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South Walton High School

Santa Rosa Beach, FL 32459

Phone: (850) 622-5020
Fax: (850) 622-5039
District: Walton

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public • Grades 9,10,11,12 • 1017 students

South Walton High School, a public school located in Santa Rosa Beach, FL, serves grades 9-12 in the Walton.It has received a GreatSchools Rating of 8 out of 10, based on a variety of school quality measures.

South Walton High School is a public school located in Santa Rosa Beach, FL. 1017 students attend South Walton High School.

School Ratings

Category	Rating	Details
Test Scores	8/10	The Test Score Rating examines how students at this school performed on standardized tests compared with other schools in the state. The Test Rating was created using 2025 Florida Assessment of Student Thinking data from Florida Department of Education, and using 2025 Benchmarks for Excellent Student Thinking data from Florida Department of Education.
College Readiness	9/10	The College Readiness Rating uses this high school's graduation rates, college entrance exam participation and performance, or AP, IB, or Dual Enrollment participation to determine how well schools are preparing students for success in college and beyond. The College Readiness Rating was created using 2019 Average SAT score data from Florida Department of Education, using the following data from the 2021 Civil Rights Data Collection: percentage of students enrolled in IB, AP or Dual Enrollment classes in grades 9-12, using 2025 4-year high school graduation rate data from Florida Department of Education, and using 2026 demographic data from Florida Department of Education.
Student Growth	7/10	The Student Progress Rating measures whether students at this school are making academic progress over time based on student growth data provided by the Department of Education. Specifically, this rating looks at how much progress individual students have made on state assessments during the past year or more, how this performance aligns with expected progress based on a student growth model established by the state Department of Education, and how this school's growth data compares to other schools in the state. The Growth Rating was created using 2025 Student growth data from Florida Department of Education.

Posted: September 18, 2025

The freshman AP History teacher is a disrespectful bully and an ineffective teacher. Avoid him at all costs. This school is does not prepare students for today's world.

Posted: September 18, 2025

Posted: November 11, 2024

We moved here summer 2024. My kiddo made
an all-state Jazz guitar! First kid to qualify in the county! We LOVE South Walton High School! Good Godly teachers. Seriously one is studying theology! Love it. My son feels that the courses are challenging and he is in all AP classes and very much enjoying his classmates and work. He comes home excited about the projects and opportunities he gets to work on at the school. Overall my son went from a Georgia school that kept him busy. To South Walton that keeps him involved in the progress and improvement of his academic performance. The Jazz Band is phenomenal!

Posted: November 11, 2024

Posted: April 29, 2024

I went to this school. It was some of the worst years of my life. The students bullied me every day and the administration did little to nothing to stop it or turned a blind eye to it. This had a huge impact on my mental health. I ended up having to transfer to a different high school out of the county.

Posted: April 29, 2024

Posted: February 3, 2023

We moved here two years ago and we couldnt be happier with South Walton! My kids went to private schools in a larger city and they both have said they are so appreciative of how much their teachers care and are engaged!

Posted: February 3, 2023

Posted: October 7, 2022

Many of the students here are rude, unfriendly, entitled brats. They live in a bubble and when it pops them into the real world they will see how unsophisticated and cringy Santa Rosa is. Parents are to blame for their sense of false superiority.

Posted: October 7, 2022

Posted: March 30, 2022

Solid school with above average staff and teachers. Many extracurricular activities are available as well as AP and college prep classes.

Posted: March 30, 2022

Posted: July 18, 2021

This school has gotten much better than some of these disgruntled students/parents giving bad reviews. If your student is motivated and the parents are motivated then this school will be just fine.

Posted: July 18, 2021

Posted: March 12, 2020

Do not send your children to this school.

Posted: March 12, 2020

Posted: May 25, 2018

If I wasnt for some of the relationships Id formed there I would have left without a doubt. But teachers like Mr Libby, Ms Smith and Mr Hartness who made you not feel so alone there because despite what you think the administration doesnt care about doing whats best for you, they care about the stats and how good the school looks. I was an honors and AP student my whole life, my senior year life started to fall apart bc my parents lost there house and went to jail and I was crashing on my grandmas couch while she took care of my sisters and great grandmother who was full time care. I missed school a lot bc life seemed void and I had no motivation. South Walton didnt like how my attendance was making them look, they told me theyd kick me out and have me walk at Freeport bc my grandma lives 3 miles away on the first road across the bridge which was technically Freeport but I lived closer to sowal. I tried to reach out for help bc I was having a hard time, when I expressed how I didnt want to be here (hoping the vice principal would tell me why its important to go come and graduate since my parents werent in the picture to be the adults I could talk to) but what did he say? Nothing encouraging, he said Ill hand you withdraw forms right now, I dont care. Like seriously?? I obviously was a kid in trouble who needed help? They even had things on file showing I was in therapy and I had never cried so hard at school. But he wasnt there for me, and after I wrote a letter to them about how they didnt care about me the vice principal went out of his way to say hi to me in the halls, but still couldnt get my name right, because we mean the little to them. All they care about is is being a A+ School. Needles do to say I still graduated with a 3.75 and am going to college this fall despite south Waltons lack of help.

Posted: May 25, 2018

I have never had a D before until AP microeconomics, where the teacher would assign online albert.io test assignments to do at home after school as a test grade. I work 6 days a week and my parents didnt even have power, I tried to talk to my teacher and vice principal and they solved the problem by letting me checkout a laptop, that doesnt help when you dont even have internet, to which vp said go to Starbucks, make it work when I dont have a car. Which ultimately affected my overall grade bc the hw assignments as test grades added up and they could care less about your life away from them.

