FOUR OKALOOSA HIGH SCHOOLS MAKES NEWSWEEK MAGAZINE BEST HIGH SCHOOLS LIST

The area schools of Okaloosa County make the grade once again. This, along with many other factors, makes this one of the best areas to live and encourages both the military and private sector to move there businesses to our area.


By KATIE TAMMEN
Northwest Florida Daily News 315-4440 ktammen@nwfdailynews.com   ]

Four Okaloosa County schools made Newsweek’s list of America’s Best High Schools. N i c e v i l l e , C h o c tawhatchee, Crestview and Fort Walton Beach high schools were all named in the annual ranking. Only the top 6 percent of all public high schools in the country made the list, which ranks schools based on the prevalence of college preparatory courses — Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate and Cambridge AICE. “This particular study, it is saying that we have opened up access; that more courses at higher levels are being offered,” said Niceville High School Principal Linda Smith. “And more students are taking advantage of the higherlevel courses.” Niceville was listed highest in the list at number 131. Choctaw came next at 268, then Crestview at 315, and Fort Walton Beach rounded out the group at 401. No school in Walton or Santa Rosa counties made the list. “I am very proud of them,” said Okaloosa Superintendent Alexis Tibbetts. “I know they work very hard … . We are making big inroads in closing the gap and getting even more kids in those programs.” Niceville High School has moved rapidly up in the rankings in the past couple of years to land in their current position. Just two years ago, the high school was ranked at 764, Smith said. But by the next school year, they had added a number of AP and AICE courses and jumped to 332 in the list. The school does not have an IB program. Choctaw is the only high school in the district with the IB program. Smith said Niceville might not make as big a leap in the rankings next year but said they are adding several new courses, including an AP psychology course. The best part of the college preparatory courses as a whole, she said, is how helpful they are for students once they reach college. “What I hear when they come back from the universities is, ‘I was so prepared … because I was accustomed to having to work hard for all seven periods,’ ” she said. This particular ranking, however, is only one piece of the puzzle. Smith said the most important element in all of this is how many of the students successfully pass the advanced courses. “It’s not just putting them in the course, it’s that they’re successful in the course,” she said. For the last two years, the school has held a 60 percent pass rate, and she has hopes they will meet or surpass that level when the information is available later this summer.