The top reported proficiency rate is 80% in Math. The lowest is 73% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Bluewater Elementary School
Bluewater Elementary sits on Range Road in Niceville, a predominantly residential city on Choctawhatchee Bay whose character is shaped in large part by the proximity of Eglin Air Force Base. Most residents are either active-duty military, veterans, or civilian base workers, and the housing stock is heavily single-family. The city is growing steadily, constrained by water on one side and government-controlled land on the other, which keeps inventory tight. Home values here run above both the Florida state benchmark and the national benchmark, and rents have edged upward recently, though the price-to-income ratio sits at a level that is comparatively manageable by national standards. There is no public transit, so families need a car for daily life, though the city scores notably better than most Florida cities on walkability. Recreational life is genuinely rich: Turkey Creek's boardwalk, Rocky Bayou State Park, and a well-maintained municipal parks system give families outdoor options year-round, and the Mattie Kelly Arts Center anchors a modest but real cultural presence.
Bluewater is a public, non-charter elementary serving pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. Its enrollment puts it squarely in the range of a large elementary school for its grade band. The student body is predominantly white, with Hispanic students making up the next largest group and multiracial students a modest additional share. A relatively small share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, one of the lower economic-need rates you will find among Florida elementary schools. Data on students receiving special education services or English learner support was not available in what was provided.
On Florida's FAST assessments, the school's academic results are strong across all tested subjects and grades. Third-grade math and ELA proficiency rates are both in the low-to-mid eighties, and fourth-grade results are close behind. Fifth-grade math, ELA, and the state science assessment all come in around the low-to-mid seventies. The general pattern is one of solid performance that softens modestly as students move into the upper elementary grades, which is worth watching but does not represent a dramatic departure from the school's overall picture. A parent who wants to understand how that fifth-grade dip compares to district and state averages would do well to ask the school directly, since multi-year trend data was not available to contextualize whether the pattern is stable or shifting.
Bluewater is part of the Okaloosa County School District, which publicly reports earning Florida's top district grade every year since the state began issuing them, one of only three districts statewide to hold that distinction. The district has been working through a capital improvement program funded by a voter-approved half-cent sales tax, covering renovations, technology, air conditioning repairs, roof replacements, and a bus fleet overhaul, with a citizens' oversight committee tracking expenditures. The district has also begun construction on its first new school in many years, a K-8 campus in Crestview opening in fall 2026, to address the fact that nearly every school in the county is at or near capacity. Families moving into Niceville specifically are less directly affected by the Crestview project, but the broader pattern of growth-driven crowding is a real context for the area.
For a family relocating because of Eglin, this school's combination of strong test results, low economic-need enrollment, and the district's documented track record makes Bluewater a school worth taking seriously. The military-connected community that surrounds it means the student body turns over with some regularity, which is simply the nature of the place rather than a quality signal in either direction. A family with children approaching fifth grade may want to have a conversation with the school about how students are supported through the transition into middle school, given that the upper-grade proficiency data shows some softening relative to the earlier grades.
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