Weather Update – SPICE Program Delay (Monday, March 16) Due to weather forecasts that includes heavy rain and wind gusts potentially exceeding 30 mph during the early morning hours, Walton County School District will delay the start of the SPICE program at all locations to 8:00 AM on Monday, March 16. The safety of our students is, and will always be, our #1 priority. While school is not in session at this time, we still encourage all of our families to exercise caution and be safe! Please keep an eye on our social media channels should any future updates become necessary.
7 days ago, WCSD
announcement
Congratulations! You made it to Spring Break! All campuses and offices will be closed from March 16th through March 20th. March 23rd is a teacher workday and classes resume March 24th!
9 days ago, WCSD
spring break

This weekend, members of the Walton County School District family took the stage to perform Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 (“Resurrection”) with the Pensacola Symphony Orchestra. Symphony No. 2 is one of the largest symphonies ever written and involves more than 200 musicians—including the addition of a full chorus. Two of our choral directors, Michaela Moore (Walton Middle School) and Andrew Moore (Walton High School), sang in the choir, and Public Information Officer Dr. Joshua Bledsoe has been a member of the orchestra since 2012.

Experiences like these highlight the value of real-world engagement. When educators and staff remain active in their fields, they bring deeper insight back to the classroom, strengthening the connection between learning and life beyond school.

#MusicInOurSchoolsMonth 

11 days ago, WCSD
PSO
Moore PSO
Moore PSO
JB PSO
Music in Our Schools Month and Youth Art Month are celebrated during the month of May, and our students at West DeFuniak Elementary are bringing art and music to LIFE! Art students are working with clay models, and our music students are learning to move to the music through DANCE!
13 days ago, WCSD
teacher watching over class
students dance
student smiles for the camera
students dance to music
teacher and student learning
clay turtle
Congratulations to our choral programs who participated in the Florida Vocal Association (FVA) District 1 Concert Music Performance Assessment this week! March is Music In Our Schools month and WCSD is committed to Preparing the Whole Child for a Life of Success. Congratulations to our students on your preparation, execution, and for representing WCSD in an EPIC way!! Next week our bands will head to the same assessment!
17 days ago, WCSD
MPA2

The Rosemary Beach Foundation has released the names of the winners of the 2026 Music in Pictures! Each year students from across Walton County put brushes to brains and create incredible artwork inspired by some of the world's most beautiful and inspiring music. The artwork of the winners will be on display throughout the county at the Freeport Library, Coastal Library Branch, Sacred Heart Emerald Coast and Amavida Coffee in Rosemary Beach. We hope that you will go visit these establishments and check out the incredible artwork of our talented students. Mark your calendars for April 16th at 5pm at Freeport High School to come see the final awards ceremony!

Congratulations!

Judges Awards
Kindergarten: Kahmori McDonald - West DeFuniak Elementary School
First Grade: Emily Mentzel - Dune Lakes Elementary School
Second Grade: Chloe Ovalle - Freeport Elementary School
Third Grade: Caroline Budden - Dune Lakes Elementary School
Fourth Grade: Rudy Reinle - Freeport Elementary School
Fifth Grade: Maeve Mitchell - Seaside Neighborhood School
Sixth Grade: Jane Mosley - Seaside Neighborhood School
Seventh Grade: Kate England - Emerald Coast Middle School
Eight Grade: Bianca Matias - Freeport Middle School
Ninth Grade: Isabella Carter - Freeport High School
Tenth Grade: Katelyn Lindsey - South Walton High School
Eleventh Grade: Calypsa Benson - Magnet Innovation School
Twelfth Grade: Keyla Donis - WISE

Chairman Awards
Kai Sampson - Dune Lakes Elementary School
Harper Mulcahey - Maude Saunders Elementary School
Mila Giang - Van R. Butler Elementary School
Kimberly Samiu - Paxton Elementary School
Rae Burson - Mossy Head School
Jack Kennison - Walton Middle School
Reed Cavazos - Freeport Middle School
Sophia Torp - Walton Middle School
Brooklyn Irons - WISE
Samuel Lopez-Delgado - South Walton High School
Zharick Conde - Walton High School
Autumn McConnell - Paxton Secondary School
Owen Thompson - South Walton High School
John Dorsey - Seacoast Collegiate High School
Destiney Waggoner - Walton Academy

Best in Show Selections
Maeve Mitchell
Bianca Matias
Calypsa Benson

18 days ago, WCSD
Music in Pictures results

Now is the time to register for Kindergarten for the 2026-2027 school year! Register on-site at your child's zoned school.

