District tries to quell rumors re: N.B. Cook and PHS

Last week, parents expressed concern after rumors spread across the community that N.B. Cook Elementary and O.J. Semmes Elementary were merging and Pensacola High School was adding seventh—and eighth-grade classes. On Saturday, Escambia County School Superintendent Keith Leonard and School Board Chairman David Williams spoke at a small town hall meeting called by community activist Ellison Bennett to discuss the rumors and outline plans to address declining enrollment and increase competitiveness across the district.

The district’s student population has dropped from around 40,000 in 2003 to 36,665 currently. This is particularly concerning at the middle school level, where enrollment is down by over 300 students this year. To combat these losses, several significant changes are being considered for Pensacola High School (PHS) and N.B. Cook Elementary School. However, any changes will not be implemented until 2026-27 at the earliest.

COMPETITIVENESS

Leonard emphasized that the educational landscape has fundamentally changed. Students are no longer bound by traditional district boundaries. “Nowadays, guess what you can do? You can live in Santa Rosa County and go to the Escambia County Public Schools. You can live in Okaloosa County and go to the Escambia County Public Schools,” Leonard said. “You could also be the other way too. So what we’ve got to do is we’ve really got to try to compete.”

School Board Chairman David Williams believes Escambia County Public Schools has a communication challenge. “We are combating the loss of students. We’ve done better in the last couple of years, but we want the public to know that we’re the best choice to educate the children in Escambia County.”

Superintendent Leonard echoed this sentiment with parents and students in the audience. “We need people like you to tell your story about what you’ve been able to get from an education in this school system. That’s what we need.”

The competition for students extends beyond neighboring public school districts. Leonard’s response was passionate when PHS senior Chase Martin questioned whether the district could effectively compete with private and charter schools, which often have more funding. He rejected the notion that the district’s competitive strategy was just “kicking the can down the road.”

“What we’re trying to do is to make certain that when you become a parent and your kid reaches school age, that there’s an Escambia County public school system for your kid to go to that’s free,” Leonard said. “That accepts students no matter what income or neighborhood they live in and that the Escambia County public school system doesn’t just give them an okay education but the best.”

The superintendent’s strategy includes several initiatives to make schools more attractive to families. The district has standardized middle school schedules for consistency, added new programs like welding at Pensacola High School, and maintains over 60 academies across middle and high schools. Leonard proudly noted that the district ranks fourth for middle school acceleration rates in the state.

These efforts appear to be showing some success. The district is now 98% staffed, which Leonard noted is “better than we’ve been in a long, long time.” He emphasized that retaining teachers is just as important as recruiting them, saying, “The way you retain is you re-recruit, you let your teachers, you let your staff know every day how much you appreciate them.”

UNDER CONSIDERATION

Starting in the 2026-27 school year, Pensacola High School may introduce a new “scholars program” for seventh- and eighth-grade students requiring academic criteria and an application process. The high school, which once hosted nearly 1,900 students, now has around 1,200 enrolled.

The potential addition of middle school grades raised concerns from parents and students about mixing younger students with high schoolers. PHS Principal Amy Gordon addressed these concerns at the meeting, detailing specific safety measures being considered.

“We understand that the safety and protection of all our students on campus is incredibly important. Having seventh and eighth graders brings another dimension to that,” Gordon said. “We will have 11 empty classrooms on that side. In fact, that whole entire west wing, we can configure our layout so that the entire west wing will be empty, with the exception of ROTC. That would be the option for some to have their own hallway, their own entrance, their own space, their own wing.”

For N.B. Cook Elementary, the district is exploring a partnership with O.J. Semmes Elementary to expand Cook’s popular curriculum model. The proposed changes would split grade levels between the two campuses, potentially housing primary grades (K-2 or K-3) at Semmes and intermediate grades at Cook.

Maya Johnson, a teacher at N.B. Cook Elementary for 21 years and Pensacola High alumna, voiced concerns about the proposed changes. My main concern is why are we taking such a good program and splitting it apart? Why can’t a model be done at Semmes and other elementary schools in our community?” Johnson asked during the town hall.

“What we’re trying to do is to make certain that when you become a parent, and your kid reaches school age, that there’s an Escambia County public school system for your kid to go to that’s free, that accepts students no matter what income or neighborhood they live in,” Leonard explained during the meeting.

Current Cook students would maintain their places in the program, though some might need to attend classes at the Semmes campus depending on their grade level when changes are implemented. The program would expand from serving 525 students to potentially 1,100-1,200 students. Leonard emphasized that any changes would be implemented methodically and not begin next school year.

For Leonard, the stakes couldn’t be higher. As he told the town hall attendees, the goal isn’t just to maintain the status quo but to ensure that when today’s students become parents themselves, they’ll have confidence in choosing Escambia County Public Schools for their own children.

Daily Outtakes: School Districts attempts to quell rumors re: N.B. Cook and PHS

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UNDER CONSIDERATION

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