Principal’s Message

Safety, Respect, and Responsibility is the Knight Way.  BHS staff and students adopted this motto for our school this year. These three words have become more than just a motto at BHS as we are focused as a collective group on making positive change in these areas throughout each school year.  Our goal is to encourage an atmosphere where best behavior practices are in place so meaningful learning can occur each day. The implementation of our BHS Dress Code has been well received by all, and our school has experienced a transformation in the way we present ourselves.

We continue to experience positive improvement on the WASL (Washington Assessment of Student Learning).  During the 2005-06 school year, we were pleased to see our Math scores improve from 40% competency to 45% competency. In Reading, our scores increased to 82%, and writing jumped to 74%. Our students and staff have worked very hard to improve each year. BHS has added several WASL Standards classes for students who need assistance in preparing for the WASL exam, and learning the skills they have difficulty with. The Office of the Superintendent for Public Instruction is also working on an alternative to the WASL as it is a graduation requirement, and we anxiously await what that will be.

For our high achieving students we have added several Honors Science, World Languages, and English classes. More and more of our students are enrolling in Advanced Placement courses as we continue to increase the number of available AP and Honors classes. This is the first year we have maintained large numbers of students in these classes the entire school year, and look forward to maintaining these course offerings in the future.

We also offer alternative programs: Drawbridge and NovaNET for credit retrieval and academic boosts for students in need. Our enrollment for these programs is steady as it provides an alternative to the normal comprehensive high school setting.

BHS continues to expand its Navigation 101 portfolio program. This academic record and planner begins in the ninth grade and finishes with a senior presentation four years later. During this process, students use these small groups to explore career pathways, see the value in their current classes as they relate to post-high school goals, and to celebrate examples of their current accomplishments both inside and outside of school. Each student is assigned a Portfolio Advisor to help them successfully complete this process.

As Bremerton High School continues the current educational emphasis on clear targets and high expectations for all students, I am confident we are preparing our students with the skills to meet their own future dreams. Thank you to the Bremerton families and community who are so committed to this same goal.