Top Schools

Besides a great quality of life, many families move to Bainbridge Island for the  award-winning public schools. Island schools consistently rank among the best at the elementary, middle and high school levels.

Bainbridge Island High School
Bainbridge Island High School

Here are just a few reasons Bainbridge Island has top schools:

  • Bainbridge Island is the #1 rated safest school district in the Seattle area.
  • U.S. News & World Report awarded Bainbridge High a Gold Medal, placing it in the top 500 in the nation.
  • BISD students’ state assessment scores consistently rank in the top 5 school districts in the state.
  • BHS ranked #6 in Washington State and #212 in the U.S.
  • BHS was designated as #68 in the U.S. in U.S. News & World Report’s “Best High Schools for Math and Science.”
  • Blakely Elementary School was recognized as a Title I, Part A Academic Achievement School (1 of 7 Washington State schools) based on its math or reading assessment scores.
  • Eagle Harbor High School (smaller, multi-age program in BISD) has been awarded “Schools of Distinction” designation four times, as a result of its outstanding student achievement on the Washington State High School Proficiency Exam (HSPE).
  • Odyssey Multiage 7th/8th grade program was also designated as one of the 2012 “Schools of Distinction” for student achievement on the Washington Measurements of Student Progress (MSP).
  • Washington Achievement Awards have been given to BHS, Eagle Harbor High School, Woodward Middle School, Odyssey Multiage Program and Wilkes Elementary School over the past five years.
  • In 2004, Woodward Middle School received the National Blue Ribbon Award from the U.S. Department of Education for academically superior schools acting as “national models of excellence.” Woodward was the only middle school in Washington to receive this award that year, and there were only 25 middle schools designated nationwide.
  • In 2014, the Washington State Board of Education school achievement index for 2012-2013 ranked Blakely Elementary School #1 in the State (ref).
  • In 2014, the Washington State Board of Education school achievement index for 2012-2013 ranked South Bainbridge Island as the Puget Sound top region neighborhoods (as ranked by school performance (ref).
  • Ordway, Blakely Win State’s 2015 Washington Achievement Award
  • Bainbridge High School Ranks Among U.S. News & World Report’s Gold-medal Schools in 2016
  • Captain Johnston Blakely Elementary, Captain Charles Wilkes Elementary, Ordway Elementary and Odyssey Multiage Earned Washington Achievement Awards for the 2016 Academic School Year
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(See slide 42 of 42)
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(See slide 11 of 11)

 

Within the Bainbridge Island School District are specialized schools-within-a-school, such as our Odyssey Multiage School offered at Commodore Options School, Spanish Immersion program and homeschooling curriculum coordination.

Besides an amazing selection of public school choices, the island offers numerous private schools, Montessori, parochial and secular, for all levels of education and all students’ needs.

And we haven’t even considered the myriad island preschools for your little tikes, like Montessori, Waldorf and cooperative-style educational programs…

Bainbridge has a way of making a quality education fun for all ages!

Captain Johnston Blakely Elementary, Captain Charles Wilkes Elementary, Ordway Elementary and Odyssey Multiage Earned Washington Achievement Awards for the 2016 Academic School Year

A total of 280 schools earned Washington Achievement Awards for the 2016 academic school year, including Captain Johnston Blakely Elementary, Captain Charles Wilkes Elementary, Ordway Elementary and Odyssey Multiage. This is the eighth year that the state has recognized outstanding achievement in Washington schools.

Schools are recognized in seven categories:

  • Overall Excellence
  • High Progress
  • English Language Arts Growth
  • Math Growth
  • Extended Graduation Rate (only awarded to high and comprehensive schools)
  • English Language Acquisition
  • Closing the Achievement Gap

“The Achievement Awards recognize all the great work happening in Washington schools and the ways educators are making a difference in student outcomes,” said Kevin Laverty, State Board of Education Acting Chair. “It presents an opportunity to honor schools that are achieving at high levels, as well as schools that are making great growth.”

  • Blakely was honored with Overall Excellence, High Progress, Special Recognition ELA Growth
  • Wilkes was honored with Overall Excellence, High Progress
  • Ordway was honored with Overall Excellence, Special Recognition Math Growth, Special Recognition ELA Growth
  • Odyssey was honored with Overall Excellence

Bainbridge High School Ranks Among U.S. News & World Report’s Gold-medal Schools in 2016

us news best schools 2016
Of nearly 20,000 eligible public high schools, U.S. News ranked Bainbridge High School No. 274 in the nation; BHS is among the top five high schools in Washington state

BAINBRIDGE ISLAND, WASH. – When U.S. News & World Report revealed their 2016 list of best high schools last week, Bainbridge High School (BHS) stood among the nation’s top performers. The recipient of a national gold medal from U.S. News, BHS now ranks No. 5 in Washington state, ascending from two consecutive years at No. 7. Of nearly 20,000 public high schools nationwide, BHS ranks No. 274, a move up from No. 321 last year. BHS also earned a national STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) ranking of No. 154 for student participation and performance on Advanced Placement (AP) math and science exams.

“We are truly honored to be featured as one of the top schools in Washington and the nation by U.S. News & World Report,” said BHS Principal Duane Fish. “Our students, staff and families continue to dedicate themselves toward making the high school experience at Bainbridge High School second to none for every student. It takes all stakeholders working closely together to build a culture focused on providing a high school experience that gives every student the opportunity to find their sense of purpose and that’s precisely what we’re doing. I couldn’t be prouder of our progress and collective achievement. Go Spartans!”

U.S. News & World Report awarded gold, silver and bronze medals to more than 6,218 schools—each of which graduates students at rates 15 percent higher, on average, than other schools nationwide. Gold medals indicate schools with the greatest level of college readiness. To receive a state ranking, a school had to win a gold or silver medal.

Here are Washington’s top-ranked schools along with the medal earned and national standing:

  1. Aviation High School, Tukwila – Gold, #132
  2. Newport Senior High School, Bellevue – Gold, #159
  3. International Community School, Kirkland – Gold, #178
  4. Bellevue High School, Bellevue – Gold, #202
  5. Bainbridge High School, Bainbridge Island – Gold, #274
  6. Roosevelt High School, Seattle – Gold, # 332
  7. Garfield High School, Seattle – Silver, #532
  8. Mercer Island High School – Silver, #654
  9. Ingraham High School, Seattle – Silver, #681
  10. Shorecrest High School, Shoreline – Silver, #856

U.S. News & World Report and North Carolina-based research firm RTI International started their study with 28,561 public high schools in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. After eliminating schools too small to analyze, they employed the following four-step process to determine the best of 19,908 eligible schools.

  1. Studied math and reading portions of state proficiency tests to determine whether each school’s students were performing better than statistically expected for students statewide.
  2. Assessed whether the school’s disadvantaged students outperformed disadvantaged students in the state.
  3. New this year: Assessed whether schools met or surpassed a basic benchmark for their graduation rate.
  4. For schools that made it past the first three steps, this step reviewed student participation in and performance on AP or International Baccalaureate exams to assess the degree to which schools were preparing students for college-level work.

Learn more about the methodology and see the full list of national and state rankings here.

Seattle Area’s 25 Safest School Districts: Bainbridge Island #1

Seattle Safest Schools on Bainbridge Island
Seattle Safest Schools on Bainbridge Island

Turns out most Seattle-area school districts are quite safe, but school ranking site Niche says it knows the safest.

And it’s Bainbridge Island!