The community gathered in the Laurel Hill School gym last Thursday to celebrate the Class of 2023 on graduation night. By the numbers there were 28 graduates, five honor graduates and a countless number of memories.

It has been 34 years since Vickie Hayden walked the halls of Crestview High School as a student. A 1989 graduate of Crestview, by her own admission, the once-shy clarinet player is returning to her alma mater as the principal. She replaces Jay Sanders, who announced his retirement last month.

Life can be hard, and Laurel Hill School students were the first in the county to receive a new hands-on lesson designed to help them get better at budgeting their money in the future. High school students from Laurel Hill School last week participated in the Reality Check program, designed to simulate what life could be like as an adult. Each student was randomly assigned a fictitious profile that included a career with a monthly income, spouses and children to care for, a credit score and other details.

Crestview High School Principal Jay Sanders has announced he will be retiring at the end of the school year. His last day on the job will be around June 30. Sanders, a 1981 Crestview graduate, has been the Crestview principal for two years and said the decision to retire didn’t come easy.

Nearly two dozen Rocky Bayou Christian School mathletes participated in the third Mu Alpha Theta regional competition held March 4 at Lincoln High School in Tallahassee.

To help address hunger in the community, and in celebration of National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day on April 2, North Okaloosa Medical Center has donated 759 jars of peanut butter (and other nut butters) to Feeding The Gulf Coast.

The City of Crestview played a little catchup last week at the City Council meeting. “Crestview High School has a recognition program,” said Crestview Mayor JB Whitten. “They have a student of the month that they recognize and we just kind of got a little bit late to the picture, and so we wanted to recognize our students also so we’re going to catch up.”

More than 20 businesses and agencies from around Okaloosa County were at Laurel Hill School on March 10 for a job fair co-sponsored by the school and Mission of Hope. “We partnered with Mission of Hope,” LHS assistant principal Ashley Miller said. “They work with vocational rehab and their goal is to try and help every member of society find something that they can do that‘s fulfilling.

If you have a passion for helping students achieve their full potential, the Okaloosa County School District could use your help. Take Stock in Children is a program that pairs students with a mentor who provides weekly support and guidance to help them stay on the right track toward higher education.

With the 2023 legislative session a few weeks away, the Okaloosa County School District has laid out their priorities. The School District’s legislative priorities for 2023 focus on the recruitment and retention of employees and continued funding for safe and secure schools. Superintendent Marcus Chambers is in the process of presenting these items to the Northwest Florida Legislative Delegation with the intention of impacting upcoming legislation in these critical areas for education.