Walton County Schools

I know this will probably create a firestorm, but here goes...

I have a son at Butler Elementary. I hear all the time from other parents how "great" the school is and how it is the best in Walton County. I am not sure that saying a school is the best in Walton County means that a school is great compared to quality schools elsewhere. It concerns me that Butler is an "A" school, but almost 25 percent of the students do not pass sections of the FCAT. That seems like a "C" school to me. It is, however, better than most other schools in Walton County (SeaSide Charter has better). South Walton High has worse scores than 83 percent of the schools in the state. That is right, its scores only only better than 17 percent of the schools, though it will be given a "B" by the state-developed scoring system.

Answers I hear from long-time locals are: "You should have seen how bad the schools were 30 years ago." Or, "We have great schools here. THey are all A and B schools"

My questions are: How do our graduation rates, ACT scores, and admission to competitive colleges (not NWFCC) stack up to great school systems around the state or county?

Why are South Walton High's test scores so bad?

What options for other schools do parents avail themselves of to ensure their kids are getting a great education?

Why are we settling for limited AP courses, and no IB courses at our schools? Can't we do better for our kids?