“We’re not doing anything magical,” says McCloud High School Principal Jessica Bowman. “We’re just offering what should be offered at a comprehensive high school.” What Jessica considers natural elements of MHS seem magical to the rest of the world. Cindy Miller, a parent of two MHS students, says, “When I talk about it, it seems almost like a fairytale school.”
In 1968, the McCloud River Lumber Company closed, forcing families from McCloud, CA to seek work elsewhere. By 2016, MHS’s student population had dwindled to three. The situation could have spelled doom for the school, but to Jessica, it presented a challenge to overcome. Over her 15 years in education, Jessica had participated in several school reform projects. “McCloud High School came together easily because there was a lot of parent and community support,” Jessica says. With creative community partnerships, strategic hiring selections and emphasis on student leadership, Jessica managed to create a career and college preparatory curriculum that has boosted the school’s population to 36 students.
Even a small school can have great sports! David Wolfe Jr. and his team have brought football back to life at MHS.
Jessica began creating partnerships that would bring life back to the school, including hosting “programs to help parents build up kids,” says Community Resource Center Collaborative Regional Director Steve Bryan. MHS students often volunteer with young children. First 5 Siskiyou Executive Director Karen Pautz recalls a volunteer describing the incredible support he always receives at MHS. Karen calls this story “a profile of what can happen when the community, with a strong, committed leader like Jessica, says, ‘We want all kids to succeed in our community because we understand their families and culture.’”
Cindy Miller’s son Morgan has a similar story. As a child, Morgan’s keen academic interests ostracized him from his peers until the family moved to McCloud. “As a small community, the kids in McCloud are very loving, accepting and happy to have more friends,” says Cindy. Welcomed for who he was, Morgan gained confidence and blossomed in his academic pursuits. Now a senior at McCloud High School, Morgan has become the student body president and is earning college credit even before graduating high school. With the small class sizes and highly qualified teachers, Cindy says her kids are “getting a high-end private education in a public school.” In addition to a four-year curriculum of classes that meet A-G college requirements, MHS provides an arts media and entertainment pathway, emotional and career counseling programs and an array of electives including Spanish, drama and rock band.
In addition to the academics, MHS now offers a growing sports program. Two years ago, pursuing her athletic dreams would have pulled Morgan’s younger sister Maia toward a different school. Luckily for Maia, in 2018 Jessica hired Todd Carson, a 20-year-teaching veteran with a passion for coaching and a knack for wearing many hats. Todd took on the roles of PE teacher, social studies teacher, rock band teacher, athletic director and sports coach. Under Todd’s direction, MHS now has basketball, football and more for the first time in 16 years. “The addition of sports has been phenomenal for the school, but also for the community,” says Todd. “They’ve been waiting to support the school. Even folks who no longer have kids at the school come out to the games.”
Students like ASB President Morgan Miller (left) and classmate Ramon Strandberg (right) view their peers as family.
The return of sports brings back fond memories for school secretary Amy Bourke, who attended the school as a teen. “Both of my brothers also went to high school here, and the sports were pretty phenomenal. My oldest brother made it all the way to State,” Amy recalls. Amy loves interacting with MHS students, noting “it’s pretty hard for 36 kids to all get along, but these kids call each other family, and also welcome new students.”
What Amy sees in the students reflects the environment Jessica has cultivated through a program created by Joey LeTourneau called The Culture Purple, grounding students in the knowledge that they are loved, valued and have a purpose. Todd says the program has helped students become more others-minded. “A lot of times people just focus on our personal performance and goals. Thinking of others lifts us up further than we thought we could go,” he says. If the first two years of rejuvenation indicate anything, MHS will indeed rise far above all expectations.
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I graduated from mccloud in 1984, was very sad to hear the sports left then soon after kids started leaving the school makes me happy to see its all turning around. Once a logger always a logger.