The bulletin board for America's public schools. Parents, teachers, students, and staff. One community per school.
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·OKALOOSA·NCES 120138002774

BLUEWATER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

4545 RANGE RD, NICEVILLE, FL 32578 · (850) 833-4240 · Okaloosa County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY22-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL885 STUDENTS
Enrollment
885
Elementary
DISTRICT 670 · STATE 604
Student : Teacher
17.0:1
52 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 16.6:1 · STATE 17.5:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
21%
185 students
DISTRICT 52% · STATE 50%
Community
6
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.

Enrollment by grade, 2024-25

GradeStudentsShare
Kindergarten10111%
Grade 114516%
Grade 215618%
Grade 316919%
Grade 413315%
Grade 518120%

This year's kindergarten class (101) is 44% smaller than its 5th grade class (181).

Student demographics
34%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 59% · STATE 70% · US 70%
White
70880%
DISTRICT 59% · STATE 33% · US 43%
Hispanic
9511%
DISTRICT 17% · STATE 38% · US 30%
Black
111%
DISTRICT 11% · STATE 21% · US 15%
Asian
91%
DISTRICT 2% · STATE 3% · US 6%
Two+
617%
DISTRICT 10% · STATE 4% · US 5%
Pacific Islander
10%
DISTRICT 0% · STATE 0% · US 0%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Male
44650%
Female
43950%

Discussions

+ POST

Test scores

FAST / B.E.S.T. 2024-25 . % at Level 3 or Above
English Language Arts
77.3%
FL avg 56.7% . +1.3pp since 2023
Math
79.7%
FL avg 58.9% . -0.5pp since 2023

What this means: On the FAST / B.E.S.T., Florida's statewide test, about 77 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 80 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Florida schools, those numbers are about 57 and 59. Reading and writing scores are up about 1 points since 2023, while math scores have held steady.

FAST / B.E.S.T. results by year

School yearEnglish Language ArtsMath
2024-2577.3%79.7%
2023-2476.1%80.3%
% at Level 3 or Above, all students and all tested grades.
Source: FAST / B.E.S.T.. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →

BeatsExpectations

Demographically-adjusted score · methodology
Tier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
77.6%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
70.7%
based on FL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+6.9pp
above demographic expectation

What this means: About 78% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 71% typical for Florida schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Florida's top nor bottom 10%.

BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →

Schools most like BLUEWATER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

BLUEWATER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL's state test result (77.6% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.

SchoolStudentsLow-incomeProficient
BLUEWATER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL this school88520.9%77.6%
SARASOTA SUNCOAST ACADEMY
SARASOTA
82321.3%72.7%
GULF BREEZE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
GULF BREEZE
86522.8%84.7%
TATUM RIDGE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
SARASOTA
86425.3%75.4%
OZONA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
PALM HARBOR
72724.6%82.3%
SOUTHSIDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
SARASOTA
69622.1%89.2%
Matched among Florida elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.

Where BLUEWATER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ranks

Among elementary schools
MeasureThis schoolIn FloridaIn Okaloosa County
State test proficiency
ranked highest first
77.6%#234 of 2,136#3 of 20
Math proficiency
ranked highest first
79.7%#290 of 2,149
▼ 72
#3 of 20
▼ 1
Reading proficiency
ranked highest first
77.3%#226 of 2,149
▼ 11
#3 of 20
▼ 1
Enrollment
ranked largest first
885#328 of 2,267#5 of 21
Students per teacher
ranked fewest first
17.0:1#1,431 of 2,077#12 of 21
Diversity index
ranked most diverse first
34.3%#1,771 of 2,108#21 of 21
Free and reduced lunch
ranked highest share first
20.9%#1,991 of 2,188#21 of 21
Enrollment change since 2017-18
ranked steepest decline first
-8.2%#1,034 of 1,374#9 of 16
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.

4-year change

SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25
Enrollment
885
-36 (-4%) vs 2020
+33% since 1990-91, when it was 664
Student : Teacher
17.0:1
was 16.8:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data

Enrollment and staffing by year

School yearStudentsTeachers (FTE)Students per teacherFree and reduced lunch
2024-258855217.0:121% (185)
2023-249145616.3:116% (148)
2022-239305616.6:116% (146)
2020-219215516.8:115% (137)
2017-189645716.9:114% (137)
2015-168945715.7:115% (138)
2010-117634616.6:117% (126)
2000-017113520.3:112% (86)
1990-916643220.8:1N/A
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for BLUEWATER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.

About BLUEWATER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

BLUEWATER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL operates as a mid-sized elementary school in NICEVILLE, Florida. It enrolls 885 students in 2024-25. The grades offered are pre-K through 5. That is 47% larger than the average of about 604 students for elementary schools in Florida.

Besides BLUEWATER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, OKALOOSA runs 48 other schools. The district enrolls 32,120 students.

Roughly 80% of students at BLUEWATER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL are White. Other groups make up 11% Hispanic and 7% multiracial. County-wide, 72% of Okaloosa County residents are White. The diversity index for BLUEWATER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is 34%. For US public schools as a whole it is 70%.

Teacher count: 52 full-time equivalents. Student-to-teacher ratio: 17.0:1. The average for elementary schools in Florida is about 17.5:1. Roughly 21% of students come from households that qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The 50% average for public schools in Okaloosa County is 29 points higher.

BLUEWATER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL posts an average proficiency rate across its state test results of 77.6%, compared with a predicted 70.7%. It is not in the top or bottom 10% of Florida schools on BeatsExpectations.

Five-year Census Bureau estimates for Okaloosa County show that median household income comes to about $81,998, roughly 35% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 7%. The county's public schools total 51, with about 32,120 students.

BLUEWATER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is about 3.0 miles from JAMES E PLEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, its nearest public school. Within five miles are 5 other public schools. Among its closest neighbors with test data, BLUEWATER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is 5th of 9 on proficiency.

Its NCES locale code is Suburb: Mid-size: the school is in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population between 100,000 and 250,000.

Enrollment in 2024-25 stood at 885, compared with 921 in 2020-21.

Use the discussion section to ask about special education services, counseling, and support programs at BLUEWATER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. You can also rate the school on this page.

Okaloosa County at a glance

View full county profile
Population
216,599
Census ACS
Median income
$81,998
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
35%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
51
32,120 students

Quick facts

School name
BLUEWATER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
District
OKALOOSA
Address
4545 RANGE RD, NICEVILLE, FL 32578
Phone
(850) 833-4240
County
Okaloosa County
Level
Elementary
Grade range
PK–05
Total enrollment
885
Teachers (FTE)
52
Student–teacher ratio
17.0:1
Free and reduced lunch
185 (21%)
Locale
22-Suburb: Mid-size
NCES ID
120138002774
Charter school
No
Virtual school
No

Related schools

Other schools in OKALOOSA
Other schools in NICEVILLE
Other Bluewater Elementary schools

One other US public school is named Bluewater Elementary. BLUEWATER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is the largest of the 2.

Nearby schools

Frequently asked questions

About BLUEWATER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
How large is BLUEWATER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL?
BLUEWATER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL enrolls approximately 885 students in grades PK-05.
What grades does BLUEWATER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL serve?
BLUEWATER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL serves grades PK-05.
How many students per teacher at BLUEWATER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL?
Approximately 17.0:1 students per teacher at BLUEWATER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.
What is the racial breakdown of students at BLUEWATER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL?
At BLUEWATER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, the student body is approximately 80% White, 11% Hispanic, 1% Black, 1% Asian, 7% Two or more.
Is BLUEWATER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL public or private?
BLUEWATER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is a public K-12 school, overseen by OKALOOSA.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.
+ Post