After attending Littlewood Elementary School for years, Quantisha Campbell’s 10-year-old boy is starting the academic year at home after being unenrolled following the district’s rezoning.
Under its “Our Schools — Future Ready” plan, Alachua County Public Schools have sought to reduce excess capacity by rezoning attendance boundaries and closing schools. District officials have attributed these changes in part to declining enrollment and a rise in charter schools.
ACPS served nearly 29,000 students in the 2021-22 academic year. The district now serves about 26,000 students, according to its website — a decline of roughly 10%.
Quantisha Campbell, a 32-year-old parent, said her fifth-grade son attended Littlewood Elementary School through zoning exemptions because the school met his special and medical needs. Zoning exemptions allow students to attend schools outside the one they are zoned for. But this school year, he was dropped from enrollment.
Following the changes, Quantisha’s son is still out of school, and she has been looking into private schooling options to accommodate his needs.
The process of enrolling her son in a private school has been tedious, she added, but may be the only option she has left.
“It’s different than public schools because we have to do all the footwork,” she said.
Before the rezoning, Quantisha said her son’s class grew from six to 12 students with varying needs and three teachers.
“When I was coming to visit, it was like a madhouse in there,” she said.
She also said tutoring and other resources were difficult to access while her children attended Littlewood. As a full-time student with a large family and a husband who works nights, she said providing additional academic support at home can be difficult.
The trend extends beyond the county. Between fall 2021 and spring 2026, charter school enrollment saw a nearly 2% increase throughout Florida. But during that period, charter enrollment in Alachua County rose by 2%.
Florida legislation supports charter schools by providing state funding comparable to that of traditional public schools, allowing greater operational flexibility.
Newberry Community School, formerly known as Newberry Elementary School, is a newly converted kindergarten through fourth-grade charter school with nearly 350 students enrolled.
Last year, Newberry Elementary School, which served the same grades as it does currently, saw roughly 650 students enrolled. Newberry Community School drew in more than half of the original elementary school’s student body, contributing to a drop in enrollment in the district.
The district converted Oak View Middle School to a pre-K through eighth grade school to accommodate the change. Enrollment data for the new grade additions is not available.
Newberry Community School is not the only charter school option available to Alachua County students.
Another option is the Florida Cyber Charter Academy, a virtual, tuition-free charter school serving students across all grades in Florida. The virtual school provides live, regularly scheduled classes led by state-certified teachers.
Krissi Campbell, a K-5 literacy coach at the school, said the academy operates similarly to a traditional campus.
“We run very similar to a typical brick and mortar setting,” she said. “We have the same legal requirements as the state of Florida in our charter school.”
Elementary students have a 120-minute English language arts block and a 90-minute math block, along with science, social studies, art and music, Campbell said. The school follows a standard 180--day instructional calendar, with the first two weeks focused on classroom management and online etiquette.
As a virtual instructor, Campbell said she has fostered positive relationships with families.
“We do meetups in person. You get to meet your students and have fun with them,” she said. “It wraps it up all together.”
Michelle Crespo-Melendrez, a sixth- through 12th-grade literacy coach, said families choose virtual learning because it provides more flexibility. The Florida Cyber Charter Academy offers accommodations as needed.
“We have the same concerns as any school and the same exact support systems in place,” she said.
Similar to traditional public schools, Florida Cyber Charter Academy provides one-on-one support through inclusion courses for students who have a 504 plan, or an Individualized Education Program, both which outline specialized instruction opportunities.
To keep students engaged and parents involved in their children’s academics, parents are required to be present in the same home environment as the student during the school day, she said.
While charter schools have become an increasingly popular alternative schooling option in Florida, families that remain in the district are trying to adjust.
After the district rezoned and closed schools, roughly 3,200 students were relocated. While students adapted to the discomfort of a new school, families considered alternative schooling options outside the district.
Contact Lily Hartzema at lhartzema@alligator.org. Follow her on X @lilyhartzema.
Lily Hartzema is a senior journalism student at UF with a minor in geography. This is her third consecutive semester at The Alligator. She previously served as a copy editor in Summer 2026 and is a returning metro reporter. In her past-time, she enjoys reading, exploring new trails and photographing anything that catches her eye.
