The top reported proficiency rate is 57% in Math. The lowest is 41% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Maude Saunders Elementary School
Maude Saunders Elementary sits on John Baldwin Road in DeFuniak Springs, serving kindergarten through fifth grade as a regular public school within the Walton County School District. The enrollment is substantial for an elementary school of this type, spread fairly evenly across all six grade levels, and the student body reflects the character of north Walton County: predominantly white but meaningfully diverse, with Hispanic and Black students making up a combined share that reflects the broader community. A large majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, placing this school in a high-poverty context that families should weigh when reading its academic results. Data on English learner enrollment and students with individualized education programs were not available.
State assessment results come from Florida's FAST assessments and the Statewide Science Assessment for the most recent school year. The pattern across subjects is one that parents should look at carefully. In third grade, both math and reading proficiency rates are relatively strong, with math especially so. By fourth grade, both subjects drop noticeably. By fifth grade, proficiency in math, reading, and science all land at roughly the same level, which is below the state median for each. The dip from third to fifth grade is consistent across subjects and worth asking the school about directly. No multi-year trend data was available, so it is not possible to say whether this pattern is improving, stable, or worsening. A parent would do well to ask the school what reading and math interventions are in place for older elementary students.
The comparison data for Walton County includes only one district, so no meaningful peer positioning on proficiency, chronic absenteeism, or other indicators was possible. Graduation rate does not apply here, as Maude Saunders serves only elementary grades. Program offerings were not provided in the data.
The housing market around the school reflects DeFuniak Springs specifically, not the coastal south county where Walton County's better-known beach communities drive higher prices. Typical home values in the relevant zip code are well below the Florida statewide benchmark, and monthly mortgage estimates land at a level that is meaningfully more accessible than coastal Walton County. Rents as a share of typical income are moderate. Home values have dipped slightly year over year, and the area has seen slower household growth than the rest of the county over the past two decades, though publicly reported news from 2025 indicates the city is entering a phase of accelerated development, with new subdivisions, infrastructure investment, and utility account growth signaling that this may change.
DeFuniak Springs itself is a small county-seat town organized around the historic, spring-fed Lake DeFuniak. Publicly reported sources describe the historic core as walkable, with a roughly mile-long loop around the lake lined with Victorian homes, a self-guided walking tour, an adjacent downtown with shops and restaurants, and civic anchors including what is publicly described as the oldest continuously operating library in its original building in Florida. The feel, by multiple accounts, is unlike coastal Florida, with oak-shaded hills and 19th-century architecture giving it a more inland, small-town character. Schools, including Maude Saunders, sit on separate campuses outside the historic core. Major employers include county government, the school district itself, and a state correctional facility, alongside manufacturing, retail, and healthcare.
At the district level, Walton County has approved a new senior high school in DeFuniak Springs as part of its capital plan, a meaningful signal for families thinking about the long arc from elementary through graduation. The district also recently expanded dual-enrollment opportunities through Seacoast Collegiate High School in the south county. A voter-approved half-mill operating property tax funds programs and competitive salaries across the district; that levy requires periodic renewal. Families relocating from the south county should be aware the district is managing uneven growth, with enrollment pressure concentrated in the south while DeFuniak Springs has historically grown more slowly.
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