District News

Walton County School District Teacher of the Year, Joan Kennett from South Walton High School, attended the Summer Teacher of the Year Round Table Professional Learning Gala in July at the Omni Resort in Orlando. During the 4 day conference that was filled with workshops, networking, leadership sessions, and a huge formal Gala, Ms. Kennett had the opportunity to meet and collaborate with Florida Department of Education Chancellor Hershel Lyons, and Pam Stewart, Commissioner of Education.

Walton County School District is so very proud of our Teacher of the Year, and look forward to hearing about all she learned and experienced at the conference! You can access a video of the Gala evening event at https://www.facebook.com/EducationFL/videos/2463707160336700/?t=0

Submitted by Barbara Stratton

The Summer VPK program at Butler Elementary ended in star-studded style as students performed for their families and guests. These little Bears are ready to start kindergarten in just a few days! Submitted by Tammy Smith

Walton County was represented at the National Advance Placement Conference this month in Houston, Texas. Crystal Appel was joined by South Walton High School's principal Dr. Alexis TIbbett, Dean of Students Carrie Chavers and AP Teacher Carrie Sneed. They were chosen to present on "Bringing Your a Game to AP" - a section educators attended to learn about the success South Walton has had with their AP enrollment and pass rates. Dr. Vivan Komando was also asked to present on AP Studio Art.

Submitted by Crystal Appel

On July 23rd & 24th, Science Teachers in grades K-12 explored and dug deep into NGSSS Standards, new materials, labs, FLDOE resources and data. They collaborated to develop grade level pacing guides and resources.

Our Science FCAT scores are increasing and we are excited for another great year in Science! Thank you to all of the teachers who attended! Your hard work is greatly appreciated!

Submitted by Crystal Appel

ELA, History, Science and many other Secondary Teachers in grades 6-12 attended a standard and intentional questioning PD on July 25 and 26th. Teachers took a deep dive into their standards and progression of grade level standards in Day one. During day two, teachers generated questions to support depths of learning and knowledge.

Thank you all for attending this training. Our teachers and IP facilitators were amazing!

Submitted by Crystal Appel

The Bay SPICE Summer Program is currently creating a Space Village! A NASA Command Center is also being added to the Space Village. Submitted by Charlie Morse.

In”10”sity Magnet Program teachers and administration gathered July 25^th and 26^th to collaborate and plan for a year of Project Based Learning.

Submitted by Lisa Pitts

WCSD administrators, teachers, students and parents came together on Monday, July 17 at the Carlene H. Anderson Training Center to celebrate, create, and build the 2018-2019 individual school improvement plans at the 2^nd annual Manufacturing Day. Visitors from the Bureau of School Improvement, Florida Department of Education were also on hand to observe the process as a model for other school districts in Florida.

Superintendent Russell Hughes began the day with a celebration of the Florida Department of Education district grade rankings naming WCSD as an A+ District for the first time since 2014! School Improvement Team members from each school in the district met to develop an overall plan to move Walton County School District to the number 1 position in the state by aligning each of the individual school improvement plans to our District Strategic Plan.

School teams met to review their individual school plans for 2017-2018, discuss barriers, and turn them into opportunities to increase student success in 2018-2019. Administrators from the district office in the areas of Data, Technology and Curriculum and Instruction were on hand to lend support and provide resources. Additionally, data analyst Sam Foerster, founder and CEO of K12 Lift, was present to provide support for data analysis. Ideas were shared across the center as team members collaborated to create and develop innovative plans and means of implementation. The air of excitement in the room was contagious, and the results for the students of Walton County in this coming school year are going to be EPIC!!!

Submitted by Keitha Bledsoe