Mary D. Bradford High School

Mary D. Bradford High School
Rowdy the Red Devil
Location
Kenosha, Wisconsin, United States
Information
School type Public High School
Established 1845 (1845)
School district Kenosha Unified School District
Principal Dr. Sue Savaglio-Jarvis
Grades 9 - 12
Color(s) Cardinal red & black
Mascot Rowdy the Red Devil
Website

Bradford High School is a high school that serves students in grades 9 to 12 located in Kenosha, Wisconsin. It is the primary high school for students on the north side of the city.

Contents

History

Bradford High School was named after Mary D. Bradford, who was Superintendent of Schools for the Kenosha school system from 1878 to 1894, and again from 1910 to 1921. Mrs. Bradford was the first woman to serve as superintendent of a major city school system in Wisconsin. The former Mary Davison, was born in Kenosha County in 1856 and graduated from Oshkosh Normal School in 1876, after which she taught at Kenosha High School from 1876 to 1878. She became a member of the Board of Visitors of the Milwaukee Normal School in 1892, joined the new faculty of Stevens Point Normal in 1894, the Stout Institute in 1906, and Whitewater State Normal in 1909, where she served one year before returning to Kenosha. She retired in 1921 after 45 years in education. Mrs. Bradford died in Kenosha in 1943 at the age of 87.

The original Kenosha High School, later named Mary D. Bradford High School, was built in 1924 and is located at Sheridan Road and 57th Street. The building took three years to complete, opening in 1927. Mary D. Bradford High School occupied the site of the original Kenosha High School, later called the Mary D. Bradford High School Annex. This building was razed in 1980. In 1975, the Kenosha Unified School Board purchased the former University of Wisconsin-Extension Center located at 39th Avenue and Washington Road, which had been built in 1961, with an addition in 1965. After its purchase, a major addition was constructed to the building in 1979 which included all of the components of a contemporary high school. In 1979-80 the Bradford building located on Sheridan Road was vacated and the building on 39th Avenue and Washington Road became the new Mary D. Bradford High School. The Bradford building on Sheridan Road then became Reuther Alternative High School and remains a school in the Kenosha Unified School District. Since Bradford High School relocated to the Washington Road location, several maintenance projects have been undertaken at the facility, along with the addition of two soccer fields north of the school.

Athletics

The school is noted for a number of athletic achievements, especially in the early part of the 21st century. The school competes under the WIAA in Division 1.

The school has won several state championships in Boys Golf, Boys Swimming, Boys Track and Field, Boys Wrestling and Boys Baseball. The majority of these championships were won in the early to late-middle 20th century.

In 2005, the Girls Golf team won their first state title. Soon following the school also won a combined championship with Tremper High School in Gymnastics in the winter season of 2005. In 2008, the Boys Baseball team won their first title in over 40 years over Kimberly High School. The football team has also enjoyed success, qualifying for the state tournament in 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011. In 2011, the Red Devils won their first state championship in football, besting Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln High School with a score of 7-0. The school competes in the WIAA Southeast Conference and has been in a cross-town rivalry with Tremper High School since 1958.

Teams

  • Bowling
  • Boys' Baseball
  • Boys' Basketball
  • Girls' Basketball
  • Cheerleading
  • Dance Team
  • Boys' Cross Country
  • Girls' Cross Country
  • Football
  • Ice Hockey
  • Boys' Golf
  • Girls' Golf
  • Girls' Gymnastics
  • Boys' Soccer
  • Girls' Soccer
  • Girls' Softball
  • Boys' Swimming
  • Girls' Swimming
  • Boys' Tennis
  • Girls' Tennis
  • Boys' Track and Field
  • Girls' Track and Field
  • Boys' Volleyball
  • Girls' Volleyball
  • Wrestling

Notable alumni