Santa Rosa County District Schools

Safety Starts With Us
Working Together for Safe Schools & Strong Futures 💙💚

Santa Rosa County District Schools is proud to launch our Safety Starts With Us campaign during the month of October which ties in closely with National Internet Safety Month! This initiative focuses on five key areas to keep our students safe and supported:

1️⃣ Online Safety
2️⃣ Be Aware of Untrustworthy Adults
3️⃣ See Something, Say Something
4️⃣ Mental Health & Support
5️⃣ Reporting

Safety is a community effort — together, we protect what matters most. Stay tuned for resources and updates throughout the month! Learn more and explore resources at the link below.

🔗https://www.santarosaschools.org/o/srcds/page/safety-starts-with-us

#SafetyStartsWithUs #SRCDS1stChoice

Congratulations to Katherine Jackson on being selected by her peers as Teacher of the Year at the Douglas A. Dillon Administrative Complex! Mrs. Jackson is a Teacher on Special Assignment and serves as the ESOL Program Facilitator for the district. She assists our schools, teachers, and students as it relates to English Speakers of Other Languages, primarily working to remove barriers and achieve success in Santa Rosa County. We are so appreciative of her hard work and diligence in this role. Please join us in recognizing her for this well deserved honor.👏 #SRCDS1stChoice

Congratulations to Bobbie Jo Cueno on being selected by her peers as Teacher of the Year at the Douglas A. Dillon Administrative Complex in our Exceptional Student Education (ESE) Department! Ms. Cueno works diligently as the Program Facilitator and Contract Manager for Santa Rosa County Speech-Language Pathologists! We are so thankful to have her on our team in Santa Rosa! Please join us in recognizing her for this well deserved honor.👏 #SRCDS1stChoice

🏀 Middle School 3-on-3 Basketball Tournaments! 🏀

Get ready for some fast-paced hoops action!
📅 Saturday, November 1 – Boys tip off at 8:00 AM, with girls’ games to follow shortly after.

📍 Locations
• North End Schools & WLK8 – Pace High
• South End Schools & EBK8 – Gulf Breeze High

🏆 Championship
Winners advance to the 3-on-3 Championship Tournament on Saturday, November 15 at Pace High (8:00 AM).

🎟 Fees & Concessions
• $5 entry fee (Ages 12+)
• Concessions available on site

Come cheer on our amazing middle school athletes and show your Santa Rosa spirit! 💚💙

October is National Bullying Prevention Month Bullying is unwanted, aggressive behavior that involves a real or perceived power imbalance and is repeated or has the potential to be repeated over time. Throughout this month, we’re committed to raising awareness, encouraging kindness, and fostering safe, supportive schools for every student. Mark your calendars! On October 22, we will celebrate Unity Day by standing together against bullying and showing that kindness, acceptance, and inclusion matter by wearing orange! 🧡

🚨 Student Led Teaming Strategy Alert 🚨 Bagdad is excited to share something new! Their Leverage Leadership PLC focus is Student Led Academic Teaming, also known as "SLAT" for short! Administrators are excited and ready to have a “SLAT CHAT with the SLAT CAT." This special table will give the admin team the chance to connect with students and reinforce the SLAT framework around campus — whether it’s during lunch, in the hallway, during dismissal, or anywhere else! 🤩 We love this creative idea to reinforce instructional practices!! #SRCDS1stChoice

Take a look at the October Newsletter regarding Food Services from our partners at Chartwells!

For more information, you can visit our Food Services website at the link below.
🔗https://www.santarosaschools.org/page/food-services

Don't forget to re-apply for free/reduced meals for the 2025-2026 school year at the link below.
🔗https://www.myschoolapps.com/

🌊✨ Community + Students = Impact ✨🌊 On September 27, our community came together with over 60 student volunteers from Santa Rosa County District Schools and 30+ adult volunteers for the Navarre Beach Clean-Up sponsored by Santa Rosa Sheriff's Office SRO Unit! Volunteers collected 82 pounds of trash from the beach, including 6.5 pounds of tobacco products, making a real difference in keeping our coastline beautiful. Huge thanks to the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office SRO Unit, our students, and community members for showing the power of teamwork in action! Together, we are “Making Navarre Beach the Cleanest in Florida.” 🌴#SRCDS1stChoice

SRCDS ESE Department invites you to join us for a Trunk or Treat event designed especially for our students with special needs and their families!

