Education Archive

Over the past several years, Oriole Beach Elementary School has hosted an event named ‘White Cane Day’ to recognize a blind student enrolled at the school and bring awareness of blindness and other conditions to fellow students.

The annual event has been a big success, with students and teachers participating in a variety of activities to show what life would be like without the use of vision.

While South Santa Rosa County may not be the agricultural boon that the north end is, one classroom at West Navarre Intermediate School is working to ensure students grow in their agricultural knowledge.

Fourth-grade teacher Michelle Tucker has introduced plants, chickens and other agricultural subjects to her students for at least the past three years.

Northwest Florida Construction Career Days celebrated a record-breaking sixth year in 2026.

The annual construction and transportation career fair drew more than 1,400 students and chaperones from schools across seven Northwest Florida counties. Counties involved in this year’s event included Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Walton, Holmes, Jackson and Washington counties.

Colton Tucker is anything but average.

An A-grade student, top of his class and a dirt bike enthusiast, Tucker recently added the honor of Sunshine State Scholar to his burgeoning resume.

Santa Rosa County District Schools is close to opening its Center for Innovation.

Katelyn Kent, district public information and family and community outreach officer, anticipates a ribbon cutting for the new facility will be held in the spring.

Students and families ventured to the Dillon Center in Milton Feb. 5 to learn about Career and Technical Education (CTE) opportunities in the school district.

East Bay K-8 School was “lit up” Tuesday, Jan. 27, during Literacy Night, an afterschool event designed to get students excited about reading.

Last summer, Paul Taylor, a science teacher at Navarre High School, reached out to the community seeking donations to create a fishing section within his marine biology class.

The response, he said, was overwhelming.

The Junior Leadership Santa Rosa program visited Naval Air Station Whiting Field earlier this month to learn about military aviation and other elements of the station’s operations.

Junior Leadership Santa Rosa, a program for high school juniors, is designed to help students gain insights into their communities’ industries and government. The goal is to forge leaders who are knowledgeable and invested in their communities.

Kimberly McChesney, a former Gulf Breeze Elementary School assistant principal, has been placed in a new role within the district after an investigation found no evidence of wrongdoing related to events at the end of the 2024-25 school year.

McChesney, who was placed on administrative leave in August 2025 after her son, Matthew McChesney, was arrested in July on a charge of possession of child pornography, has been reassigned to the Blended Academy. She will serve as assistant principal of the school, which offers a hybrid model of online education and in-person support.