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

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

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

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