NWFSC Partners with Seacoast and Seaside School Foundation
In September, Northwest Florida State College (NWFSC), Seacoast Collegiate High School and The Seaside School Foundation partnered to construct a new educational facility at the College’s South Walton Center. The new facility, named Seacoast Collegiate High School at Northwest Florida State College, will provide a dual enrollment educational center housing Seacoast and NWFSC classrooms, as well as a shared-use space for workforce development, continuing education, and other workforce preparedness instruction.

“Seacoast and Northwest Florida State College are excited to expand our partnership at the South Walton Campus to show our mutual commitment to improving access to quality educational offerings for students and residents throughout Walton County,” said NWFSC President, Dr. Devin Stephenson.

The Seaside School Foundation will finance the project in exchange for a property lease. The lease agreement provides 3.5 years for Seacoast to complete construction and open the new facility, a 40-year lease after opening, and two options to renew for up to 10 years each.

The collaboration between NWFSC and Seacoast Collegiate High School began in 2013 when Seacoast leased space from the College at the South Walton Center to provide instruction for high school students. Seacoast students begin the program in ninth and 10th grade with college-level study beginning in 11th grade at Northwest Florida State College.
For more information about the Seacoast Collegiate High School at Northwest Florida State College, contact Cristie Kedroski, Northwest Florida State College, at (850) 543-8178 or kedroski@nwfsc.edu, or Teresa Horton, Seaside Schools Foundation, at (513) 578-9555 or teresa@seasideschoolfoundation.org.

Seaside School, Inc. Shines With 2020-21 Test Results
Seaside School, Inc., the oldest operable charter school in Florida, recently received state test results from the 2020-21 school year and was named #3 combination school in the state, along with ranking #2 in 7th and 8th grade mathematics, #6 in 8th grade science, #7 in state for 10th grade, and testing in the top 4% of state for English Language Arts for 5th through 10th grade.

“Certainly, the performance of Seaside School, even with a small population of students, plays an integral part in the success of Walton County School District’s grade. We treasure this relationship and the willing, intentional collaboration that we engage in for each child to receive a world-class education, contributing to the success of all students,” said Mr. A. Russell Hughes, Superintendent of Walton County School District. “Thank you, Seaside School, for carrying out, maintaining, and staying in lockstep with the high standards set by Walton County School District.”

Founded in 1996, now celebrating 25 years, the Seaside School, was one of the first and is now the oldest operating public charter school in the State of Florida. The original goal was simple – create a school to address the need for better middle school education in Walton County – and it hasn’t stopped since, now serving nearly 400 students across three campuses encompassing 5th through 12th grades.

“The Seaside Neighborhood School was an attempt to prove that a small school, fully integrated into a neighborhood and a community, could achieve better outcomes and help children mature better than the currently conventional large schools built on land a considerable distance from houses, shops, and cultural centers. Such a school could draw on cultural and community resources and engage citizens in the education of its students,” said Seaside Founders Robert and Daryl Davis, along with their son, Micah.

Seaside Neighborhood School serves 5th through 8th grades and is located in the iconic beach town of Seaside, Florida. Located on the campus of nearby Northwest Florida State College, Seacoast Collegiate High School serves 9th through 12th grades offering students the ability to graduate high school with an associate college degree.

“Seaside School’s success over the past 25 years reflects the passion, talent, and dedication of our students, faculty, staff and administration,” said Dr. Rosemary Williams, Co-Founder of Seaside Neighborhood School and Board Member of The Seaside School Foundation. “Our founders, the Davis family, inspire and support our growth. Our Governing Board, Foundation Board, and our extended family of parents and volunteers work tirelessly to fulfill the mission of our school. We all look forward to the next 25 years. Our future is very bright!”

By Mary Chris Murray

Located on five acres within their original Whitfield Road property in Freeport, the Alaqua Wildlife Rehabilitation Center is a state and federally permitted facility, providing a much-needed resource of rehabilitating sick, injured, and orphaned native wildlife. Permits were issued by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) (pending). Alaqua anticipates most animals will come from Walton, Okaloosa, and Bay counties. However, there are eight counties surrounding Alaqua’s facilities with no physical rehabilitation center.

“Alaqua receives a dozen or more calls a week to help injured wildlife, and up until this point we have had to send them to another facility,” said Alaqua Founder Laurie Hood. “It is heart-wrenching to think there is an animal out there suffering. We believe that all animals deserve a second chance, and that includes our important wildlife. We are thrilled to finally be a resource for people in our community when they see injured wildlife, and we will also be able to educate them in the process.” Laurie also iterated, “With the overdevelopment around our state and in other parts of our country, animals are losing their natural habitat. It is becoming more increasingly important to respect their environments and protect them for future generations.”

