Santa Rosa County District Schools

🏫 Soundside High School Update - 11/19/25 🏫 We have received many questions about the future of Soundside High School. In an effort to provide accurate and clear information, here is an update regarding grade level and zoning decisions for Soundside High School. During the December 11, 2025 school board meeting, there will be a review of several zoning options for Soundside High School. These will be drafts only. No final decision will be made during that meeting. After the options are advertised for at least 30 days, the Board will plan to vote on one proposed school zone and finalize grade level assignments during the January 15, 2026 board meeting. The District will share more specific information with the impacted schools, any students who may be re-zoned, programming options, and other frequently asked questions regarding athletics, curriculum, school choice, and more on the website and social media. We look forward to the future in SRCDS!

Did you know? November 19 is Educational Support Professionals Day! Our educational support staff serve in a variety of roles throughout our district - from bookkeepers, to secretaries, to paraprofessionals in classrooms, to serving our schools, and so much more! We couldn't do what we do without these vital individuals! We are so thankful for each of you and your service to our students, schools, and community. 💓

Interested in working in our district in a role similar to this? ➡️ Visit https://santarosa.schoolspring.com/ today to learn more and apply!

We have received a list of the 2025 Purple Star School of Distinction designations from the Florida Department of Education and 29 Santa Rosa schools are on it! 💜⭐️ This recognition is provided to celebrate schools that go above and beyond to support the unique needs of military-connected students and their families. We are proud to support our military students and families here in Santa Rosa County! 🇺🇸   Congratulations to the following schools: Avalon Middle School Bagdad Elementary School Bennett C. Russell Elementary School Berryhill Elementary School Central School Chumuckla Elementary School East Bay K-8 School East Milton Elementary School Gulf Breeze Elementary School Gulf Breeze Middle School Gulf Breeze High School Hobbs Middle School Holley-Navarre Primary Holley-Navarre Intermediate School Jay Elementary School Jay High School M.L. King Middle School Navarre High School Oriole Beach Elementary School Pace High School Pea Ridge Elementary School S.S. Dixon Primary School S.S. Dixon Intermediate School Santa Rosa High School Thomas L. Sims Middle School W.H. Rhodes Elementary School West Navarre Intermediate School West Navarre Primary School Woodlawn Beach Middle School *Note: Did you know? Santa Rosa County is a Purple Star Designated District. All of our schools have a purple star designation! If a school isn't listed above, it just means they are not up to re-apply for this designation yet. 😊 To view the full list of honorees in Florida, please visit the link below.  🔗https://www.fldoe.org/schools/family-community/activities-programs/parental-involvement/purple-star.stml

Santa Rosa County is hosting several Movie in the Park events! Take a look at this FREE event! 🍿

Upcoming Dates:
📅November 18 - 6pm - Bagdad Mill Site Park (The Incredibles)
📅December 16 - 6pm - Navarre Park (Polar Express)

🔗https://www.santarosa.fl.gov/1141/Movie-in-the-Parks

Literature Distribution Request

Our partners at CDAC are putting on a "Let's Talk about Vaping" event on Thursday, December 11 from 5:30-7:30pm at the Milton Community Center. There is also a virtual option available if you're not able to attend in person.

Please see the flyer for more details!

Questions? Please contact dmanassa@cdac.info or call 850-434-2724.

We are proud to announce the 2025-2026 overall winners for Outstanding Volunteer of the Year for Santa Rosa District Schools! Thank you to ALL of our amazing volunteers for your time, efforts, and generosity to make Santa Rosa schools the best place to be! #SRCDS1stChoice

⭐Youth Volunteer of the Year ⭐
1st Place –Moshe Watson, Rhodes Elementary
2nd Place – Lily Via, Navarre High School
Alternate – Layla McCullough, Jay High School

⭐Adult Volunteer of the Year ⭐
1st Place –Tiffany Fisher, Jay Elementary
2nd Place – Janet Bautista, Navarre High School
Alternate – Matt Bullard, Rhodes Elementary

⭐Senior Adult Volunteer of the Year ⭐
1st Place – Lawrence Baldwin, S.S. Dixon Primary School
2nd Place – Phyllis Rosin, Rhodes Elementary
Alternate – Deborah Harrison, Gulf Breeze Middle School

Congratulations to all of our winners for 2025-2026!! 🙌🎉

As a reminder, Mid-Terms are available in the FOCUS Parent Portal today.

If your child has a Progress Monitoring Plan, you can access this in FOCUS. Please see the image below or link on the link to go to our website with step-by-step directions!

If you have questions about the your child's grades and/or PMP, please contact your child's school.
If you need assistance with FOCUS, please contact ITS at ITSHelp@santarosa.k12.fl.us.

