Emerald Coast Times

Freeport Elementary School had the highest enrollment among Walton County schools, welcoming 1,161 students during the 2023-24 academic year, according to the Florida Department of Education.

Data also showed that most of the students were white, representing 69% of Freeport Elementary School’s total enrollment.

Freeport Elementary School is part of the Walton County School District, which generally encompasses schools within Walton County with its main office in Freeport.

In 2022, Florida had more than 2,8 million students enrolled in a total of 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 enrolment 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 9th out of 50 states in terms of its public school quality and safety.

School	City (main office)	Total Enrollment
Freeport Elementary School	Freeport	1,161
South Walton High School	Santa Rosa Beach	1,112
Van R. Butler Elementary School	Santa Rosa Beach	950
Dune Lakes Elementary School	Santa Rosa Beach	919
Walton High School	Defuniak Springs	898
Emerald Coast Middle School	Santa Rosa Beach	872
Paxton School	Paxton	795
Walton Middle School	Defuniak Springs	775
West Defuniak Elementary School	Defuniak Springs	699
Freeport Middle School	Freeport	678
Freeport Senior High School	Freeport	677
Maude Saunders Elementary School	Defuniak Springs	561
Mossy Head School	Defuniak Springs	504
Seaside Neighborhood School	Santa Rosa Beach	440
Walton Initiative for Success in Education (Wise)	Defuniak Springs	247
Walton Academy Inc.	Defuniak Springs	170
Bay School	Santa Rosa	124
Walton Learning Center	Defuniak Springs	34
Walton Virtual Franchise	Defuniak Springs	21