Somerset Berkley Regional High School

Somerset Berkley Regional High School is the public high school for the towns of Somerset and Berkley, Massachusetts, beginning in September 2011.^[3]

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.^[4]

Students score well above the state average score for Advanced/Above Proficient knowledge in each section of the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System exams.^[5]

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.^[6] Students may also take other Advanced Placement courses online. A majority of students receive passing scores on Advanced Placement exams in every subject offered.^[7]

In 2008-2009, Somerset High School's (now Somerset Berkley) SAT averages were 504 in Reading, 488 in Writing, and 519 in Mathematics.^[8]

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.^[9] 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.^[10]

Buildings

1937 building

Former Somerset High School building, built 1937

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.^[11] 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.^[12] 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.^[13] 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.^[14] The cafeteria opens to a concrete patio for eating outdoors.^[14] The gym seats 3,200 and has a walnut floor with a four-layer cushioning, and includes hydraulic lifts to move heavy gym mats.^[14]

The 1937 building was demolished and soccer fields are being built in their place. ^[13]

Significant alumni

• Tony Gaffney (2003)
• Nancy Pimental (1983)
• Jerry Remy
• Greg Gagne
• Alan Chebot (1975)

References

External links

• Somerset-Berkley Regional High School website
• Somerset Berkley Regional High School - Building Committee
• Photos of the 2014 building