20 days ago, WCSD
K
K
NATIONAL PUBLIC SCHOOLS WEEK! Today we celebrate the investment of our community partners in the future of our students. Without these partnerships we could not offer the exceptional education we do in Walton County. Thank you Florida Power & Light, Choctawhatchee Electric Cooperative, Inc. , Walton Education Foundation, The St. Joe Community Foundation, Inc., Food For Thought Outreach Inc, Rosemary Beach Foundation, and so many more!
Thank you to our network of supporters! We could not do what we do without you!
(Pictured: Last week Florida Power & Light Regional External Affairs Manager, Bernard Johnson, in partnership with the Walton Education Foundation, presented a check to Walton County.)
26 days ago, WCSD
FPL Presentation
We have some truly extraordinary students in the Walton County School District - they're no Ordinary Joe's! The St. Joe Foundation recognized our site nominees for the No Ordinary Joe scholarship at Tuesday's school board meeting. Congratulations to all of our nominees!

Walton High School
Edward O' Daniels
Nevaeh Messer
Julie Laviolette

WISE
Aaliyah McCullough

Freeport High School
Larae Smith
Helena "Lainey" Pitts
Davis Goodwin

Magnet Innovation Center
Michael (Gabe) Griffin
Brent (Beau) Melancon
Grace Petty

Paxton
Grace Tyner
Teghan Araneo
Forrest Geoghagan

South Walton High School
Joseph Gilmore
William Justiss
Sophia Mijatovic
about 1 month ago, WCSD
NOJ Finalists
Forty-five individuals. One office. One extraordinary experiment. One Goal. Freedom. Not perfect. Not unanimous. Not without fault. Willing. Willing to serve. Willing to sacrifice. The presidency is larger than any name engraved in history. It belongs to the people. To each of us. For every sacrifice, every sleepless night, every impossible decision, we thank you.
about 1 month ago, WCSD
Presidents’ Day
As a reminder, all campuses and offices are closed on Monday, February 16th in observance of Presidents' Day.
about 1 month ago, WCSD
Presidents’ Day
Happy Valentine's Day! We hope you're focused on showing love and appreciation to all of those close to your heart!
about 1 month ago, WCSD
Valentine’s Day
Want your child to be prepared to crush it when they enter Kindergarten?! If they are not already enrolled in a VPK program, let's get them ready for 26-27 this summer! The Summer VPK enrollment window starts next week and runs through February 27th.
about 1 month ago, WCSD
VPK
The Walton County School District is pretty easy to love, but with Valentine's Day around the corner, we thought we would let some of our students and staff tell you why! The Walton High students and staff sure do love their school!
about 1 month ago, WCSD
WHS Love
WHS Love
WHS Love
Congratulations are in order for several teams who fought hard and won big this weekend! Congratulations to the South Walton Girls Basketball team, Paxton Boys Basketball team, and the Walton High School Boys Basketball team on securing their District Championship titles!
about 1 month ago, WCSD
wha bball
pax bball
swhs gbball
Valentine's Day is coming this weekend, and love is in the air - the WCSD is an easy place to love, but why not hear it from some of our own students and staff? Billy Johnson, Principal at the WISE Center in DeFuniak Springs kicks us off loving Collaboration!
about 1 month ago, WCSD
WCSD love
"C" is for Collaboration! Superintendent Hughes hosted NWFSC President Mel Ponder this week touring the District and collaborating on ways to strengthen our partnership and create new pathways to success for our students!
about 2 months ago, WCSD
Hughes with Ponder
Hughes with Ponder
Hughes with Pinder
Hughes with Ponder
Come hear the sounds of the best instrumental musicians Walton County has to offer tonight at Freeport High School! All County Band Concert downbeat is at 7pm sharp!!
about 2 months ago, WCSD
all county
Check out these students at WHS talking about why they LOVE reading!
https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1KCYTHj1kG/
about 2 months ago, WCSD
Literacy Week
This week is CELEBRATE LITERACY WEEK 2026! This year’s theme is “Read, White, and Blue – Celebrating 250 Chapters of America.” Fun fact: 2026 is the semiquincentennial (250th anniversary) of the United States. "Semiquincentennial" ...can you say that ten times fast?!

Did you know? Fostering a love of reading pays dividends throughout an individual’s life. It’s not just about the test!
1. Strong Communication Skills
Early reading builds vocabulary, listening skills, and increases one’s ability to clearly express thoughts and ideas.
2. Academic Confidence
Children who prioritize reading early tend to feel more confident in learning environments, which results in being more willing to participate, ask questions, and tackle challenges.
3. Improved Attention and Focus
Reading helps develop sustained attention, patience, and the ability to follow directions.
4. Empathy and Understanding of Others
Stories expose children to different experiences than they encounter in daily life, which can help them better understand others and develop empathy.
5. Lifelong Curiosity and Love of Learning
Early positive reading experiences feed the imagination and fuel a mindset that learning is enjoyable!

So, let’s use this week as a springboard to tackle one of Superintendent Hughes’ regular challenges to parents — read with your children for 20 minutes each night!

Read to them.
Read with them.

Let’s go!
about 2 months ago, WCSD
Read White and Blue