Bridgeport High School (West Virginia)
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Bridgeport High School is a comprehensive four-year public high school located in Bridgeport, in Harrison County, West Virginia, United States, that operates as part of the Harrison County School District
As of 2005, BHS has had the highest standardized test scores of the six schools in Harrison County for the last 12 years.
The current BHS building opened in 1963 and sits on a 22 acre campus. Since then, several major additions have been added to accommodate the increasing enrollment. The most recent additions include two state-of-the-art computer labs. The first addition was completed in 1992. The second addition, completes in 1997 and which includes computer labs brought the building a total area of approximately 98,000 square feet.
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[edit] Awards and recognition
During the 2005-06 school year, Bridgeport High School was awarded the Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence by the United States Department of Education[1], the highest award an American school can receive.[2][3]
[edit] Feeding pattern
Bridgeport High School students come from a three-feeder school area. Johnson Elementary School and Bridgeport Middle School are located adjacent to B.H.S. on a unified campus, and the third feeder is Simpson Elementary. Students enrolled in these four schools live in Bridgeport, Anmoore, and surrounding unincorporated areas, such as Quiet Dell, Johnstown, Maple Lake, Corbin Branch, Oral Lake, Brushy Fork, and Romines Mills.
[edit] Controversy
The school has been the subject of controversy over a print of artist Warner Sallman's portrait, Head of Christ, that has hung outside the principal's office since the 1970's. Two parents have filed a lawsuit against the school in federal district court in Clarksburg, and are represented by the West Virginia chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union and Americans United for Separation of Church and State. The school board has accepted an offer from the Alliance Defense Fund to represent the school board, superintendent and the principal of the high school.[4]
The portrait was stolen from the school on August 17, 2006, after someone broke a window and snatched the picture. The portrait had not been located and the perpetrators were not identified as of November 2006, despite fact that video surveillance footage, fingerprints and DNA evidence were identified at the scene.[5]
On October 6, 2006, the Harrison County School District Board of Education agreed to drop their defense of the case and settle with the case with the ACLU. The settlement ensures that school officials will not restore the portrait or post any other unconstitutional pictures, paintings, posters or other items with religious content.[6][7][8]
[edit] References
- ^ 2006 Blue Ribbon Schools, accessed December 9, 2006
- ^ CIBA cited as one of the best by Education Department, Journal Inquirer, November 16, 2006. "The Blue Ribbon award is given only to schools that reach the top 10 percent of their state's testing scores over several years or show significant gains in student achievement. It is considered the highest honor a school can achieve."
- ^ Viers Mill School Wins Blue Ribbon; School Scored High on Statewide Test; The Washington Post. September 29, 2005 "For their accomplishments, all three schools this month earned the status of Blue Ribbon School, the highest honor the U.S. Education Department can bestow upon a school."
- ^ ‘Why can’t other people respect my religion?’ - Queen: Battle over Jesus portrait about religious liberty, Times-West Virginian, August 20, 2006
- ^ No arrests made three months after Jesus painting theft, Charleston Daily Mail, November 30, 2006
- ^ W.Va. board abandons fight for Christ portrait, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, October 7, 2006.
- ^ Americans United Succeeds In Challenge To Religious Display At West Virginia School: Watchdog Group Lauds School Officials For Agreeing Not To Display Picture Of Jesus Or Other Unconstitutional Religious Displays, Americans United for the Separation of Church and State press release dated October 6, 2006
- ^ ACLU Calls Bridgeport High School Settlement a Victory For Freedom of Religion, American Civil Liberties Union of West Virginia, press release dated October 20, 2006
