By Christopher Manson
“I’m most proud that this District values three things – academics, the arts, and athletics,” Okaloosa County School District Superintendent Marcus Chambers says. “We’ve taken a strong stance to provide students with opportunities to be engaged while they’re in the school system.
“The ultimate goal is that when high school seniors walk across the graduation stage, we want them to be prepared for college, the military, or the workforce.”
Mr. Chambers oversees all 38 schools in the district, which include roughly 33,000 students and 3,500 employees. The school district is the second largest employer in the county, right behind the military.
All 67 districts across Florida are assessed in reading, math, social studies and science. “We were fifth in the state for 2022-2023. In the last three years, we’ve placed in the top ten,” he says.
Mr. Chambers was appointed by the governor in January 2019 and elected superintendent in August 2020. Prior to that, he was a classroom teacher, assistant principal, and district office administrator. He served as principal at Longwood Elementary in Shalimar, Pryor Middle School in Fort Walton Beach, and Niceville High School.
Since 1998, he has called Niceville home. His father was in the military, and Mr. Chambers graduated from high school in Hawaii. “I played sports and went to the University of South Florida to play baseball,” he says. Later, he played baseball and basketball at what is now Northwest Florida State College in Niceville.
At one point, he realized he wasn’t going to become a professional athlete, but Mr. Chambers was happy to be getting an education. He graduated with a degree in Elementary Education from the University of West Florida, then earned his Master’s in Educational Leadership.
“I’m excited about the upcoming school year,” he says. Many construction projects are underway, thanks to the half-cent sales tax. “We’re now able to upgrade facilities, add new buildings, and plan for new school construction. We’re currently building classroom additions and cafetoriums (the new way of saying cafeteria/auditorium).”
Mr. Chambers tells me that once a school gets to around 80 percent capacity, it’s time to start thinking about new schools. Most of the schools in Okaloosa County are currently at 95 percent capacity.
Construction projects include the addition of a fourth and fifth grade wing at Destin Elementary School and a new elementary school in Niceville. The district recently acquired 80 acres in Crestview for a K-8 school. “We’re getting to the point where we can lessen the capacity and free up space,” says Mr. Chambers.
“We’ve taken a very proactive approach to Career and Technical Education (CTE). In Okaloosa County, we have 19 programs, including carpentry, engineering, AI, culinary, nursing and more. In the nursing program, we’ve partnered with HCA Hospital in Fort Walton Beach and North Okaloosa Medical Center in Crestview.”
In Fort Walton Beach, nursing students have their own campus from which they can walk to the hospital for their clinical hours. The district received a Triumph grant for that program, courtesy of the folks that oversee the BP oil spill settlement funds.
CTE students take a certification test at the end of the course. “They get a certificate that shows employers they have marketable skills and experience,” says Mr. Chambers.
“We talk a lot about the next generation of Okaloosa schools and being an A-plus school district. We are rated A, but we gave ourselves the plus because we do well in arts and athletics.”
Three years ago, the Okaloosa County School District had the oldest bus fleet in the state of Florida and no bus replacement program. This changed three years ago, and now the fleet boasts 160 buses. “We’ve purchased 90 new school buses. In the upcoming year, we’ll purchase 15 more,” says Mr. Chambers. “Every year going forward, we’re looking to buy at least 15 new buses a year.”
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