Emerald Coast Times

There were 548 Black students enrolled in Walton County schools in the 2022-23 school year, a 9.8% increase from the 499 Black students in the previous school year, according to the Florida Department of Education.

Data showed that Walton County welcomed a total of 11,575 students during the 2022-23 school year. Among them, Black students comprised 4.7% of the student body to be the third most represented ethnicity in the county.

Among the 21 schools in Walton County, Walton High School recorded the highest enrollment of Black students in the 2022-23 school year, with a total of 80 students, making up 9.3% 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
South Walton High School	0.9	1,235
Freeport Elementary School	1	1,123
Walton High School	9.3	856
Walton Middle School	8	801
West Defuniak Elementary School	5.7	669
Maude Saunders Elementary School	8.3	553