The new senior academy opened for students and staff at the start of the 2025-2026 school year. With the opening, there are many changes that students and staff have noticed compared to the old senior academy. The class of 2026 is the first class to enjoy this new part of the building.
When government teacher Jason Gill started working at BHS, there were around 1200 students and now there are over 3000. As many can see, there was a giant growth when it came to the size of the population for the school. As a result, the school needed to make the senior academy bigger.
“I think they definitely should [make it bigger] because I feel like our classes are full right now,” senior Wahine Simpson said.
At the old senior academy, there were certain aspects that the teachers enjoyed that the new academy doesn’t include.
“There are some things about the old one that I miss,” Gill said. “For example, the teachers used to have what we called the bullpen, which was kind of an office where we spent some time and worked together and collaborated.”
In the senior academy, there are many new features that exist. In the new academy, there is a new indoor track. This is helpful for many sports because it allows them to condition in a big indoor gym.
There are also many improvements to individual classrooms as well.
“That film room, even just walking in there, and I thought, this looks like a college lecture hall,” Dual Credit English teacher Melinda Lawrie said.
