On May 19, Seaside School celebrated its 20th anniversary as one of the first Florida charter schools.
The celebration, attended by the Seaside Neighborhood School students, parents, board and staff and supporting partners, was held on the Lyceum Lawn in Seaside.
The 2016-17 school year was filled with a sense of celebration, culminating with the graduation of the Seacoast Collegiate High School (SCHS) class of 2017, the first graduating senior class to have completed all four years (9th-12th) at SCHS.
Established in 1996, Seaside School is one of Florida’s first public charter schools. Located in Seaside, Seaside School is one charter school serving students on two campuses: Seaside Neighborhood School (grades 5-8) and Seacoast Collegiate High School (grades 9-12).
Seaside founder Robert Davis donated the land on which the school currently sits and Seaside Community Development Corporation (SCDC) donated the location fees from the making of “The Truman Show” movie starring Jim Carrey to build the school’s first building. Dr. Rosemary Williams spearheaded the movement to open a small tuition-free neighborhood school in the town of Seaside for middle school students. The school began with 36 middle-school students; today 330 students in grades 5 through 12 are enrolled on two campuses.
Seaside School recently was honored by the Florida Department of Education as a “pioneer charter school.” It is one of only two Florida charter schools established that has been continuously operated since 1996.
Thanks to a dedicated staff, involved parents, and the support of local businesses and community members, Seaside School is consistently ranked one of the top performing schools in the State of Florida, recognized at the national and state levels for academic achievements. Seaside Neighborhood School is ranked in the top 2 percent of 3,328 Florida middle schools; and Seacoast Collegiate High School ranks in the top 6 percent of Florida public high schools.
Current plans include an expansion of the Seaside Neighborhood School campus to offer grades kindergarten through fourth, which would enable Seaside School to offer a complete K-12 educational experience.
Seaside School is funded in part by Seaside School Foundation, Inc. which produces the highly anticipated annual Seaside Half Marathon and 5K Run each spring.
For more information, visit Seaside Neighborhood School online.