Somerville High School

Somerville High is the Lab School of the 21st Century. It has the most diverse student body - in cultures, languages (50), nationalities, and aspirations (with one of three integrated vocational programs in the state) - and the richest range of in and out of school activities in Greater Boston. More than any other school, students teach each other and their teachers - key skills across class, culture and career, critical media and communication, pride and collaboration - while teachers help students use that teaching most effectively in creating futures. The weakness of the school is parental involvement - both outreach to bring parents in, and engagement to make more careers more palpable to more members of the community. Just as the school has stabilized its teacher population, increasing skills with technology to match interpersonal sensitivity to race and class and aspirations, it is slowly and carefully engaging parents, community resources, and others in broadening the overall experience of each student. And students are documenting that increasing breadth in online, multimedia portfolios that show increasing awareness of how their multicultural skills are critical.

Somerville High School has undergone a sea change in the past 5 or so years, all for the better. The new headmaster has made intelligent changes to the school; he's active and solicits parent & student input. Grade 9 has a cluster system so kids take major subjects w/ the same students, & the teachers share an office to consult re their students. There are 11 AP classes, & other classes are Honors, Standard, or Skill level; there's a great voc-tech program & biotech. Kids can take classes in any strand if they qualify (so, standard in one class, Honors in another, voc-tech & AP, etc.). Morale among students & faculty is terrific, which is great b/c this is a highly diverse school (racially, ethnically, socio-econ.): kids whose parents are professionals or artists, whose parents grew up here or just came to the US, all get along & share school spirit. A great mediation prgm helps too. Teachers are enthusiastic about their subjects & about teaching/mentoring/coaching kids. The result is kids love to learn & try new things, without being stressed out. College attendance rates are climbing (close to 80%), & PSAT is free to every student. Sports and clubs are free, too. Great art pgm
—Submitted by a parent

I grew up in the great city of Somerville and graduated from SHS in 1985..If any parent out there that is looking for a school that has school spirit and that teachers that care about there students and that is SHS.I can not think of any other high school in this state that has the best teachers around than SHS .We had a saying at SHS that once your child walks through those front doors they will have memories about SHS that will last a life time and that is the gods truth.I had so many awsome memories about SHS i have about 100 of them.There is not one high school on this planet that would give your child the best education than SHS.Somerville leads the way and always will