Sebastian Elementary School — Sebastian, Florida

Sebastian Elementary School is a public elementary school in Sebastian operated by the School District of Indian River County. On its school website, archived in June 2026, it presents itself as Sebastian Elementary School of the Arts, located at 400 Sebastian Blvd, Sebastian, FL 32958, serving grades PreK to 5 with a school day of 9:00 am to 3:40 pm. The website's banner calls it 'A School of the Arts', where every student takes center stage, and the school's activity programs refer to its students as the Sea Turtles.

The school is one of several district campuses serving Sebastian, a city of 25,759 residents according to the U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023. Its recent history has been shaped by two district decisions: a December 2024 state recognition for supporting military families, shared with Sebastian River Middle School and Sebastian River High School, and a 2025 reconfiguration plan under which Sebastian Elementary moves onto the Sebastian River Middle School campus. Vero News reported in June 2026 that the move would leave the Sebastian Blvd campus empty and that the property had been listed to test its market value.

The arts are the organizing idea of the school. The archived school About page states that at Sebastian Elementary School of the Arts, the arts are a vehicle to student success, and that staff channel students' skills through an integrated academic and arts program. The school's stated vision is Nurturing and Educating Student for Tomorrow Through the Arts.

The page lists what Sebastian Elementary offers: an arts integrated curriculum; enrichment classes in music, dance, theatre, visual and culinary arts; the Sanford Harmony social and emotional learning program; STEAM learning; basketball; piano and group keyboarding instruction; percussion opportunities; and a National Junior Honor Society chapter. Among its points of pride, the school names a Competitive Sea Turtle Cheer and Dance Team, an award winning Visual Arts Camp, status as a PBIS Gold Model School, a Walmart Community Drumming Grant, and a High Impact Grant for its Drumming Sea Turtles.

The district publishes a Champions List of clubs and activities for each school, which the page ties to Florida statute provisions on informing parents about school activities. The Sebastian Elementary Champions List, archived in November 2024, describes seven programs. Cheerleaders practice group cheers, pyramids and chants and perform at school and community functions. The Drama Club practices acting, costume design and set building while staging a musical production. Primary and Intermediate Chorus groups rehearse weekly and perform at school and community events.

The list also describes a Saturday Enrichment Camp in which fourth and fifth grade Sea Turtles practice academic skills and take part in culinary, art, STEAM and music activities; the SES Drum Line, which the school calls a community favorite and which uses snare and bass drums; a Turtle Track Team that competes in the district track meet each spring; and a student peer mentoring program. School groups have appeared in Sebastian community events: Vero News reported that members of Sebastian Elementary's cheer squad marched in the City of Sebastian Christmas parade along Indian River Drive in December 2013.

In December 2024, Sebastian Elementary School, Sebastian River Middle School and Sebastian River High School were chosen as Purple Star Schools of Distinction, according to Vero News. The three Sebastian campuses were among 176 Florida schools honored that year for programs supporting military-connected students and families. The designation lasts from the 2024 to 2025 school year through 2026 to 2027. Activities cited for the designation included military recognition events such as the Month of the Military Child and Purple Up! for Military Kids, opportunities for active duty parents to volunteer, and service projects linking the schools to the military community. In its statement, Sebastian Elementary described the recognition as reflecting its support for military-connected students through smooth transitions and academic success.

The school also sits inside a district with strong state ratings. In July 2025, Vero News reported that the School District of Indian River County earned its third consecutive A rating from the Florida Department of Education and rose to fifth of Florida's 67 districts, and that 100 percent of the county's district-run public schools, a group that includes Sebastian Elementary, earned either an A or a B. The district grade covers all schools; a school-level grade for Sebastian Elementary could not be confirmed from a fetchable official source.

Sebastian Elementary is part of a district-wide reorganization. In November 2025, Vero News reported that the School District of Indian River County planned to combine several elementary, K-8 and middle schools in the 2026 to 2027 school year, after the district's four middle schools fell to 54 percent of capacity. Among the moves listed, Sebastian Elementary School of the Arts will move in with Sebastian Middle School, meaning the Sebastian River Middle School campus. Vero News described the goal as refilling half-empty classrooms and saving on operating expenses, and reported that attendance boundaries would be redrawn in accordance with the changes.

The empty Sebastian campus then went to market. In June 2026, Vero News reported that the district had asked commercial broker Cushman and Wakefield to list five school sites and four parcels of land to assess their value and entertain offers. The listing described Sebastian Elementary School, 400 Sebastian Blvd, as sitting on 41.1 acres with an assessed value of $4,266,901, and stated that its students and faculty will move in with students and faculty at the Sebastian River Middle School campus, leaving the school empty. The Wabasso School on U.S. 1 in Sebastian, built in 1925 as the area's first school, was listed at the same time. Any sale would require the superintendent to recommend declaring the property surplus and the school board to approve it, with proceeds restricted to the Capital Outlay budget.

The receiving campus is also getting work. In August 2026, Vero News reported that the district's 2026 to 2027 capital plan includes roof replacements at Gifford Middle School and Sebastian River Middle School.