Hello Bremerton families and community,
There is something about October in Bremerton. The weather starts to turn, the evenings get darker, and our schools settle into the rhythm of the year. Across the district, students are learning, competing, creating, performing and finding their place in their school communities.
This fall, I have also had the opportunity to see and hear positive results from the leadership of Katie Mizak at Bremerton High School, Renee Murphy at Mountain View Middle School, and Amber Nygard at Kitsap Lake Elementary. Each of these new leaders have brought a strong focus on students, staff and school culture, and it is encouraging to see that work is already taking hold in their schools.
We are also beginning to see some encouraging results at BHS from our work over the last two years. Our preliminary four-year graduation rate has increased from 73.9% two years ago to 81.4% this year. That is a significant change, and it represents more students reaching an important milestone. We are also seeing an overall increase in students taking Advanced Placement (AP) exams, 125 students to 153 students, and our AP scores, from 24-25's average of 2.78 to 3.12 in 25-26. This is one more indication that more students are accessing and succeeding in challenging coursework.
These results belong to our students, families, teachers, counselors, principals and staff who show up every day and keep pushing forward. There is still important work ahead, but these wins signal a district that is on the rise!
October is a great time to be in Bremerton. I personally like to get out to some of our smaller coffee shops, get my hot drink, and head out to see what is happening in our classrooms. There is so much to be excited about this year and we are just getting started!
Thank you everyone for all of your support for BSD!
Dr. McSheehy
Superintendent
Photo: Dr. McSheehy greets Mountain View Middle School students on the first day of school.
