District News

Congratulations to Freeport High School's Case Woodard - Small School Player of the Year!

July 5, 2018

FREEPORT — If David Felix has his way, Case Woodard’s name will hang in the rafters of Freeport’s gym one day.

After coaching Woodard for four years, Felix, Freeport’s coach, said his star point guard deserves that much for shouldering the onus of being Freeport’s best and only true offensive weapon on the basketball court for 3 1/2 seasons, an accomplishment recognized at the state level. The Florida Association of Basketball Coaches named Woodard to its 1A All-State First Team this past April.

“You don’t run up on many of those at our school,” Felix said.

The recognition from the state made Woodard the clear favorite for the Daily News Small Schools Boys Basketball Player of the Year Award.

The numbers helped, too.

You can view additional pictures of Case, and the actual article from the NWF Daily News at: 

http://www.nwfdailynews.com/sports/20180628/hard-to-stop-freeports-woodard-is-small-schools-poy

Superintendent Russell Hughes Talks with Thirty-A Review About the Importance of the Mentoring Program

July 5, 2018

Superintendent Russell Hughes speaks out honestly about the challenges many of our students face, and the important of Mentors in the July/August Issue of The Thirty-A Review at http://www.thirtyareview.com/page62.htm
If you are interested in making a difference in the life of a child and changing the world for the better, Lori Hughes, the WCSD contact for our mentoring program, will be happy to assist! Contact her at (850) 892-1100 ext. 1443.

ECMS and VRB Celebrate the End of Summer Bridge!

July 3, 2018

ECMS students joined Butler Elementary students to celebrate the end of Summer Bridge! ECMS students attending Summer Bridge spent three weeks engaged in rigorous literacy activities led by their teacher, Mrs. Michele Holder, and paraprofessionals, Ms. Gina, Ms. Delgado and Ms. Jolie.

Submitted by Candy Bodie

WCSD Teachers and Students Attend STEM Summer Challenge

July 3, 2018

High school students and teachers from across Walton County spent three days this summer at an immersive STEM Summer Challenge sponsored by Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s Gaetz Aerospace Institute. From flying and coding aerial drones, to navigating complex courses with terrestrial drones and engineering hovercraft, these students were engrossed in hands-on STEM concentrated around the real-world uses of unmanned vehicles. A special thank you to the Panhandle Area Educational Consortium for organizing the challenge.

Submitted by Heather Stewart

WCSD - A Florida Department of Education "A+" School District!!!

June 28, 2018

The Florida Department of Education released their annual Accountability Report on Wednesday, June 27, and the Walton County School District has officially received an “A+” rating for the first time since 2014!  “So proud of the students, teachers, and administrators of the WCSD. It will take continuous attention to students, instruction and leadership to maintain this status but with what I know about our stakeholders, we are up for the challenge!” stated Superintendent of Schools, A. Russell Hughes when the report was publicized.  For a more complete report, including individual school grades, you can access the Florida Department of Education Accountability Report at http://www.fldoe.org/accountability/accountability-reporting/school-grades/index.stml

Teachers and Administrators Dive Deeper into Algebra 1 Standards at PAEC Workshop

June 26, 2018

WCSD Secondary math teachers Catherine Duggins, Gwen Parker, Brenda Farris, Kala Wilson, Christoper Eby, and Julius Mcmanus attended the College Board Algebra 1 Mastery Learning through Collaboration and Resource Sharing Workshop at PAEC (Panhandle Area Educational Consortium) on Tuesday, June 26. Our math teachers, James Ross, Katie Moore, and Crystal Appel spent the afternoon diving deeper into the Algebra 1 standards and collaborating with teachers across the panhandle to learn about rigorous resources. They are excited to bring back their learning to students this fall. We would like to thank College Board and PAEC for this experience.

Submitted by Katie Moore

Administrators Practice Feedback Techniques in Virtual Reality with TeachLive!

June 26, 2018

WCSD Administrators recently had the opportunity to participate in a coaching and feedback workshop led by Dr. Rosemarye Taylor using TeachLive - a mixed-reality classroom simulator with avatars.  This cutting-edge classroom/conference simulator provided administrators, supervisors and instructional coaches with opportunities to practice and strengthen their coaching skills in closely realistic settings. 

The system, developed through a unique partnership between education and computer science professors at the University of Central Florida, works from two ends. On one end, an administrator views a screen on which a teacher avatar is projected. A motion-capture device and camera read the administrators movements. On the other end, an interactor controls the teacher avatar, speaking through a microphone and using head-mounted and handheld controllers programmed to respond to certain movements. Using student avatars, this virtual lab can also be used to allow teachers the opportunity to address a variety of classroom scenarios that occur every day without the worry of "making a mistake".  Each avatar has it's own unique "personality", and the program provides the opportunity to practice handling various degrees of situational difficulty. 

WCSD Administrators Participate in Summer Leadership Training

June 25, 2018

Always learning, growing and improving, principals and other administrators in Walton County School District had the opportunity to participate in a specialized leadership training workshop on Monday, June 25, 2018, led by Dr. Rosemarye Taylor from University of South Florida.  Her specialty is systematic leadership to improve student achievement prekindergarten through university doctoral programs.  As part of the workshop, Dr. Taylor emphasized coaching and feedback techniques and strategies.  

Dr. Taylor has published seven books and numerous articles in respected journals such as Kappan, Educational Leadership, Middle School Journal, The National Staff Development Journal, Educational Research Service Spectrum, International Journal of Mentoring and Coaching in Education, AASA Journal of Scholarship and Practice, and International Journal of Education Management. Also, she is editor of the International Journal of Educational Leadership Preparation and co-editor for Higher Education Skills and Workplace Learning Special Issue on Professional Doctorates (April 2014).

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