Okaloosa County Schools Ranks Among Best in United States

There was never any doubt in my book we had the best schools. In my experience, many areas surrounded by military bases are usually very strong. The military has a strong committment to the community and strongly encourages participation in the school system and offerring time off while doing it. GO OKALOOSA COUNTY SCHOOLS






Choctawhatchee, Fort Walton Beach, Crestview and Niceville are among the 1,300 schools listed in Newsweek magazine
By RACHEL KYLER rachelk@nwfdailynews.com The Okaloosa County School District has four schools ranked in Newsweek magazine’s annual list of the top U.S. high schools. Among the 1,300 high schools listed, Choctawhatchee High School ranks 102 and Fort Walton Beach is 284. Crestview ranks 500 and Niceville comes in at 757. The schools are ranked according to the number of Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate or Cambridge tests taken by all students at a school in 2007. That figure is then divided by the number of graduating seniors, according to Newsweek. Last year, Choctawhatchee ranked 201 while Fort Walton Beach High was 289. Niceville High was ranked at 413 and Crestview was listed at 684. Choctaw Principal Cindy Massarelli-Gates said the key is not only offering more rigorous curriculums, but allowing more students to participate in them. The number of Choctaw students taking AP and IB tests has roughly tripled in the past five years. “We continue to encourage all students to take the most rigorous courses that they can for themselves,” she said. As a result, Choctaw’s ACT and SAT levels continue to rise. Massarelli-Gates said the world has gotten so competitive that if students aren’t encouraged to take more challenging courses, they have trouble getting in and staying in college. “A ‘C’ in an AP course is better than an A in a regular course,” she said. Choctaw offers tutoring, study groups and outreach programs to prepare middle school students. Niceville’s ranking, which fell from 413 last year to 757, can be attributed to its rapidly declining enrollment, said Superintendent of Schools Alexis Tibbetts. The decrease has led to fewer students participating in AP classes. “The fewer students you have, the less capability you have,” Tibbetts said. Crestview, on the other hand, has made considerable gains. “We have made a real concerted effort to see that Crestview offers the same number of AP (courses) that other schools offer,” Tibbetts said. Crestview Principal Ed Coleman said as the school has added more classes, more students have risen to the occasion. “You can tell that Crestview has been slowly working toward this,” Coleman said. “It prepares them for what they are going to see in college … It’s not just kids receiving a diploma anymore.” Daily News Staff Writer Rachel Kyler can be reached at 863-1111, Ext. 1440.