News & Announcements

Nestled in a small agricultural community, the School District of DeSoto County is located 40 miles to the east of Sarasota, FL and includes three elementary schools (Memorial Elementary, West Elementary, and Nocatee Elementary), one middle school (DeSoto Middle), and one high school (DeSoto County High School). Initial instructional salary placement is based on experience. Ten-month teaching positions start between $48,000 - $54,300, eleven-month teaching positions start between $55,102 - $62,334, and twelve-month teaching positions start between $61,224 - $69,260.

The central purpose of the School District of DeSoto County is to equip our students with the knowledge and skills they need to be productive adults in our global society. We are dedicated to educating students to be ready for college, career, and life with 21st-century skills in communication, collaboration, problem solving, and citizenship. Through nurturing classroom communities and a robust curriculum in the humanities, sciences, and fine arts, we empower students to fulfill their dreams. We aim to promote inquiry, discovery, creativity, and curiosity while differentiating instruction to meet the individualized needs and interests of our students. We value a strong partnership with our parents, educators, support staff, students, and community as we prepare our students for the future.

Dear DeSoto County School District Community,

As you know, student and staff safety are at the forefront of all decisions made regarding school closures and delays. With the anticipation of potential high winds starting tomorrow afternoon, all schools in DeSoto County School District will operate on a half-day schedule on Wednesday, November 9, 2022. In addition, all schools will be closed on Thursday, November 10, 2022.

We plan to resume normal school hours on Friday, November 11, 2022. We will continue to monitor the storm and any impact it has on DeSoto County. All updates will be posted on the district's website www.desotoschools.com and on Facebook.

Half-day Release Times (lunch will be offered to students before they leave)
Elementary schools - 11:15 AM,
DeSoto Middle School - 12:30 PM,
DeSoto High School - 12:40 PM,
DeSoto Secondary School - 12:50 PM, and
District offices will close at 2:30 PM.

Estimada comunidad del distrito escolar del condado de DeSoto,
Como saben, la seguridad de los estudiantes y el personal está al frente de todas las decisiones que se toman con respecto al cierre y retrasos de las escuelas. Con la anticipación de posibles vientos fuertes a partir de mañana por la tarde, todas las escuelas del Distrito Escolar del Condado de DeSoto operarán en un horario de medio día el miércoles 9 de noviembre de 2022. Además, todas las escuelas estarán cerradas el jueves 10 de noviembre de 2022.
Planeamos reanudar el horario escolar normal el viernes 11 de noviembre de 2022. Continuaremos monitoreando la tormenta y cualquier impacto que tenga en el condado de DeSoto. Todas las actualizaciones se publicarán en el sitio web del distrito www.desotoschools.com y en Facebook.
Horarios de salida de medio día (se ofrecerá almuerzo a los estudiantes antes de que se vayan)
Escuelas primarias - 11:15 AM,
Escuela Intermedia DeSoto - 12:30 PM,
Escuela secundaria DeSoto - 12:40 p. m.,
Escuela Secundaria DeSoto - 12:50 PM, y
Las oficinas del distrito cerrarán a las 2:30 p. m.

10/24/22 UPDATE: We are excited to confirm our high school will reopen on Wednesday, October 26! To bring students back sooner, part of our high school building will be blocked and off limits as repairs are finalized. Classrooms near the office, nurse’s station, and towards JROTC will be temporarily relocated to other classrooms in the high school. Information regarding which classrooms are temporarily being relocated will be shared Wednesday morning as students arrive. We appreciate your ongoing support and understanding during this challenging time.

10/19/22 UPDATE: It has been a blessing to see so many of our students and staff back in our buildings this week! We appreciate the ongoing support from our community, district partners, and both in and out-of-state volunteers and charity organizations! We continue to work around-the-clock to welcome our entire district back soon.

There continues to be significant progress made at our high school. As of this morning, our high school is now tentatively projected to reopen on Wednesday, October 26. Please note this is a change from our last update. We will confirm this reopening date by the end of the week. We appreciate your ongoing support and understanding during this challenging time.

10/14/22 UPDATE: There was a lot of progress made in Nocatee Elementary School today! We will reopen Nocatee Elementary on Tuesday, October 18. Thank you to our staff and community partners for helping us restore our buildings!

West Elementary, Memorial Elementary, DeSoto Middle School, DeSoto Virtual Academy, and DeSoto Secondary School will reopen Monday, October 17.

DeSoto High School is still tentatively scheduled to reopen Monday, October 24.
Please note, the Family Service Center has shifted it's reopening date to Tuesday, October 18.