Posted: May 25, 2018

Posted: December 1, 2017

Horrible, Ive never in my life been treated so bad. I get that students need to follow the rules, but there is no need to demand things, and make me feel like less of a person. The principal wont eveb let me talk. And I have anxiety, so I freak out easily. Well I was having a panic attack she was more concerned about a meeting. And well I wanted to talk to my mom, she when back to her meeting, and had me miss lunch waiting. Then later all she did was tell me to go back to class. I needed to speak to my mom, I was having a break down and she didnt care one bit. And that isnt even the full story.

Posted: December 1, 2017

Posted: July 25, 2016

Things have dramatically improved with our new principal. Academics are more challenging and there is more interaction with parents.

Posted: June 5, 2015

South Walton High School has a high acceptance rate to college, (92% 2014, 90 % 2015) with graduates going to schools all over the country- UCLA, Tulane, Miami, U of F, LSU, Auburn, etc. The students have many academic as well as sports scholarships. The Women's and Men's sports teams frequently win district, regional championships and have won state championships. The parents are involved and the students appear to have a good time.
The low reviews on this site are undeserved and demonstrate how unhappy individuals would rather destroy something than look at the facts and realize that they need to take individual responsibility.

Posted: April 28, 2015

I must say it is without a doubt the most unorganized school in America. Try talking to a counselor. Try asking any administration to do anything for you and you'll be given the run-around until they completely forget about you. Without a doubt one of the worst schools to attend in Florida, faculty wise. If you're looking for a school that doesn't focus on top ranking students only, go anywhere else but South Walton.

Posted: December 19, 2012

I have stumbled onto this site and felt compelled to write a comment. I have live in South Walton for 10 years and have 3 kids that are in the public schools in SW. It has not always been perfect at any school they have attended here but it is with dedication and parent/community involvement that I believe SW will soon be the best school in the panhandle. The administration is changing, the accountability is improving, the classes offered is expanding and the college bound graduation rate is growing. I believe it was about 80% last year(class of 2012). My senior this year has had a wonderful high school experience, one that includes lots of friends, great teachers and wonderful memories that he will take with him as he enters college in the fall. No school is perfect, but it is up to us as parents and communities to quit trashing our local schools and step up to help improve them.

Posted: November 1, 2012

Came from a much larger school system in the Atlanta area. This is my 10th grade son's first year at SWHS. the teachers have all been very nice and helpful and one in particular will text or call me just to make sure I am receiving permission slips, etc. My son went on a school field trip to a local college in Niceville this week and came home excited for the very first time about going to college. The kids (and parents) seem to be lacking school spirit and my son was very disappointed that there wasn't a swim team. But overall, we are happy with SWHS and the teachers. The principle specifically was very helpful during orientation.

Posted: October 24, 2012

I beleive most FL schools in general are below par but I have to echo most of the bad reviews. It really come down to being lazy and the leadership not caring. When I say leadership I'm including the SW staff and the Walton County School Board and when I say lazy I'm including 90% of teachers and 70% of parents. The teachers only do what F-CAT requires and no more. Most of the parents are happy if their kids attend class but won't lift a finger to volenteer or fund raise. We have a senior there and two others in ECMS. I will not subject them to SWHS's laziness. They will be going to Freeport HS. That's right! Freeport HS is now rated better than SWHS. That show how far Freeport has come and how bad SWHS has sunk. The parents are really involved at Freeport and the staff is determined to help the kids succeed. Bye Bye SWHS.

Posted: October 14, 2012

I generally do not provide reviews but felt it only fair to speak up after reading the posts for South Walton High School. This is our child's first year at the school after moving from a much larger, "better" school in a different state and we are very pleased with the administration, teachers, and staff. What could improve is parent involvement and support. A low review for this school is undeserved. Our child is happy, involved, and taking honors/AP classes in a small school environment.

Reviews provided by GreatSchools^™

#	Name	Type	City	State	Distance
1	Hammock Bay	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Freeport	FL	7.5 mi
2	Villa Tasso	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Niceville	FL	13.7 mi
3	Sunsail	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Destin	FL	13.7 mi
4	Sugar Creek	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Crestview	FL	31.9 mi
5	Premier Estates	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Panama City	FL	33.6 mi
6	Grandview Heights	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Crestview	FL	35.3 mi
7	Felix Lake	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Tyndall AFB	FL	37.9 mi
8	Callaway	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Panama City	FL	39.6 mi
9	Mill Creek Farms	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Baker	FL	39.8 mi

#	Name	City	State	Distance
1	Freeport	Freeport	FL	8.6 mi
2	Bluewater Bay	Niceville	FL	16 mi
3	Destin	Destin	FL	18.7 mi
4	Niceville	Niceville	FL	20.2 mi
5	Valparaiso	Valparaiso	FL	21.2 mi
6	Shalimar	Shalimar	FL	24.1 mi
7	Fort Walton Beach	Fort Walton	FL	26.1 mi
8	Mary Esther	Mary Esther	FL	28.2 mi
9	Crestview	Crestview	FL	35.3 mi
10	Navarre	Navarre	FL	41.6 mi

Base	Distance
Eglin AFB	22 mi.
Duke Field	27.6 mi.
NSA Panama City	28.8 mi.
Hurlburt Field	30.4 mi.
Tyndall AFB	41 mi.

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South Walton High School

Santa Rosa Beach, FL 32459

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