📅Friday, October 24
⏲️5:00-7:00pm
📌Douglas A. Dillon Center (6032 Hwy 90 in Milton)

We hope to see you there! 🎃

Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated each year from September 15 – October 15! This month is a time to honor the cultures and histories of Hispanic communities. Join us in celebrating and recognizing the lasting impact of Hispanic heritage in our schools and beyond. 💙

Take a look at important upcoming dates during the month of October! 🍂 Mark your calendars and check with your child's school site for any additional important events. #SRCDS1stChoice

Friday Night Lights Recap from 9/26! 🏈 Highlights from this week: ✅Congrats to Pace on a big Homecoming win against Crestview, 34–8! 🎉 ✅It was a nail-biter for Navarre, falling just short to Tate, 26–29. ✅Milton continues their strong season, now 5–1, while Pace improves to 4–1. Let’s keep showing our support for all our Santa Rosa teams each week! 💙💚 #SRCDS1stChoice

Happy Human Resources Professionals Day! From professional learning and certification to hiring, recruitment, mentoring, and so much more... our HR team goes above and beyond to ensure our schools have the amazing personnel needed to help students thrive! Join us in giving them a big shoutout for all they do! 🙌 #SRCDS1stChoice

NBMSS Success Did you know? 15 divers teamed up with Navarre Beach Marine Science Station students and community partners to remove 285 pounds of debris from beneath the Navarre Beach Pier! From fishing line and lures to bottles and plastics... the cleanup made a big impact on our local marine environment. 🐟♻️ This was the first of four annual pier cleanup dives, with more scheduled throughout the year. Way to go, NBMSS! #SRCDS1stChoice

Congratulations to Myra Dobbs, Secretary to the Superintendent, for earning the Certified Support Professional (CSP) distinction through Florida School Boards Association! She’s one of only 32 in Florida to achieve this honor in the program’s first year. 🙌 #SRCDS1stChoice

The Weekly Lineup is here! 🏈 It’s homecoming for Central and Pace, and ALL our high schools are in action tonight. Excitement is in the air! 🎉 Get out there, cheer loud, and support your favorite Santa Rosa team! Stay tuned for scores tomorrow! #SRCDS1stChoice

UPDATE: PHS Fall Festival Postponed The Homecoming Parade is still ON for tonight at 6 p.m.! 🎉 However, due to weather conditions, the Fall Festival is POSTPONED and tentatively rescheduled for Thursday, October 30. Thank you for your support and flexibility!

Celebrating Years of Service in Santa Rosa🎉 We were proud to recognize and celebrate our principals and district staff for their dedicated years of service to Santa Rosa County District Schools at our recent principal leadership conference. Thank you for your leadership, commitment, and support of our students and families! ⭐ 5 Years of Service Kimberly Crate, Principal, Pea Ridge Elementary Monica Garcia, Principal, Gulf Breeze Elementary ⭐ 15 Years of Service Nadia Colin, Public Information and Family & Community Outreach Officer Missy Floyd, Principal, Wallace Lake K-8 ⭐ 20 Years of Service Autumn Wright, Director of Student Services Keith Hines, Director of Locklin Technical College Cindy Peaden, Coordinator of Mental Health Meghan Hall, Coordinator of Math & Science Christy Baggett, Principal, Chumuckla Elementary Floyd Smith, Director of Middle Schools ⭐ 25 Years of Service Brian Noack, Director of High Schools Shana Dorsey, Principal, West Navarre Intermediate School David Gunter, Director of Labor Relations & Compliance B.J. Price, Director of Human Resources A special 25-year recognition for Mrs. Susan McCole, Assistant Superintendent of Finance, who will soon be retiring! 💐 ⭐ 35 Years of Service Joie DeStefano, Principal, Holley Navarre Middle School Victor Lowrimore, Principal, Woodlawn Beach Middle School Thank you all for the difference you make every day in the lives of our students, families, and community. #SRCDS1stChoice

It’s time to celebrate our amazing Santa Rosa students! 🎉 The Pensacola News Journal Student of the Week voting is open, and we need YOUR help to spotlight the incredible talent in SRCDS. 💙💚 🗳 Cast your vote once per day using the link below! Voting closes each Friday at NOON. ⏰ This week's nominees & information are below. Read the nomination description in the link below. Student 1: Macy Schepper, Central School Student 2: Randy Russell, Navarre High School Let’s show our students some love—Go SRCDS! 🙌 🔗 Link to Vote: https://www.pnj.com/story/news/local/2025/09/23/who-should-be-named-pnjs-student-of-the-week-cast-your-vote/86289767007/

Title I Parents—We Need Your Feedback! 📢
The Title I Parental Engagement Survey is now open! 📝 Your input helps shape programs and resources for your child’s school.

📅 Open: September 22 – October 6
🏫 For: Title I Schools only

🔗 Take the survey here: https://forms.office.com/r/fXFaVXigwm

📲 Or simply scan the QR code below to get started! (Tech tip: If you are on a device or phone, save the image and then hold your finger down on the QR code and the link will open)