January 12, 2026

Greetings, BHS students and families, and Happy New Year! I hope 2026 is off to a good start for you. We began second semester this week, and you can expect fall semester grade reports in your mailboxes in the next few weeks.

Thanks to extensive messaging at school and at home, the new bell-to-bell cell phone ban has gotten off to a very good start. We saw (and collected) very few phones on our first day of the new rules, and we saw a lot more conversation and play during passing times and lunches. According to the research, one of the most immediate impacts of less screen time and social media is an increase in face-to-face social interactions (followed by an uptick in social-emotional health and well-being), so we are feeling really optimistic about all of the ways these new expectations will result in positive change for our students and our school. Thanks are due to all caregivers who we know have had conversations at home about phones. We truly appreciate your support and partnership!

Our new schoolwide reassessment procedures also went into effect this week, and we will be working over the course of this semester to support teachers and departments in examining how to best create reassessments that are targeted, effective, and sustainable (for students and teachers!). If you or your student have any questions about reassessment, or any concerns, please start with your teacher(s) but feel free to loop in an administrator as you feel appropriate. Please assume best intentions -- shifting to schoolwide expectations and alignment in any area is big work, but we are all here to support you as we navigate this new approach to learning and assessment together.

But the work continues! Across all stakeholders group (student, staff and family advisory groups) our attention will next turn to examining another challenge at BHS, which is also a district priority area: racial and social class disparities in enrollment and retention in AP and Honors courses. If you've seen recent Board presentations of district data, you've seen that we've not been able to meaningfully narrow these gaps in recent years. Doing so will be a BHS administrative priority moving forward. We are hoping to identify both short- and long-term action steps to address this long-running issue, with the goal of ensuring equitable access to our most rigorous courses.

Thank you for your support and partnership as we have been engaging in important and difficult work to support deeper learning, student engagement, and academic success! The positive messages from families about reassessment and phone limitations have been uplifting and affirming!

With appreciation,

Sabrina Westdijk