EducationSomerville Independent School
District
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| SUPERINTENDENT | - Mr. Jerry Johnson | 979/596-2153 |
| HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPAL | - Mr. Casey Crowder | 979/596-1534 |
| JUNIOR HIGH PRINCIPAL | - Mrs.Karen Steenken | 979/596-1461 |
| ELEMENTARY PRINCIPAL | - Mr. Roy Green | 979-596-1502 |
STUDENT ENROLLMENT:
| ELEMENTARY | 390 | |
| MIDDLE SCHOOL | 200 | |
| HIGH SCHOOL | 280 | |
| TOTAL | 870 | |
| STAFF: | ||
| TEACHERS | 75 | |
| ADMINISTRATORS | 5 | |
| COUNSELOR | 3 | |
| HEALTH OFFICER | 2 | |
| TOTAL CERTIFIED STAFF | 83 | |
| PARAPROFESSIONAL | 24 | |
| FOOD SERVICE | 11 | |
| MAINTENANCE/CUSTODIAN | 9 | |
| TOTAL UNCERTIFIED STAFF | 44 | |
| TOTAL STAFF | 121 | |
Somerville Independent School District is a fully accredited PK - 12 public school system. The district is governed by a Board of Trustees who enthusiastically support a comprehensive educational program for all students. This is evident by adequate resources and advanced technology provided to maintain quality staff, outstanding facilities and adequate teaching materials and supplies.
The campus of Somerville Elementary is committed to the mission of fostering personal qualities of responsibility, self-esteem, integrity, and honesty in our students. Somerville Elementary School educates the whole student and prepares him/her with a solid foundation of basic skills. Our students are prepared for lifelong learning.
Weekly progress reports Weekly newsletters P.T.O. meetings and activities Parent volunteer program Parenting classes
The Junior High School as with all of our campuses promote student achievement. Some major projects that are accomplishing this goal are:
Educational Technology Planning Grant
Personnel from SJHS, TAMU, community leaders, and parents are to plan, develop,
and implement a multi-level writing lab that will engage students in authentic
learning tasks. These tasks will be directed toward the publication of articles
and scripts for the local newspaper and community television station.
TEA Innovative Grant
An after school program will be implemented during the academic year which will
provide the opportunity to apply mathematics and science skills to real world
problems.
Texas Education Collaborative Middle School Block This program represents a major step forward in simultaneous restructuring of both the teacher education program at TAMU and the educational program at SJHS.
TAMU/NEA Teacher Education Initiative
The Initiative brings together higher education institutions and public schools
to learn from each other how best to prepare the country's future teacher
corps. TAMU is only one of six universities chosen for participation in the
initiative throughout the nation. Ann Schumate, SJHS principal, serves as the
principal and clinical program administrator for the TAMU group.
Pyramid Alliance
The Pyramid Alliance to Create Technological Environments in Science and
Mathematics for a Planet at Risk consists of the University of Memphis,
TAMU/SJHS and the University of Wyoming.
Other grant writing projects include:
TEA Inclusion Grant
Region VI Service Center Media/Library Grant
Educational Technology Implementation Grant
Inclusion grant for staff development
Multimedia materials for interdisciplinary curriculum
TAMU professor assigned to campus
Televideo night classes from TAMU
Compressed video sessions with other TEC and Higher Ed sites
In addition to the special projects taking place on the SJHS campus, regular attractions are:
| Student teachers in action | Writing Labs |
| Interdisciplinary curriculum | Block Schedule |
| Middle school methods block | |
| Inclusion plan Telecommunications | |
| After school program |
ACCELERATED BLOCK SCHEDULE
During the 1992-93 school year, Somerville High School selected
"scheduling" as one of the five priority areas for review in its
school improvement efforts. The scheduling cadre examined baseline data from
Somerville High School, obtained alternative schedules from other school
districts, attended restructuring conferences, and visited other school
districts. Scheduling continued into the 1993-94 school year as a priority area
for SHS. The scheduling cadre visited Mansfield High School in April 1994 and
decided that the Accelerated Block Schedule would move SHS toward its vision.
Somerville High School modified the Mansfield model to accommodate students
participating in band and athletics. Implementation of the Accelerated Block
Schedule began in August 1994. Attendance has improved and the failure rate is
down for the first six weeks of school.
TEEN LEARNING
Teen Learning is a social cognitive intervention designed to improve or develop
leadership, professional, and business skills of students. Every student in SHS
was given the opportunity to participate in the program in the Spring of 1994.
All teachers were trained as course leaders. The course leadership training is
an excellent staff development tool in the area of developing positive
relationships with all students and providing for self-reflection.
COOPERATIVE LEARNING
All teachers and teacher assistants have received Johnson & Johnson's brown
book training in August. Follow-up training will occur during the month of
November. The social skills component of cooperative learning reinforces and
extends the skills learned in Teen Leadership. Cooperative learning has been
very beneficial for teachers during the 90 minutes of class time under the
block schedule.
There are many other positive projects being implemented to provide all students with the best possible education.
For more information on the school district, please contact the superintendent or one of the principals.
Somerville schools are blessed with an abundance of technology. In 1991 Somerville was invited to participate with Texas A & M, Prairie View A & M, and four other public schools in a collaboration grant from TEA. The purpose behind this grant was to explore alternative methods of teacher training in the universities through an increased involvement in field-based experiences and technology. The grant was awarded, and the TEC (Texas Education Collaborative) was formed. Funds from this grant have provided for the purchase of equipment and the training of teachers. In addition to grant funds, the local school board has given support to the purchase of new equipment.
Thanks to the combined support of grants and local funds, Somerville has at least one computer in every classroom. In addition to these computers, there are nearly 100 more computers located in four computer labs throughout the district. Two of the labs (located at Elementary and Junior High) are Jostens Learning Centers which contain supplementary educational programs for instruction and remediation.
Somerville has also acquired numerous CD-ROM players, LaserDisc players, scanners and printers, which allow students and teachers to work on multimedia projects. By Spring '95 all three campuses will be networked, giving teachers access to local electronic communication between rooms, printing to a laser printer, and modem access to Tenet-the Texas Educators Network. Access to Tenet also opens access to the Internet.
Somerville Junior High has a room with compressed video equipment which allows face to face interaction between remote sites. So far, it has been used to connect our teachers with classes at A & M, for student presentations to state legislators, and for the sharing of student projects with other public schools.
As the world of technology is constantly changing, so is the training and experience of the students, teachers, and staff at the Somerville schools.