for CMS magnet schools, however, closed Jan. 3, leaving many families to enroll in their zoned school or join the waitlist at others.

Moore’s rising fifth grader and her son, a rising kindergartner, are on the wait list at Queen’s Grant Community School. She’s worried about finding a school that works with her family’s needs, including before- and after-school care offerings before the next academic year.

“What if I can get my kids into a school? I’m just like, oh my gosh,” she said.

Many families won’t have much choice except to return to their home schools, Broome said. She added the closure notice left her feeling “shocked” and “devastated.”

Teacher jobs in CMS

Hill’s letter also encouraged the school staff to apply for vacancies within CMS and said the district’s recruitment team would provide “dedicated support” throughout the application process.

About 97% of all CMS teacher vacancies have been filled said Nancy Brightwell, who leads CMS retention and recruitment, in a Monday news conference.

“Our talent acquisition team was out there for about a half a day right after that announcement was made to facilitate supporting any one of those employees who would choose to come to work for Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools,” Brightwell said.

Everyone who worked at Niner Elementary will no longer have a job after June 30, Broome confirmed. She said CMS is trying to work with parents the best they can and added she doesn’t think their placement personnel were anticipating the closure either.

“I would have appreciated a little bit more support for our staff,” she said.

Facility and Enrollment

Located at the former Amay James Pre-K, the school faced HVAC and plumbing issues that would’ve been expensive to replace, Broome said.

“The 56 year-old facility is beginning to deteriorate with increased maintenance needs. Many of the operational systems are in need of major repair or replacement, which have contributed to the increased costs of maintaining the school facility,” a CMS spokesperson said.

Broome questioned why Niner Elementary couldn’t be relocated like Western Carolina University’s lab school, The Catamount School, which moved from a high school to WCU’s campus.

“I don’t understand why we didn’t take some time to explore other options, because I do agree the building here needs to be significantly repaired or updated,” she said.

Moore said she was unaware of the facility issues and low enrollment.

“It really just seemed like any other year, like we were just going to see everybody next year,” she said.

The school ended the year with 116 students. Hill’s letter said that Niner Elementary’s enrollment goal of at least 300 students hadn’t been achieved.

Moore said, if she and other parents had known of the enrollment difficulty, they could’ve helped with social media outreach and community advertising.

“I feel like that should have just been communicated to us and we could have tried to help,” she said.

Niner University’s innovative education approach played a role in the Cato College’s award of a five-year grant and potential endowment of up to $23 million for a new literacy center.

Responsibility and Impact

Many students battle emotional distress and anxiety all the time, Broome said, which is why Niner’s teaching framework revolved around teaching emotional regulation in addition to academics.

“Think about on those mornings when you wake up and you have to be somewhere at a certain time, but for whatever reason the alarm clock didn’t go off, and you’re just having a crazy morning: you spilled your coffee and had to change your clothes, and you’re just running behind,” she said. “You get on the interstate and the traffic is sitting still by the time you get to wherever you’re going you are not regulated.”

Niner Elementary was a Title I designated school, meaning the majority of students live near or below the poverty line.

Through a UNC Charlotte Cato College of Education program, teacher candidates could immerse themselves in the classroom for an entire semester while completing coursework rather than just a couple weeks of required clinical training.

The immersion restructured the required clinical hours assigned to courses to better serve the needs of teacher education candidates, the elementary school’s now-archived website stated. Broome said teacher candidates who went through this program received more hands-on engagement.

“When you think about teacher retention, especially in high-need schools, these teachers are going in far more prepared because of the experiences they’ve had,” she said.

Moore said she had a great experience with the teachers and teacher candidates that worked with her daughter.

She said hearing about Niner’s closure was “heartbreaking” for her daughter. She added that Niner’s “motherly” teachers made the classroom “a safe space” where her child felt comfortable.

“We were like a family, and now that family dynamic is broken,” she described.

Broome recommended Niner Elementary parents speak with counselor services at their new school and advocate for their children to receive trauma-informed services.

She also said there’s been a lack of support for the “emotional distress” Niner Elementary parents, teachers, students and community members are going through.

This story was originally published June 26, 2025 at 5:00 AM.

Abby Pender

The Charlotte Observer

Abby Pender is a recent graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a metro intern for The Charlotte Observer.