Bradshaw Mountain High School reports academic gains, expanded programs and a possible bump in state letter grade

Bradshaw Mountain High School administrators updated the Humboldt Unified School District governing board on academic performance, extracurricular participation and community engagement, noting increased AP and dual-enrollment participation, new girls sports and ongoing work to address a coding error that may affect the school's state letter grade.

Principal Rick Bradshaw (presenting) reported the school offered 17 AP classes and 16 dual-enrollment courses and that about 300 AP exams were administered last year. He said the school currently has 43 students in the early-college/dual-enrollment program (up from 24 last year) and noted more than $6.3 million in scholarships earned by the class of 2024.

Bradshaw described a change in the state’s growth calculation that will use ACT Aspire results for some growth points; the school is awaiting final state results on Jan. 28 and appealed a coding issue in the district Synergy system that he said has left one growth subscore recorded as zero. He said an administrative review and state appeal should recover points that could move the school's letter grade from a reported 77.03 to the 82 points generally needed for an A.

Administrators discussed instructional benchmarks and formative assessments (Galileo benchmark and ACT practice tests), targeted supports for English-language learners, Project Momentum professional development and increased PLC (professional learning community) collaboration among teachers to inform interventions.

On extracurriculars, Bradshaw highlighted expanded offerings including girls flag football and girls wrestling meets, success in performing arts and athletics (regional and state-level competitors), and active student leadership through Interact, Student Council and National Honor Society. He cited strong community involvement on campus events such as the holiday lights drive that drew more than 200 cars.

Board members asked about AP exam pass rates and expanded advanced academic offerings; administrators said colleges typically accept score 3 or higher on AP exams and that the school had "quite a few threes and fours" on difficult exams such as U.S. History. Administrators also confirmed honors, dual-enrollment and college-level courses are offered on campus and explained the first-year rollout of the Galileo benchmark system.

Administrators said work remains on data coding and appeals with the state; the school will not know the final state accountability results until the state posts them.