St. Johns County School District Explained

Country:	United States
Location:	40 Orange Street, St. Augustine, St. Johns County, Florida, 32084
Motto:	Excellence in Public Education Since 1869.^[1]
St. Johns County School District
Schools:	47
Students:	44,550
Superintendent:	Tim Forson
Teachers:	2,475^[2]

St. Johns County School District (SJCSD) is the public school district for St. Johns County, Florida.

It is the sole school district in the county.^[3]

History

• 1866 – St. Joseph Academy was founded and is the oldest Catholic high school in Florida.
• 1924 – Hastings High School is opened for farm children in the southwest corner of St. Johns county
• 1959 – St. Augustine High School is the St. Johns county public high school
• 1981 – Nease High School was opened to alleviate overcrowding at SAHS.
• 2000 – Pedro Menendez High School and Bartram Trail High School are opened to alleviate overcrowding at SAHS and Nease, respectively.
• 2008 – Creekside High School and Ponte Vedra High School are opened to alleviate overcrowding at Bartram Trail and Nease, respectively.
• 2021 – Tocoi Creek High School, in the World Golf Village area of the county, opened to students in Fall 2021.
• 2022 – Beachside High School, opened in Fall 2022 on CR-210

School board

The county administrative offices are located at 40 Orange Street in St. Augustine, Florida. The superintendent of SJCSD is Mr. Tim Forson, who administrates the daily operation of public schools in the county. The position of superintendent is appointed by the St. Johns County School Board, a body of five elected officers, each board member representing a specific geographic area. The current School Board members, in order of district number, are Beverly Slough, Anthony E. Coleman Sr., Bill Mignon, Kelly Barrera, and Patrick Canan.Board members are elected in staggered four years terms with 2-term limits; districts 1, 3 & 5 elected during midterm election cycles (next in 2026) and districts 2 & 4 elected during presidential cycles (next in 2024).

Growth

With the tremendous population growth, the number of St. Johns County academic high schools tripled between 2000 and 2008. For the 2007-2008 school year, the district had an enrollment of 27,514 students, which according to the St. Augustine Record continued its ranking as "one of the fastest-growing school districts in the state" of Florida.^[4] That figure reflected a four percent increase (1,040 students) from the previous year.

FCAT

Florida Public K-12 Schools are graded based on data from the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) provided by Florida Department of Education. St. Johns County schools received the following marks:^[5]

Schools

High schools

• Bartram Trail High School
• Beachside High School
• Creekside High School
• Pedro Menendez High School
• Allen D. Nease High School
• Ponte Vedra High School
• St. Augustine High School
• St. Johns Technical High School
• Tocoi Creek High School

K-8 schools (Academies)

• Freedom Crossing
• Liberty Pines
• Mill Creek
• Palm Valley
• Patriot Oaks
• Pine Island
• Valley Ridge

Middle schools

• Alice B. Landrum
• Fruit Cove
• Gamble Rogers
• Pacetti Bay
• R. J. Murray
• Sebastian
• Switzerland Point

Elementary schools

• Cunningham Creek
• Durbin Creek
• Hickory Creek
• John A. Crookshank
• Julington Creek
• Ketterlinus
• Ocean Palms
• Osceola
• Otis A. Mason
• Palencia
• Picolata Crossing
• R. B. Hunt
• PVPV-Rawlings
• South Woods
  • It was provisionally named "School J".^[6]
• The Webster School
• Timberlin Creek
• Wards Creek
• W. D. Hartley

Alternative schools

• Gaines Alternative School at the Evelyn B. Hamblen Center
• Transition School at the Evelyn B. Hamblen Center

Former schools

• Hastings High School - Closed in 1985^[7]
• Hastings Elementary-Junior High School - Opened in the former Hastings High in 1985, replacing the former Hastings Elementary School. In 1992 it ended its junior high school program, with the new name being Hastings Elementary School.^[7] In 2005 it closed, replaced by South Woods Elementary.^[8]

See also

• List of high schools in Florida
• Florida School for the Deaf and Blind - A state operated school in St. Augustine

External links

• St. Johns County School District website

Notes and References

1. Web site: Home | St. Johns County School District . August 23, 2017 . August 22, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170822122036/http://www.stjohns.k12.fl.us/ . dead .
2. http://www.stjohns.k12.fl.us/about/ "About US"
3. Web site: 2020 Census – School District Reference Map: St. Johns County, FL. U.S. Census Bureau. 2022-08-01. - Text list
4. News: Perhach . Paulette . September 25, 2007 . Schools' explosive growth continues . The St. Augustine Record . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160303225235/http://staugustine.com/stories/092507/news_news_003.shtml#.VtjAMzbP1qY . March 3, 2016.
5. http://schoolgrades.fldoe.org/pdf/0708/School_Grades_08_PressPacket18_19.pdf Florida Department of Education: FCAT results-School Grades by District
6. Web site: Home. St. Johns County School District. 2005-04-04. https://web.archive.org/web/20050404031504/http://www-hes.stjohns.k12.fl.us/schoolj/. 2021-12-04. 2005-04-04.
7. Web site: Background Information of Wildcat Country. Hastings Elementary School. 1999-02-02. https://web.archive.org/web/19990202111142/http://www-hes.stjohns.k12.fl.us/hesbckgrnd.html. 2021-12-04. 1999-02-02.
8. Web site: Resolution No. 2005-329. St. John's County Clerk. 2021-12-04.