Directions: https://aptg.co/f-cm1v

Mid-Terms

We are halfway through the 2nd quarter of the school year! Mid-terms are available for your child via the FOCUS Parent Portal. 🖥️ You can easily access the FOCUS Parent Portal via the Santa Rosa County District, FL app (SRCDS App) or the FOCUS App.

If you need to create a FOCUS Parent Portal account, use the link below to find additional resources to begin this process. FOCUS will help you stay updated regarding assignments and grades!

🔗https://www.santarosaschools.org/page/parent-portal-resources

⚠️Last Reminder⚠️

Federal Impact Aid Survey Forms are due back to your child’s school TOMORROW! Please return these by tomorrow, Wednesday, November 12, if you have not done so already.

Note: Please complete all sections of the form, including your child’s name, address, date of birth, and grade. This information helps us identify federally connected students so our district can qualify for federal funding. All information is kept confidential, and these funds are critical to supporting our students.

Thank you for your prompt attention and for supporting Santa Rosa County District Schools.

Thank you, Veterans, for your service to our country! All schools and district offices are closed TODAY in observance of Veteran's Day.

Upcoming School Board Meeting

The next school board meeting will be held on Tuesday, November 18 at 9:00am at the Canal Street Board Room. You can access agendas, minutes, and live feed during meetings at the link below.

🔗https://santarosacosdfl.portal.civicclerk.com/

As a reminder, there is no school on Tuesday, November 11 in observance of Veteran's Day. All schools and district offices will be closed. Thank you to all of the veterans who have served our country!

Fifth grade ACES students at Gulf Breeze Elementary have been busy preparing for the ACES Expo since the first week of school. Over the last nine weeks, they've brainstormed product ideas that solve problems or improve existing items. After researching and developing prototypes, each student pitches their product "Shark Tank" style to the class. Once approved, they conduct market studies, creating questionnaires and charts to gather feedback from over 100 students in just one day. With the feedback, they refine their products and launch an advertising campaign, designing flyers and creating commercials for ITV. Students then use creative skills to build attractive storefronts from available materials. The Expo, held for a week before school, allows fifth graders to sell their products to GBE friends. The project highlights their growth, motivation, and the invaluable learning experience of creating a business. Way to go! 🐬

Congratulations, Mrs. Kent! Recently, Katelyn Kent was honored by the Florida Council on Social Studies for excellence in Social Studies. She is pictured here with FCSS President, Dr. Stephen Masyada. Formerly a 1st grade classroom teacher at Gulf Breeze Elementary, Mrs. Kent currently serves as a Professional Learning Specialist in our district. Her impact is far reaching and she is a wonderful resource to our educators! Congratulations and thank you for all you do, Mrs. Kent! 🎉

Winter Registration is Now Open for Santa Rosa Online

Full-time virtual enrollment for the second semester is now open for any 3 -12 grade student wishing to transfer to Santa Rosa. Enrollment for semester 2 will close on January 16th. For more information, visit their website at the link below!

https://www.santarosaschools.org/o/sro

Art in the Capitol Winner 🎨

The winning Art in the Capitol piece for this year belongs to Aeva Mason-McDonald. Aeva is an 8th grade student at Central School. Her work will be hanging in Tallahassee beginning in December. Her art educator is Tara McPherson. The link below provides more information about the exhibition. Congratulations, Aeva and Mrs. McPherson on this accomplishment! We are so proud of you. 🖼️

🔗https://www.dms.myflorida.com/business_operations/real_estate_development_and_management/art_in_the_capitol_competition

Let's get ready to cheer on our middle school 3 on 3 basketball teams at the District Championship! ⛹️🏀

📅Saturday, November 15
⌚8:00am
📌Pace High School

The teams competing in the championship are as follows:

Boys
6th Grade Avalon vs. Gulf Breeze
7th Grade Hobbs vs. Gulf Breeze
8th Grade Wallace Lake vs. Gulf Breeze

Girls
6th Grade Wallace Lake vs. Gulf Breeze
7th Grade Sims vs. Gulf Breeze
8th Grade Avalon vs. Gulf Breeze

We can't wait to see our Santa Rosa athletes in action! Good luck to ALL of the teams competing and congratulations on making it to the championship! 👏

Maggie Ramirez, sponsor, and the Pace High Spanish Honor Society offered a Hispanic Heritage booth at the annual Fall Festival last week! 🍂

Delicious treats included tres leches and coco flan desserts, horchata, and mango juices. 😋 Face painting included authentic Día de los Muertos designs. #SRCDS1stChoice

Profesora María Rivera at Gulf Breeze High Schools ensures she covers the FL Next Gen World Language Standards by highlighting cultural comparisons between holidays celebrated worldwide.

Check out the photos below! Students enjoyed a day of art, food, and music while learning about the rich historical roots of both Halloween and Día de los Muertos. They took a virtual field trip to Mexico via VR Headsets to experience the festivities. 🌏