Students and staff at Van R. Butler Elementary School in South Walton enjoy a beautiful courtyard and garden area now that Sterrett McInnis's Eagle Scout project is completed.  In February of 2014, Sterrett along with members of the Boy Scout Troop 157 of Niceville, and representatives of the Butler Student Council finished several improvements on the school’s grounds.  Two large olive trees, multiple butterfly bushes and butterfly plants, and confederate jasmine were all donated by Eastern Supply Company of Santa Rosa Beach.   All the materials for a 10 ft. trellis were donated by South Bay Ace Hardware also of Santa Rosa Beach.  Lowe's of Destin provided discounts for the four park benches, picnic tables, edible plants, mulch, tree stakes, and 13 edible fruit trees ranging from lime, fig, to a special cocktail tree that is grafted with three combined fruits!  The American Legion #221 of Niceville, the Van R. Butler PTO, and family members also provided donations for the project .  Students at Butler created hand painted bird baths and painted various bird feeders and bird houses.  The end result  is a beautiful outdoor classroom which will also be used as an outdoor cafeteria.  

Congratulations to Dr. Cheryl Mixson and her Math students!  For the second year in a row, South Walton High School finished FIRST in their division at the Northwest Florida State College Math Bow.

Celebrating their victory are (L to R) Luke Bauer, Wes Fegely, Ansley Barton, Hannah Crawford, Cody Pickren and Jessica Waites.

Luke Bauer earned a fifth place individual trophy and Cody Pickren finished second.

We are proud of our Champion Mathematicians!

Congratulations to Freeport Middle School Art student Blane Brown. Blane was awarded 2nd place for his “Peter and the Wolf” artwork created for the NWFSC Mattie Kelly Arts Center 5th grade Art Contest. Hayden Byrd and Olivia Neal, both 5th grade FMS students, won Honorable Mentions. Congratulations to you all!

The Walton Education Foundation hosted its 3^rd Annual Apple Classic Run at Hammock Bay on Saturday, February 8^th.  The event was a great success with 130 registered runners and 22 business sponsors, a new record for the Apple Run.  Some of Walton County’s schools created school teams.  Walton Middle School had the highest number of registered runners with Emerald Coast Middle School a close second.  Proceeds from the race will be used to help fund the Classroom Mini-Grants. 

A special thank you goes out to our volunteers from Freeport High School’s Anchor & Key Clubs, Walton Area Chamber of Commerce, WCSD employees, as well as, friends & family members, for making the race a success!

The Foundation truly appreciates the sponsorships and donations from the following businesses:

Hammock Bay; Hilton Sandestin; CHELCO; Gulf Power; Century Link; Gold’s Gym; McCullar & Company; CSI; Nick’s Restaurant; Coca-Cola; Wal-Mart; Dejavu; Pizitz Home & Cottage; Fun In The Sun; Wallace O’Connell; Publix; Critzer Law Firm; SouthernLink Wireless; Panama City Business Machines; Edward Jones Investments; South Walton Stitchery; and Clary-Glenn Funeral Home.