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Schools

Brentwood Class of 2011 By the Numbers

The class earned Brentwood's highest composite ACT score and tallied millions in scholarships.

When it comes to high school statistics, the focus is often on sports, but the graduating has a different set of stats for the record books. Consider this:

  • 67 of the 69 graduates plan to attend a two- or four-year college this fall.
  • Students earned 113 merit-based scholarships totaling more than $3.5 million — that's more than $50,000 per student on average.
  • The ACT composite score has increased over the years from 21.7 to 24.25 this year.
  • 15 students were named Missouri Bright Flight students (11 scored in the top 3 percent of Missouri students who took the ACT, and four scored in the top 4 percent to 5 percent).
  • The class has a National Merit finalist, , and a student, , who received a full scholarship to study in Germany for one year.
  • Students will attend schools across Missouri and Illinois and in other states like Wisconsin, Ohio, Kentucky, New Hampshire, Washington, Florida, Mississippi and Arkansas.

 

“This was a really good class that was very focused,” said Ivy Hutchison, the BHS college and career adviser for seniors. “The trend for the class of 2011 nationwide was academically competitive and outstanding in extracurricular activities.”

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(See more on Patch: These Brentwood Students Are in a Class of Their Own)

The expectation of our parents is that their students will be attending college, Hutchison said. She encourages students and parents to start planning early and do their research.

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“Take the strongest classes you can in high school to be successful and don’t make a common mistake by not focusing in your freshman and sophomore years,” she said. “Parents also need to be familiar with the reality of the costs for college.” 

Fortunately, Hutchison added there are a number of scholarships awarded by organizations, businesses, individuals and memorial funds in Brentwood that recognize the students for their achievements. Students learn about these through her office.

This year, the 2011 class received scholarships from such local groups as the BHS Alumni Association, BHS PTO, clubs, , , and the , to name a few.

Other scholarships awarded to BHS students came from their future colleges based on grade-point averages, test scores and class standing.

Scores on the ACT, which is used by the majority of colleges for admission, have seen significant improvement over the last several years.

Principal Dr. Don Rugraff credits the teachers and counselors for their work, which was acknowledged in 2009 when the school received the ACT’s Red Quill Award for their use of the ACT assessments and aligning it with the curriculum.

“Our teachers have worked really hard with our students in improving their ACT scores,” Rugraff said. “The ACT can open and close doors for students interested in college and seeking scholarships.”

To help students with ACT preparation before taking the test their junior year, BHS has incorporated ACT’s EPAS program (Educational and Planning Assessment System), which offers a series of assessments beginning in the ninth grade through to a practice ACT in the 11th grade. Juniors also work with an outside consultant prior to taking the ACT to help them prepare.

“We measure the growth of a student over time,” Rugraff said.

Patti Crawford, guidance counselor for grades nine to 11 who retired from BHS this summer, said the work done by teachers, counselors, students and the support of parents has been significant.

“Our counseling department and teachers work very hard preparing our kids, and the kids take it very seriously,” she said. “The students are competing with themselves. We use the freshman test as a baseline, and then they have four years to prepare.” 

Rugraff added: “We have students who find that college is not for them. We see kids at different levels, and sometimes testing may determine other paths for these students such as the military or vocational schools. We’re going to continue this journey and make sure our kids are set up for success.”

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