Gateway Academy in Miramar Beach | Military Town Advisor

Posted: April 10, 2026

As a past student, Gateway was a wonderful experience. But now, that my sister is at Gateway, it has changed drastically and the stories she has told me are ridiculous. I do not recommend sending your kid to Gateway. Bad idea. Lots of teacher drama, the male vice principal has walked into the girls restroom unannounced while they were changing to tell them something. That is just one of the many stories Ive heard from my sister. There is more. Many teachers are absolutely wonderful. Specifically in middle school. The principles and basically the people in charge, are fake. Oh also a teacher was fired for absolutely no reason at all. The kids loved her. Gateway, if youre reading this, get a hold of yourself. You are not what you used to be. You disrespect God, the kids, the parents, and the teachers. Do not send your kid here.

Posted: April 10, 2026

Posted: February 2, 2026

Before you consider enrolling your child at this school, you should know there's a real problem with inconsistent teachers. Some are genuinely kind and wonderful, while others are so difficult it's hard to believe they're in the same building. There's no consistent standard for hiring, and that carries over into the teacher-student relationships. The administration almost always sides with the teacher, no matter the concern. Whether it's a teacher yelling at the children, shaming them during discipline, unfairly targeting certain students, grading work inconsistently, or applying different standards across gradesthey'll often dismiss your concerns and insist the teacher is excellent.
Even when a large number of parentsmore than 80% in some casesraise the same issues about a particular teacher, the school continues to rehire them year after year. There's no formal school board here, so decisions ultimately fall to the principal and the pastor. It's unclear why the principle continues to defend teachers who damage the school's reputation. We've heard reports of children coming home depressed, needing counseling, or crying after schoolall linked to the stress in those particular classrooms.

That said, there are also some truly exceptional teachers herethe kind that's a real blessing to have teaching your child. Unfortunately, they tend to leave, and staff turnover is quite high. In recent years, the school has experienced high staff turnover at the end of each academic year, but the situation has worsened: now four strong, well-regarded teachers have resigned in the middle of the current school year.

A good number of solid families have chosen to leave because they've grown tired of the situation. Ultimately, it's your decisioneither stay and avoid raising issues, or look elsewherebecause speaking up hasn't led to meaningful change.
The school does excel in a couple of areas: safety and biblical instruction. The children here really do come to know God.
For real improvement, the school would benefit from more structured approaches overallnot least if the principal educated herself on established best practices in hiring, rather than relying solely on intuition or prayer in the selection process.

Posted: February 2, 2026

Posted: March 6, 2025

This school meets none of the categories given on this website. My child has had pointless problems with teachers that should not be happening although there are some good ones there are a lot of bad ones. There is a bad substitute here that will yell at students for anything even if she is wrong. The Bible class here is not good either my child has learned nothing and is very frustrated with it because he enjoyed the class last year and learned a lot but they got a new teacher and things have gone very far downhill. I don't recommend this school and wouldn't to my worst enemy.

Posted: March 6, 2025

Posted: February 29, 2024

First class school. My kids tell me how grateful they are to go to this school. I know that speaks volumes. My child has a window in her classroom (in reference to a previous comment). The staff and administration are phenomenal. The school has grown exponentially since we started a few years ago for good reasons and mainly because people are discovering this Gateway gem.

Posted: February 29, 2024

Posted: July 26, 2023

Daughter has gone to Gateway since Pre-k3, and is entering Kindergarten. This is the best schooling money can buy in Okaloosa County. Though we do not receive any scholarships, I understand there are plenty.

Posted: September 20, 2018

We made the decision to take our daughter out of public school and has now been at Gateway for 2 years. She has thrived at Gateway academically and spiritually! Its been amazing seeing the difference it has made in her life. She gets up happy to go to school every morning. We consider ourselves blessed to be apart of the Gateway family!

Posted: September 20, 2018

Posted: March 18, 2018

Great! Only private school from elementary to high school!

Posted: December 19, 2017

Gateway values every child and gives special attention to every need a child may have. Staff is beyond amazing and values excellence over perfection.

Posted: November 1, 2016

My daughter attended Gateway Academy for 7 years then transferred to another school for eighth grade. Gateway prepared her academically, socially and spiritually. She has excelled in her classes and has adjusted very well. At Gateway, your child is not a number but considered family. The staff and administration goes above and beyond to see your child excell. I wholeheartedly recommend Gateway Academy.

