Original Research by School Decision on Bremerton High School
Bremerton High School is a regular public high school serving grades nine through twelve in the city of Bremerton, part of the Bremerton School District. It is a comprehensive high school with an enrollment of over a thousand students, making it a mid-to-large high school for its grade band. The school is the only traditional high school in the district, though the district also includes an alternative high school and a middle school.
State assessment results for the 2024-25 school year provide a snapshot of academic performance. In English language arts, roughly half of students met state standards. In science, about two-fifths of students met standards. Math proficiency was notably lower, with approximately one in five students meeting the state benchmark. These results come from a single year of testing, so there is no trend data to show whether performance is improving or declining. The math figure is a soft spot that a family moving to the area may want to explore further with the school, particularly around course offerings, tutoring, and intervention programs. For context, the school serves a high-need population, with a substantial share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. The student body is diverse: the largest group is white students, followed by Hispanic students, then multiracial students, Black students, Asian students, Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander students, and American Indian or Alaska Native students. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not reported in the available records, so a complete picture of special populations is not available here.
Graduation rate data was not available for this school. Chronic absenteeism and discipline data were also missing. Without a graduation rate, it is not possible to evaluate the school’s success in moving students to a diploma, a key measure for any high school. The school’s performance on state tests could not be compared against other high schools in Kitsap County because the necessary comparative metric was not available for this entity. Parents looking for a clear ranking or relative standing will need to seek that information directly from the school or district.
Bremerton is a city dominated by the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Naval Base Kitsap, which shape both the local economy and the population. The downtown waterfront has undergone significant revitalization in the last decade, with new apartments, restored buildings, breweries, art galleries, and restaurants near the ferry terminal. The city spans a broad area, and much of it is car-dependent, though the downtown core is walkable. The school is located near downtown, placing it within reach of the city’s civic and cultural anchors, including the ferry terminal, parks, and the Admiral Theatre.
The Bremerton School District passed a capital bond in early 2024, one of only a few in the state to do so that election. The bond funds major facility projects, including two rebuilt schools, one school relocation, a renovated gym at the district’s alternative high school, and a new sports complex at the middle school. These improvements signal a long-term investment in school infrastructure that will affect the high school’s feeder campuses and community facilities. The district also offers Spanish dual language immersion in grades K-5, though that program does not extend to the high school level.
The housing market in the immediate area reflects broader national trends. Home values and rents have been rising, though the area remains more affordable than many parts of the Seattle metropolitan region. The mix of military, industrial, and service-sector employment means the community has a varied economic base. For a family evaluating Bremerton High School, the key factors are the academic performance profile—notably stronger in ELA and science than in math—the large share of economically disadvantaged students, the absence of key outcome metrics like graduation rate, and the district’s recent investment in school buildings. The school serves a diverse student body in a city with a distinct identity shaped by the naval shipyard and a revitalizing downtown.
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