Panama City Reporter

There were 3,578 Hispanic students enrolled in Bay County schools in the 2022-23 school year, a 16.6% increase from the 3,069 Hispanic students in the previous school year, according to the Florida Department of Education.

Data showed that Bay County welcomed a total of 27,324 students during the 2022-23 school year. Among them, Hispanic students comprised 13.1% of the student body to be the third most represented ethnicity in the county.

Among the 47 schools in Bay County, Rutherford High School recorded the highest enrollment of Hispanic students in the 2022-23 school year, with a total of 232 students, making up 17.4% of the school's total student body.

In 2022, Florida had more than 2.8 million students enrolled in its 4,202 schools. There were 163,558 teachers in the public schools, or roughly one teacher for every 17 students, compared to the national average of 1:16.

Private school enrollment increased by more than 51,000 students in the 2021-22 school year, which was a notable rebound after the pandemic. In total, there were 416,084 students enrolled, marking the highest enrollment in private schools reported by the Florida Department of Education in 30 years.

According to WalletHub's analysis, Florida is ranked ninth out of 50 states in terms of its public school quality and safety.

School name	% of Hispanic Students Enrolment	Total Enrollment
A. Crawford Mosley High School	8.6	1,901
Deane Bozeman School	1.5	1,619
J. R. Arnold High School	13	1,617
Rutherford High School	17.4	1,337
Bay High School	17.9	1,255
Breakfast Point Academy	12.2	1,058
North Bay Haven Career Academy	9.6	897
Mowat Middle School	11.4	868
Surfside Middle School	13.9	843
Tyndall Academy	11.8	800
Bay Haven Charter Academy	8.4	765
Deer Point Elementary School	4.8	705
Merritt Brown Middle School	8.6	701
Lynn Haven Elementary School	1.6	699
North Bay Haven Charter Academy Elementary School	7.8	695
Patronis Elementary School	7.6	648
Hiland Park Elementary School	14.5	643
Tommy Smith Elementary School	4.1	639
Hutchison Beach Elementary School	21.4	621
Northside Elementary School	19.4	598
Jinks Middle School	22.5	570
Cedar Grove Elementary School	19.9	562
North Bay Haven Charter Academy Middle School	10.5	524
Callaway Elementary School	13.3	511
Lucille Moore Elementary School	38.4	503
Parker Elementary School	10.1	496
Bay Haven Charter Middle School	11.5	433
Merriam Cherry Street Elementary School	6.9	362
Rosenwald High School	9.9	345
A. Gary Walsingham Academy	10.5	343
Palm Bay Elementary School	12.7	316
West Bay Elementary School	7.7	313
Palm Bay Preparatory Academy 6-12	16.9	195