Somerset Berkley Regional High School
| Somerset Berkley Regional High School | |
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| 300px
New Somerset Berkley RHS building, built 2014
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| Address | |
| 625 County Street New England Somerset, Massachusetts 02726 United States of America |
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| Coordinates | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Information | |
| School type | Public high school |
| Opened | 1937 (Former building), 2014 (Current building) |
| School district | Somerset Berkley Regional School District |
| Superintendent | Jeff Schoonover |
| Principal | David Lanczycki |
| Grades | 9 - 12 |
| Enrollment | 924 (2010)[1] |
| Language | English |
| School colour(s) | Navy White |
| Athletics | MIAA, Division 3 |
| Athletics conference | Eastern Athletic Conference |
| Team name | Blue Raiders |
| Rival | Joseph Case High School (Swansea, MA) |
| Accreditation | New England Association of Schools and Colleges[2] |
| Average SAT scores | 518 verbal 535 math 493 writing 1546 total (2014-2015)[3] |
| Newspaper | The Breeze |
| Yearbook | The Raider |
| Communities served | Berkley, Massachusetts and Somerset, Massachusetts |
| Alumni | Jerry Remy, Greg Gagne, Nancy Pimental |
| Website | SomersetBerkley.org |
Somerset Berkley Regional High School is the public high school for the towns of Somerset and Berkley, Massachusetts, beginning in September 2011.[4]
Contents
Academics
Somerset Berkley Regional High School possesses departments of Art, Business Technology, English Language Arts and Reading, Engineering Technology, Foreign Languages, Health, Family & Consumer Sciences, Mathematics, Music, Physical Education, Science, Social Studies, and Special Education.[5]
Students score well above the state average score for Advanced/Above Proficient knowledge in each section of the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System exams.[6]
The school offers Advanced Placement courses in Studio Art, English Language & Composition, English Literature & Composition, European History, United States History, World History, Psychology, Calculus, Biology, Chemistry, and Physics.[7] Students may also take other Advanced Placement courses online. A majority of students receive passing scores on Advanced Placement exams in every subject offered.[8]
In 2008-2009, Somerset High School's (now Somerset Berkley) SAT averages were 504 in Reading, 488 in Writing, and 519 in Mathematics.[9]
Athletics
Somerset Berkley Regional High School competes in Division Three of the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association. Current sports include: Baseball, Boys & Girls Basketball, Cheerleading, Boys & Girls Cross Country, Field Hockey, Football, Golf, Gymnastics, Ice Hockey, Boys & Girls Soccer, Softball, Boys & Girls Spring & Winter Track, Boys & Girls Tennis, Volleyball, & Wrestling.
Teams are fielded at the Varsity, Junior Varsity, or Freshman levels, depending on the sport.
Most teams compete in the Eastern Athletic Conference (EAC), which also includes Bishop Feehan High School, Bishop Stang High School, Coyle and Cassidy High School, and Martha's Vineyard Regional High School.
The school's traditional athletic rivals are the Cardinals of Joseph Case High School in Swansea, Massachusetts. The annual Thanksgiving Day football game between Somerset and Swansea is a storied tradition.
Regionalization
Before 2011, high school students from Berkley attended Somerset High School through a special tuition agreement between the two towns. Under this agreement, the Town of Berkley paid for the right of their students to attend Somerset High School. However, the school was run by the School Committee of the Town of Somerset, in which Berkley residents held no formal representation.
Debate about the creation of a regional high school - in which both Somerset and Berkley residents would be represented - existed for many years. However, the issue gained little political traction until a variety of factors - mainly the lingering end of the tuition agreement and the rapid deterioration of the Somerset High School building - brought the issue to the forefront of political debate in both towns in 2009-2010.
In August 2010, Massachusetts Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education Mitchell D. Chester formally approved a regional school district agreement voted on by the two towns that created a regional school district between Berkley and Somerset at the high school level.[10] Under the agreement, each town will pay a share of the school's budget proportional to their percent representation among the student body. Seats on the Somerset Berkley Regional School Committee, which will govern the school, will be divided similarly.[11]
Buildings
1937 building
Construction on the old Somerset Berkley Regional High School building was completed in 1937 to a design by Israel T. Almy of Fall River, to replace the original 1885 building that was burned down in 1935.
A 2010 report by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) declared that the physical condition of the current high school building “does not adequately support” educational programs and support services.[12] Difficult conditions in the building include “a lack of adequate space in certain instructional areas”, limited handicapped accessibility, out-of-date fire safety equipment, a small gymnasium space, and poor ventilation.[13] Questions about the structural integrity of the building's foundation led to some areas of the building being condemned during the 2008-2009 school year. The building was originally constructed as a project of the Works Progress Administration, but has since grown considerably with the addition of several new wings over the years.
The Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) offered a significant amount of financial assistance to the Town of Somerset to fund a new high school building should it choose to form a regional high school with Berkley.
2014 building
In September 2014, students returned to a brand new, $82.3 million building, constructed at the same location as the old facility.[14] The new "state of the art" building features a modern two-story library with oak paneling, a 70-seat lecture hall with internet and camera outlets, and an 800-seat double-tiered auditorium with a high-tech sound system.[15] The cafeteria opens to a concrete patio for eating outdoors.[15] The gym seats 3,200 and has a walnut floor with a four-layer cushioning, and includes hydraulic lifts to move heavy gym mats.[15]
The 1937 building was demolished and soccer fields are being built in that location. [14]
Significant alumni
- Tony Gaffney (2003)
- Nancy Pimental (1983)
- Jerry Remy
- Greg Gagne
- Alan Chebot (1975)
References
- ↑ http://cpss.neasc.org/cpss_directory_of_schools/details/2498
- ↑ http://cpss.neasc.org/cpss_directory_of_schools/details/2498
- ↑ http://profiles.doe.mass.edu/state_report/sat_perf.aspx
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ http://www.somerset.k12.ma.us/high/Course_Booklet.pdf
- ↑ http://profiles.doe.mass.edu/mcas/performance_level.aspx?linkid=32&orgcode=02730505&fycode=2009&orgtypecode=6&
- ↑ http://profiles.doe.mass.edu/adv_placement/ap_part_dist.aspx?orgcode=02730505&orgtypecode=6&
- ↑ http://profiles.doe.mass.edu/adv_placement/ap_perf_dist.aspx?orgcode=02730505&orgtypecode=6&
- ↑ http://profiles.doe.mass.edu/sat/sat_perf_dist.aspx?orgcode=02730505&orgtypecode=6&
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ http://www.heraldnews.com/archive/x1024318925/Conditions-at-Somerset-High-School-may-jeopardize-accreditation#ixzz1GpG6X0pc
- ↑ http://www.heraldnews.com/news/education/x1024318925/Conditions-at-Somerset-High-School-may-jeopardize-accreditation
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
