Bostrom Alternative Center

Bostrom Alternative Center is a public high school in Phoenix, Arizona, serving 289 students in grades 9-12. The school is part of the Phoenix Union High School District, which is ranked 350 out of 540 districts in the state and has a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger. The student population at Bostrom is predominantly Hispanic (78.55%), followed by African American (13.84%), White (2.77%), Native American (2.42%), and other races.

Bostrom Alternative Center consistently performs poorly on standardized tests, with only 2% of 11th-grade students proficient or better in English Language Arts and 4% proficient or better in Science. These scores are significantly lower than the district (19% in ELA, 12% in Science) and the state of Arizona (40% in ELA, 22% in Science). The school also has extremely low graduation rates, ranging from 13.7% to 25% over the past few years, and high dropout rates, ranging from 8.3% to 25.2%. Bostrom Alternative Center ranks in the bottom 10-20% of Arizona high schools for female, male, Hispanic, and low socioeconomic status students, with the exception of English Language Learner students, where the school ranks in the top 50%.

Despite spending significantly more per student ($19,197 to $27,424) compared to nearby schools, which range from $3,471 to $13,852 per student, Bostrom Alternative Center's performance has not improved over the past decade. The nearby schools, such as West Phoenix High School, Empower College Prep High School, and Phoenix College Preparatory Academy, generally outperform Bostrom Alternative Center across various metrics, suggesting that the school faces unique challenges that require a comprehensive, data-driven approach to address the root causes of its persistent underperformance.