Posted: February 13, 2016

I am very saddened by the situation at Gateway. This used to be a school to take pride in. Leadership is extremely poor and unfriendly and mostly down right rude. Two of the office staff lack any other education except high school but are put in charge of the teachers and tell them what curriculm to teach and how to run the classroom. The dean of the school is the pastors son and has never taught a day in his life. Most teachers that have teaching degrees and are highly qualified don't stay because they are paid horribly which accounts for the high teacher turnover. Students are unable to grow with the outdated curriculm being used in math and the grammar curriculm is complete over kill. Zero technology in the classroom. So many other wonderful public schools doing awesome things. Facilities are horrendous, PE held in the parking lot, no windows in the classroom and shortage of bathrooms. Why would you pay for less???

Posted: December 6, 2015

The teachers mean well but must follow along with a rigid culture. The leadership seems to restrict creativity & new ideas.

Posted: December 6, 2015

We typically are not a proponent for alot of homework. It is the type of homework that is the issue. The kids are not really challenged in learning habits for the way our world works today. The homework given at Gateway is mainly reciting vocabulary & Bible verses (without much discussion of meaning or interpretation). Strickly black and white memorization/recite to get grades is how it works here. We wanted our daughter to learn meaning & concepts instead of only memorizing for a grade.

Posted: December 6, 2015

Academically, Gateway is not up to par. The children may have a difficult time adjusting to the real world socially too. You may not agree, but please respect an honest opinion that isn't 5 Star. People need to know all experiences before making a choice to pay for a school. We had high expectations for our daughter here & the school didn't challenge her. Our mistake was that we completely bought into it being a Christian school, instead of looking at everything else involved with an education. The curriculum is the outdated way of learning...black n white memorization, without thought. Kids are not robots, they want to laugh, learn & be creative. The building has no windows & shouldn't qualify as a place to develop children. PE is in the parking lot because there is no grass. The new Principal, Sondra Dutram isn't very friendly or approachable like the past leader was. This effects the entire culture at such a small school. And Brittany Smith usually takes up to 4 weeks to reply to e-mails or calls, if at all. There is a lot of teacher turnover for a reason. Ask past teachers, parents & students when evaluating Gateway. The area lacks many quality education options. The teachers as a whole are nice people. We expected leadership quality & education to be much better for the price.

Posted: January 9, 2014

This is a precious school. Teachers are loving and caring and children are held to high, yet attainible standards. There are roughly 15 children per class which allows the teachers to focus on each student as an individual.

Posted: May 13, 2012

This is a very sweet and caring school! It has an average of 12 kids PER GRADE. Right now it is 3yr old preschool through 5th grade, but there will be a 7th and 8th grade added for the 2012-2013 school year. Gateway offers a solid academic education as well as character education. Every teacher knows every student by name. As a parent, I have felt that my suggestions/comments throughout the year were taken seriously. I highly recommend this school.

Posted: June 9, 2011

Check with counselors at various schools and ask what programs they have on bullying. Check into the number of fights and enrollment. Try a Christian school.

#	Name	Type	City	State	Distance
1	Sunsail	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Destin	FL	3.4 mi
2	Villa Tasso	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Niceville	FL	6.2 mi
3	Hammock Bay	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Freeport	FL	13.6 mi
4	Sugar Creek	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Crestview	FL	26.2 mi
5	Grandview Heights	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Crestview	FL	30.5 mi
6	Mill Creek Farms	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Baker	FL	33.2 mi
7	Tiger Point	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Gulf Breeze	FL	42.6 mi
8	Tiger Point (Willowood section)	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Gulf Breeze	FL	42.6 mi
9	Sundial Estates	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Milton	FL	42.6 mi
10	Premier Estates	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Panama City	FL	43.4 mi
11	Berry Pines	Apartment Complex	Milton	FL	45.2 mi
12	Whiting Pines	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Milton	FL	45.5 mi
13	Ashton Woods	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Milton	FL	45.5 mi
14	Tanglewood Golf Course Community	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Milton	FL	46.4 mi

#	Name	City	State	Distance
1	Destin	Destin	FL	8.3 mi
2	Bluewater Bay	Niceville	FL	8.7 mi
3	Niceville	Niceville	FL	12.2 mi
4	Valparaiso	Valparaiso	FL	12.7 mi
5	Shalimar	Shalimar	FL	14.1 mi
6	Freeport	Freeport	FL	15.5 mi
7	Fort Walton Beach	Fort Walton	FL	15.8 mi
8	Mary Esther	Mary Esther	FL	17.9 mi
9	Crestview	Crestview	FL	29.7 mi
10	Navarre	Navarre	FL	31.3 mi
11	Milton	Milton	FL	44.4 mi

Base	Distance
Eglin AFB	12.5 mi.
Hurlburt Field	20.2 mi.
Duke Field	21.2 mi.
NSA Panama City	38.2 mi.
Whiting Field NAS	45.5 mi.

Gateway Academy

Miramar Beach, FL 32550

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Gateway Academy

Miramar Beach, FL 32550

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