Panama City Reporter

The majority of students in Gulf County schools were white in the 2022-23 school year, according to the Florida Department of Education.

Of the 1,928 students attending Gulf County schools, 77.0% were white. Black students were the second largest ethnicity, making up 10.2% of Gulf County students.

In the previous school year, white students were also the most common ethnicity in Gulf County, representing 77% of the student body.

Port St. Joe Elementary School and Port St. Joe High School had the most diverse student body in the county, which included Black, white, Hispanic, Asian, multiracial, and Alaskan Native or American Indian.

In the 2022-23 school year, the total number of students enrolled in public schools in the county dropped 0.1% when compared to the previous year.

Florida's choice to stick with in-person classes during the pandemic may have shielded students from significant learning setbacks. A recent Harvard study highlighted that districts heavily reliant on remote learning saw the most significant declines in student achievement amid the COVID-19 crisis.

Interestingly, gaps in math achievement by race and school poverty did not widen in school districts in states such as Texas and Florida and elsewhere that remained largely in-person, said Thomas Kane, professor at Harvard Graduate School of Education.

School Name	Most Prevalent Ethnicity	Percent of Total Student Body	Total Enrollment
Port St. Joe Elementary School	White	69.7%	534
Port St. Joe High School	White	69.9%	512
PreK Ese	White	86.7%	15
Wewahitchka Elementary School	White	86.3%	504
Wewahitchka High School	White	84.3%	363