Gallery: Seacoast Collegiate High School Celebrates Ribbon Cutting

Christopher Saul
August 28, 2025
1:32 pm
30a, Schools and Education, South Walton

In Brief:

🎉 Grand Opening Ceremony: Seacoast Collegiate High School debuted with a ribbon-cutting event attended by Governor Ron DeSantis and other dignitaries, marking a new era for education in Walton County.
📚 Dual Enrollment Program: The charter school, partnered with Northwest Florida State College, enables students to earn both a high school diploma and an associate’s degree, serving 250 additional dual-enrolled students.
🏫 Historic Roots and Expansion: Founded in 1996 as Seaside Neighborhood School, the oldest continuously operating charter school in Florida, it now educates grades 5-12 across two campuses, including a new high school facility on the South Walton Campus.

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With three snips of a blue ribbon in three areas, Seacoast Collegiate High School debuted to the public.

The High School, which operates as a charter school in Walton County in Partnership with Northwest Florida State College, allows students to earn both a High School Diploma and an associate’s degree by the time a traditional high school student would graduate.

Students from the school listened in rows of white chairs as the governor and several other dignitaries spoke to christen the new learning center.

“To the students that are here in the audience today, you, too, have a calling on your life. It is our prayer that this campus leads you down the path that you are called on for your future,” said Northwest Florida State College Board of Trustees Chair Rhea Goff.

Governor Ron DeSantis, Congressman Jimmy Patronis, Walton County Superintendent A. Russell Hughes, State Senator Jay Trumbull, State Representative Shane Abbott, and Commissioners Danny Glidewell, Dan Curry, Tony Anderson, and Brad Drake all attended the ceremony.

“Together, we’re so proud to celebrate and stand alongside each of you for this great day for Walton County and the future of education right here,” said Northwest Florida State College President Mel Ponder, “Together, we’re ensuring that every studen tin Walton County has a homegrown path to higher education, career advancement, and personal growth – without having to leave their community to achieve their dreams.”

The school will educate an additional 250 dual-enrolled students with the expansion, and liaises with Northwest Florida State College for upper-level courses.

More About Seacoast Collegiate High School

Seacoast Collegiate High School was founded in 1996 as the Seaside Neighborhood School and is the oldest continuously operating charter school in the state of Florida.

The school serves students in grades 5 through 12 and is tuition-free for all students.

Middle school students are educated at the Seaside Neighborhood School campus, located in the heart of 30A. High Schoolers will learn at the new campus established on the campus of Northwest Florida State College’s expanded South Walton Campus on 331.