CRESTVIEW — A burst in the Crestview area’s population led to two schools being built in 1996: Antioch Elementary School and Davidson Middle School.
Named for Antioch Road, which runs near the school, the former opened ahead of its cross-town partner, according to “The Heritage of Okaloosa County.”
The school faculty chose The Aviators as their mascot in honor of Eglin Air Force Base, which is less than a mile — as the F-35 flies — south of the school.
Under the motto, “Navigating beyond our Horizon,” at least a dozen teachers who were among the school’s first faculty still educate Aviators today.
Davidson is unique among schools that bear people’s names in that it was named for a whole family of Crestview educators, “The Heritage” states.
Davidson’s faculty and principal-to-be were intimately involved in designing the school, purposefully ensuring its hallways were wider than usual and intersections enlarged to prevent congestion.
Both schools are planning events to commemorate a combined four decades of quality education.
“Plans are being made for our Aviator Day that will be our gift to students and parents,” fifth-grade teacher Alice Thomas said. “It promises to be an exciting day with our faculty challenging our PTO in a friendly game of kickball.”
Davidson Principal Jay Sanders said the school’s advanced design continues to fool new parents, who don’t realize it’s already graduated two decades’ worth of students.
“Many people think it’s a new school,” Sanders said.
“We’re going to try to do some special things this year for our anniversary,” he said. “We created a special logo we’re going to use for the year.”
Sanders noted that if preliminary grading holds true, this will be Davidson’s 16th straight year as a state-rated “A” school.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: BACK TO SCHOOL: Antioch, Davidson mark 20 years of education