North Panhandle News

There were 441 Black students enrolled in Washington County schools in the 2022-23 school year, a 5.2% decrease from the 465 Black students in the previous school year, according to the Florida Department of Education.

Data showed that Washington County welcomed a total of 3,313 students during the 2022-23 school year. Among them, Black students comprised 13.3% of the student body to be the second most represented ethnicity in the county.

Among the nine schools in Washington County, Kate M. Smith Elementary School recorded the highest enrollment of Black students in the 2022-23 school year, with a total of 148 students, making up 15.7% of the school's total student body.

In 2022, Florida had more than 2.8 million students enrolled in its 4,202 schools. There were 163,558 teachers in the public schools, or roughly one teacher for every 17 students, compared to the national average of 1:16.

Private school enrollment increased by more than 51,000 students in the 2021-22 school year, which was a notable rebound after the pandemic. In total, there were 416,084 students enrolled, marking the highest enrollment in private schools reported by the Florida Department of Education in 30 years.

According to WalletHub's analysis, Florida is ranked ninth out of 50 states in terms of its public school quality and safety.

School name	% of Black Students Enrolment	Total Enrollment
Kate M. Smith Elementary School	15.7	941
Chipley High School	13.9	588
Vernon Elementary School	1.9	579
Roulhac Middle School	16.1	440
Vernon High School	7.8	344
Vernon Middle School	9	256