Education Archive

As students settle back to school, one Northwest Florida program is helping children strengthen their reading and math skills with some unexpected study partners — horses.

At Life Horse at Grand Review Farm in north Santa Rosa County, founder Stacy Waterous leads the Horse Powered Reading program. Just as it sounds, the program uses activities with horses to help children practice reading and math skills.

A school resource officer for eight years, Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office Dep. Jared Psinas knows the importance of reaching children at an impressionable age.

He leads the LEAD program at East Bay K-8 and oversees its implementation at other schools in the county. An acronym for Law Enforcement Against Drugs and Violence, LEAD is a 10-week educational course designed to teach children about the dangers of drugs and how to deal with things like peer pressure.

The teachers of the year from each school in Santa Rosa county have been announced.

Santa Rosa County District Schools is recognizing National Suicide Prevention Month this September by connecting families with the mental health resources they may need.

Each September serves as National Suicide Prevention Month, a time to bring awareness to mental health issues and the resources that could save people’s lives.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), suicide was responsible for 48,824 deaths in 2024, the most recent year the agency has statistics for. While this amounts to a little over 1.5 percent of the total deaths across the U.S., CDC stats show a profound increase in the suicide rate per 100,000 from 2001 to 2024. Suicide tragically touches everyone, including children.

Inside the Navarre High cafeteria Friday morning, a documentary on Sept. 11, 2001, plays in the background. The scenes of that tragic and chaotic day in American history play out on the screen before the start of the NJROTC Sept. 11 remembrance ceremony.

Santa Rosa County parents can attend a free virtual workshop later this month on how students use artificial intelligence, part of a series of online safety sessions the school district is offering families.

The session, “AI for Student Success: Unlocking Cutting-Edge Tools & Skills to Prepare Students for Their Future,” will take place at 6 p.m. Sept. 22. District officials will cover the basics of AI, how the technology can support student learning and related safety measures.

The first year of Soundside High School also marks the beginning of its Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps program.

AFJROTC is a military-sponsored program available to high school students. Under federal law, JROTC programs are intended to instill the values of citizenship, service to the United States, personal responsibility and a sense of accomplishment.

The University of West Florida’s marching band took to Casino Beach on Pensacola Beach Friday, Aug. 14, for a special performance ahead of the 2026 football season.

For generations, school alma maters have been part of graduations, pep rallies and other traditions.

While the definition of alma mater is the school or university a person graduated from, it also refers to the school’s official anthem. Generally, it’s a tune representing the history, location or values of the school.