Education Archive

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.

Holley Navarre Middle School is sending 13 students to the state science fair following the regional West Panhandle Science and Engineering Fair at UWF. The regional science fair saw 24 HNMS students compete.

Throughout February, Santa Rosa District Schools held three different career expos across the county for students and families to explore opportunities in various career fields.

February is CTE month, which recognizes the importance of career and technical education in schools around the nation. In Florida, CTE programs are a growing trend.

Understanding how to handle your finances can be a game changer in your life. According to the University of Kansas, financial wellbeing, which is often tied to financial literacy, can be a determinant of one’s health. Generally, the worse off financially, the worse health wise.

In addition to combating drugs in the community through law enforcement, the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office is taking the fight to the elementary school level.

Santa Rosa Professional Educators (SRPE), the union representing teachers and other instructional staff in Santa Rosa County schools, has been at the negotiating table with Santa Rosa District Schools for the past five and a half months trying to agree to terms for a contract for the 2023-24 school year. The two sides have been through eight negotiation sessions with no end in sight. One of the most recent sessions was held Jan. 18.

A bus bound for West Navarre Primary School Monday morning, Feb. 5, didn’t make it to its destination. Instead, the bus, filled with 24 kindergarteners, first graders and second graders were involved in a collision with another school bus, which had no children in it at the time. The crash left the buses and the children stuck on the side of Highway 98 for over half an hour. The incident occurred around 8 a.m. near the intersection of Highway 98 and Sunrise Drive in Navarre.

The Santa Rosa County School Board reviewed school district policies for 2024 during their Jan. 16 meeting. The policies pertain to everything from internet safety to school volunteers to the administration of medication. Every policy change was approved.

With limited budgets and resources available to schools, volunteers play a crucial role in allowing teachers and other faculty to focus on providing students with a quality education. Each year, Santa Rosa District Schools names their volunteers of the year for the whole district.