Original Research by School Decision on Rcma-booker T. Washington
RCMA-Booker T. Washington is a prekindergarten-only school in Moore Haven, the small county seat of Glades County on the southwest edge of Lake Okeechobee. It operates as a regular public school under the Glades County School District. Because it serves only prekindergarten, state assessment results and graduation rates do not apply here, and the comparison metrics for the county's districts are not applicable to this school for the same reason. A missing result in those areas reflects the grade band served, not any academic concern.
Enrollment data in the records currently shows a reported figure of zero, with no demographic breakdowns or free-and-reduced-price-lunch figures available. That absence is noted plainly: this school either had no reportable enrollment at the time the data was compiled, or the records were not captured. A parent with questions about current enrollment and seat availability would want to contact the school or the Glades County School District directly.
The broader district context matters here. Glades County School District entered a state-declared financial emergency in 2026 after its general fund reserves fell below required minimums, as publicly reported by WGCU News and WINK News. Florida's State Board of Education convened an emergency session and appointed an oversight board to manage district spending. Heading into the current school year, the district had already cut a meaningful amount from its budget and eliminated dozens of positions. Declining enrollment across the district has been identified as a driver of the financial pressure. A November 2026 countywide referendum will ask voters whether to approve a half-cent sales tax, with proceeds aimed at upgrading aging school facilities, improving technology, and enhancing security; the tax would carry a sunset provision and a portion would flow to charter schools if passed. For any family choosing a program in this district, those fiscal conditions are worth weighing alongside other factors.
Moore Haven itself is a small, car-dependent rural town with a high poverty rate and median household incomes well below the Florida average, as noted by multiple public sources. Agriculture, including sugar cane, cattle, and produce, anchors the local economy, along with county government and the school district itself as major in-town employers. The housing market sits considerably below state norms, and values have moved downward slightly in the most recent year tracked, though they remain above where they were two decades ago. There is no fixed-route public transit, so families depend on personal vehicles for nearly everything.
The town does offer a River Walk along the Caloosahatchee and access to the Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, and it hosts the long-running Chalo Nitka Festival and Ranch Rodeo. The Glades County Public Library is part of the Heartland Library Cooperative. The community is ethnically diverse, with substantial Black and Hispanic populations alongside White residents, and outside observers describe the town as quiet and residential with limited commercial activity.
Given how thin the available data is for this school specifically, including the absence of enrollment figures and program descriptions, there is little more that can be drawn from the records on hand. A parent exploring early childhood options here should reach out to the school at its Gamble Street address or through the Glades County School District, and ask specifically about current capacity, program structure, and how the district's ongoing financial situation is affecting prekindergarten services.
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