Education Archive

A Galaxy far, far away will be a little closer to home for Navarre High School’s Exceptional Student Education (ESE) students this April.

On Friday, April 19, Bennett C. Russell Stadium, where the Navarre Raiders play football, will become the site of ‘Raider Wars 2024.’ The Raider Wars, which is “Star Wars” themed, is the latest installment of the annual Navarre High Raider Games.

Since 1997, Sodexo has been the food vendor for Santa Rosa District Schools, supplying food and drink to students across the county. On Thursday, April 11, the district announced the longtime partnership was ending.

Just a few hundred yards from Holley Navarre Middle School lies Williams Creek, which runs from wetlands near Naval Outlying Landing Field (NOLF) Holley to Santa Rosa Sound.

On Friday, March 15, University of West Florida President Martha D. Saunders announced a gift of $5 million from The Bear Family Foundation, which will rename the UWF College of Business. The college is slated to be named the Lewis Bear Jr. College of Business, contingent on UWF Board of Trustees approval at its quarterly meeting in June. This is the third college to be named in the University’s history.

Outfitted with traditional chef uniforms including toques (chef hats) and double-breasted jackets, a group of six Santa Rosa County students stepped up to the plate to create simple but delicious dishes as part of the 2024 Future Chefs Challenge.

The Santa Rosa Education Foundation invited every school in the Santa Rosa School District to nominate one teacher for the 2024 Santa Rosa Rookie of the Year award.  All full-time teachers in their third year or less of teaching were eligible for this award.  This included total teaching experience, not just in Santa Rosa public schools. 

Santa Rosa County School Board held a special meeting Thursday, March 14, to approve a bargaining agreement between Santa Rosa District Schools and Santa Rosa Professional Educators, the union which represents instructional staff such as teachers. The approved contract will see a 3.87% average salary increase for teachers in the district.

Introduced to Hawaiians by the Portuguese in the 19th century, the ukulele has become a staple of the island’s sound. The unique instrument, which employs four nylon strings around a small, guitar-like body, is also quite popular beyond the 50th state.

Going into their March 6 negotiation with Santa Rosa District Schools, David Godwin of the Santa Rosa Professional Educators said the two sides were at an impasse over a contract for instructional staff. Santa Rosa Professional Educators is the union which represents instructional staff such as teachers in the county’s public schools. While neither side has budged much in contract talks, SRPE brought forth a new proposal to try and garner a compromise with the district.

On Dec. 30, 2022, Pace High School unexpectedly lost a valuable long-time staff member and former student. Bridget Hall Head was a member of the first graduating class at Pace High School and an employee at the school for 24 years. Over the last two decades, she served as the principal’s secretary. Now the principal, Stephen Shell wants to honor her in a permanent way. On March 7, he attended the Santa Rosa County School Board meeting to request a building, currently known as Freedom Hall, be named for Head.