Bremerton High School

Bremerton High School is four-year public secondary school in the port city of Bremerton, Washington, west across Puget Sound from Seattle, in the Bremerton School District. Between 1993 and 2007, Bremerton High School contained grades 10–12 for enrolled students, but starting in the 2008 school year, the school facilitates grades 9–12, where grade 9 was previously contained at Bremerton Junior High School. Several changes in the district's grade configuration have meant freshmen have been in and out of the building.

Bremerton High School
Address
1500 13th Street

Bremerton
,
Kitsap county
,
Washington
98337

United States
Coordinates47.573°N 122.639°W / 47.573; -122.639
Information
TypePublic
MottoRespect, Responsibility, and Safety is the Knight way
Established1921 (1921)
School districtBremerton School District
NCES School ID530066000139[1]
PrincipalRyan Nickels
Grades9–12 since 2008 when the 9th grade wing construction was completed.
Enrollment1,195 (2020-2021)[1]
Student to teacher ratio18.26[1]
Color(s)Royal Blue & Gold
   
MascotKnight
RivalsNorth Kitsap
Websitewww.bremertonschools.org/BremertonHighSchool

In 2015, the school came to national attention following the suspension of football coach Joe Kennedy, who would pray at the 50-yard line of the field after varsity games. In 2022, the resulting lawsuit reached the Supreme Court, where it was decided in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District (2022) that Kennedy's First Amendment rights had been violated by the suspension.

History

The original Bremerton High School was founded in the 1920s with the first high school building. From at least the 1940s, the school was located in West Bremerton. In 1957 the school was split into West High School (which remained in place) and East High School, located across the Port Washington Narrows in East Bremerton, on Wheaton Way.

In 1978, "Bremerton High School" returned when East and West were combined, and its first commencement was held on June 8, 1979. Ronald K. Gillespie, former principal of West High School, was the first principal of the new Bremerton High. For the first few years, BHS occupied the buildings of former East High School. In September 1988, following the completion of a new facility at the original location of Bremerton/West High, the student body was moved back across the water to 1500 13th Street.

School colors and mascot

Bremerton High School's mascot is a Knight carrying The Sword of Justice and The Cape of Truth. The Cape of Truth was handmade by Marialis Jurges and introduced by the Class of 1996. During the Class of 2012 graduation, a second mascot, the Page was introduced. She now accompanies the Knight at all school gatherings. The school's traditional colors are Royal Blue and Gold. The official emblem is a Knight on a horse carrying a lance surrounded by a major arc with "Bremerton High School" written upon it.

The origin of the school colors and mascot comes from the unification of West Bremerton Wildcats, whose colors were blue and gold, and the East Bremerton Knights, whose colors were black and white. They chose the colors of West Bremerton and the mascot of East Bremerton giving us Bremerton High School's Knight along with Royal Blue and Gold as its colors. The Bremerton High School yearbook is known as "The Gauntlet."

Academics

Bremerton High School offers many honors and advanced placement classes:

Controversy

In the fall of 2015, BHS drew national attention over assistant football coach, Joe Kennedy, and his seven year old practice of taking a knee and praying at the 50-yard line after varsity and JV games. School Superintendent Aaron Leavell,[2] declared in September that Kennedy was in violation of federal court rulings and school district policy. Initially Kennedy bowed to Leavell's order, but in October, after acquiring legal advice and defense from the First Liberty Institute, coach Kennedy resumed his post-game prayer.[3] Kennedy was put on paid leave on October 29, 2015, as per the school district statement.[4]

Kennedy was the plaintiff in the Supreme Court case Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, in which the Court ruled in Kennedy's favor, affirming that the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution does not mandate nor allow the school to suppress an individual's personal religious observance.[5]

Notable alumni


References
  1. "Search for Public Schools - Bremerton High School (530066000139)". National Center for Education Statistics. Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
  2. "District Leadership / Meet Superintendent Leavell". 2 June 2022.
  3. http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/local-news/coach-bucks-bremerton-schools-prayer-ban_49406907
  4. "Washington high school coach placed on leave for praying on field". CNN. 29 October 2015.
  5. "Kennedy v. Bremerton School District". SCOTUSblog. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  6. Miller, Sara (September 1, 2016). "Welcome home: Nathan Adrian returns to Bremerton". Kitsap Daily News. Retrieved July 22, 2021.
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