A highly experienced wildlife specialty team has been assembled with a combined 30 years’ experience working with wildlife in clinical settings. The facility includes a fully functional wildlife clinic with surgical suite, triage area, ICU for critical animals, a detached avian nursery, and a mammal nursery with rabies vector species quadrant to provide specialized care for orphaned babies in a contained environment. Additional outdoor habitats including a brand-new flight cage have also been constructed on the wooded property to provide an environment free from common urban stressors. This will allow the rehabilitation process to happen in a setting that is closely similar to being back in nature.

Animals of all types are welcome including shore birds, seabirds, birds of pretty, mammals, marsupials, and reptiles. The organization expects the new facility to fill up within a couple of weeks due to the increased need in the area with an estimated capacity of approximately 300 animals.

In addition to physically rehabilitating animals, Alaqua is spearheading a “Re-nesting / Reuniting Educational Campaign” to educate the public on how to safely get healthy babies back to their parents, where their chances of survival are greater.

Alaqua and its staff have met all requirements associated with the FWC and the USFWS permitting regulations which include thousands of hours working hands on with wildlife and other specific requirements for various species. Medical, husbandry, nursery, transport, rescue, capture, and release experience with all species is mandatory.

Animals may be dropped at the Alaqua Whitfield Campus from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., 7-days a week (located at 914 Whitfield Road, Freeport, FL). A volunteer team is also in the process of being assembled to rescue animals and bring them back to Alaqua. Individuals needing assistance can call the office at (850) 880-6697 or the FWC Wildlife Hotline at (888) 404-3922. Alaqua operates solely on funds that are raised through private donations and fundraising. Currently, the non-profit organization does not receive any state or federal funding for these types of community programs and services. The facility will not be open to the public as it is important to rehabilitate in a quiet space and keep human interaction to a minimum to ensure the animals’ safety until they are ultimately ready to be released back into the wild.

Alaqua’s long-term vision is to create a wildlife sanctuary on 40 acres of its new property to provide a refuge for injured wildlife animals that are unable to be released back into their native environment. This sanctuary will also contain a rehabilitation area and will allow visitors to connect with these animals in a natural setting allowing guests to learn about various species, how to co-exist with them, and how they can protect them for future generations.

“The Alaqua Wildlife Rehabilitation Center on our Whitfield Campus is just the beginning,” commented Laurie.

All over the United States, children are caught in terrible situations. Sometimes it’s an abusive home. Sometimes it’s neglect. Sometimes it’s abandonment. Whatever the reason, parents aren’t always there for their kids, and when the unfortunate event happens that a child is pulled from an unsafe situation there is not always another place for the child to go. Further, when siblings are removed from their home they are often separated, leading to significantly more trauma.

Children in Crisis looks to make a difference in the lives of children who are removed from their homes in Northwest Florida. It began as a dream for a group of individuals who saw the effect that foster care typically leaves on young psyches. Stripped from the things that bring them comfort, many children would rather remain in the unsafe situation due to familiarity with it. More often than not, these children already feel hopeless, and once they’re removed from their parents the hopelessness continues as they bounce from home to home and are separated from their sisters and brothers.

Children in Crisis saw the situation as an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of children in foster care.

Their goal is to provide safe, stable homes for children who have been abused, neglected, and abandoned within our local community, as well as to keep siblings together throughout the process. The organization provides multiple types of housing for children of any age, even into young adulthood. The Children’s Neighborhood functions as an emergency shelter for children removed from an unsafe environment. Beyond that, Children in Crisis maintains a total of five family foster homes, each housing six to eight children, and each containing two adults functioning as parents. In addition, Children in Crisis provides an Opportunity Home which contains a total of eight studio apartments designed for young adults who have aged out of foster care, but aren’t prepared for life ahead quite yet.
The children placed with the organization come from the Florida Department of Children and Families foster program, and are placed by the Families First Network. They are currently the only shelter which provides a home for foster children as well as an emergency shelter for children in immediate need. Currently, the Children’s Neighborhood has the capacity to serve seventy-four foster children at any given time, and usually assists a total of one hundred throughout the year.

Each year, Children in Crisis holds an annual charity drive, with this year, their fourteenth annual, the event was hosted by Tommy Bahama and took place on October 11th at the Kelly Plantation Golf Club. Yet, there’s still time to participate and support this incredible organization!

For further information about Children in Crisis visit them at 1000 Luke’s Way in Fort Walton Beach or online at www.childrenincrisisfl.org. They can also be contacted at (850) 864 – 4242 or via email at info@childrenincrisisfl.org.