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Support Programs & Services

SHS Academic Support Center

WHAT IS THE ACADEMIC SUPPORT CENTER (ASC)? 

The Academic Support Center is a place where students can receive academic and organizational support from SHS staff throughout the school day. 

No matter a student’s academic level – Regents, Honors, AP, IB, or DE, all students access the ASC when struggling to master a specific content topic or academic skill. Many students are formally scheduled into ASC for routine support, or drop in during lunch, a free period or study hall. We offer support in English, Social Studies, Math, World Language, Science and study/organizational skills at various times throughout the day. Please refer to the schedule posted online as well as outside of the ASC to identify when different subjects are supported. 

WHY SHOULD A STUDENT UTILIZE THE ACADEMIC SUPPORT CENTER? 

An important developmental piece of high school is learning self-advocacy and learning when to go for help. Struggling through a problem is incredibly important – up to a point. When that healthy struggle turns to frustration, students need to know that it’s time to use the help readily available at SHS. Just the process of going for help is a healthy experience for a student, and a positive sign of maturity. Getting support in ASC combats academic frustration and builds confidence for the next struggle ahead! 

SHS Writing Center

OUR MISSION: 

To provide a productive and comfortable environment where students can work toward becoming fully independent writers capable of creating authentic and original writing. 

The Writing Center is open from 7:35 a.m. to 2:20 p.m. Sign-ups for tutoring sessions are available on a first come, first-served basis.

Students can reserve a time by stopping by the Writing Center and signing up for an available slot on the calendar.

Drop-ins are welcome but will be taken after scheduled appointments. 

WHY VISIT THE WRITING CENTER? 

  • Work on a writing assignment (any subject) if/when your classroom teacher isn’t available.
  • Plan out a long-term writing assignment. Scheduling several staggered sessions will ensure that students make weekly progress on long-term assignments. 
  • Improve general writing skills and areas of frustration/resistance regarding the writing process.
  • Review exemplars before an in-class writing assessment to review the expectations for specific writing tasks, such as literary analysis, thematic essays, DBQ essays, etc. 
  • Brainstorm ideas, plan or revise a college essay. 
  • Challenge themselves to publish creative writing in Gambit, On My Mind, Tusker Times, TeenInk.com, PTA Reflections Contest, or the Scholastic Writing Contests. 

SHS Transitional Support Program

MISSION 

The Transitional Support Program (TSP) at Somers High School is a resource for students who experience disruptive social/emotional challenges due to emotional dysregulation, recent life events, extended absence from school or other circumstances that may temporarily impact one’s ability to thrive in a traditional classroom. Our team members are committed to providing a safe and supportive environment that promotes learning of emotional regulation and distress tolerance skills that will allow our students to maintain success in all school environments. We recognize the importance of individualized support based on the needs of each unique student and supporting the Whole Child through evidence-based strategies. 

VISION 

As part of the Transitional Support Program (TSP) Team, our priority is to provide a support system for families that assists students with the transition back to a typical school program. To promote the success of our students, we will: Develop supportive relationships with families and students that are safe, approachable, and grounded in confidentiality. Foster relationships that are caring, responsive, and personalized. Provide specific learning opportunities to develop new skills that empower students to manage the challenges they may face. Provide an inviting atmosphere, respectful of the individual needs that children and families may face. Ensure a team approach, collectively gathering the resources to best support a child and family. Encourage professional learning and support a collaborative environment. 

VALUES 

  • In order to advance our shared vision of a successful TSP professional team, we will:
  • Provide a coherent plan to support the wellness of each child. 
  • Develop Individualized Support Plans to better ensure a student’s needs are met.
  • Collaboratively monitor the social and emotional wellness of each child to determine the overall impact of the program on each child. 
  • Deliver customized schedules that provide experiences for students to grow academically while strengthening their ability to manage any difficulty with their social andor emotional development.
  • Use research-proven approaches to support the development of our adolescent students.
  • Focus on the development of skills to enhance the educational experiences of each child. (e.g. coping strategies, Mindfulness techniques, self-regulation, organization strategies etc.) 

Special Education Supports

Our Special Education program is shaped by federal, state and local guidelines. All students, including those with learning disabilities, are expected to learn and achieve high standards. Graduation requirements mandate that all students pass Regents level classes and Regents exams. 

The overall objective of the Special Education Program is to provide instructional support that will improve and increase students’ basic educational skills in such a way that, whenever possible, they will be prepared to continue in the regular school program. It has been designed to reflect the mainstream high school curriculum in every way. Modifications are made in accord with each student’s Individualized Education Plan. Inclusion classes in core subject areas as well as self-contained, departmentalized classes are offered.

The individual student’s achievement is our paramount goal. Therefore there is a continual involvement of parents, school counselors, psychologists, and classroom teachers to insure that the individual’s program meets his/her needs. 

To this end, the Somers High School Special Education Department is structured to provide a continuum of services for students with disabilities that includes consult teacher, co-teach classes, learning center, skills class, special classes and related services.

The Resource class supports the instructional program and provides individualized help on a regular basis to students who have special learning needs. Organizational skills, study skills, and learning strategies are taught and applied to content area studies. Students are helped to recognize and utilize their strengths to overcome deficiencies. Inherent in resource education is the cooperative endeavor of teachers, counselors, pupil personnel services, students, parents, and community to lend support so that the student with a learning difficulty may become a confident, full-functioning and productive member of the school and society. Our objectives are: (1) to supply educational and emotional support to those students for whom these services have been mandated, so that they may perform more effectively in learning and social situations in the total school program, (2) to consult with classroom teachers, apprising them of the student’s learning modalities and abilities, suggesting appropriate management techniques, (3) to communicate with parents regarding the goals we have set, and progress made, and (4) to interact with counselors and pupil personnel services to better serve the needs of each student.

Consult Teacher Direct involves cooperative teaching and support by subject area specialists and special education teachers. Course offerings will be based on the needs of the students at each grade level. Students in this program will have the benefit of an additional inclusion learning center support period to provide small group reinforcement to critical classroom concepts.

MATH 9 ALGEBRA

1 Credit

This course follows the Common Core curriculum adopted by NYS Education Department, and is designed to provide extended study of algebraic topics. This course employs an integrated approach to the study of algebraic relationships. Major emphasis will be placed on: numeracy, equations and functions, solving linear equations and inequalities, graphing linear equations and inequalities, solving systems of linear equations and inequalities, and graphing of systems of equations and inequalities. Each of these topics will include computational work as well as real-life applications. A graphing calculator is required. Students will take a local final in June. This course is followed by Math 10 which culminates in students taking the CC Algebra Regents.

MATH 10 ALGEBRA 10

1 Credit

This course follows the Common Core curriculum adopted by NYS Education Department, and builds upon the principles learned in Math 9. It is designed to provide extended study of algebraic topics. This course employs an integrated approach to the study of algebraic relationships. Major emphasis will be placed on graphing: quadratic functions, absolute value and exponential functions, systems of linear equations, and inequalities. Students will work on algebraic word problems, solving rational equations, operations with rational expressions, and statistics. Students will take the CC Algebra Regents in June. Prerequisite: Successful completion of Algebra 9.

Prerequisite: Successful completion of Algebra 9.

MATH 11 CONSUMER MATH

1 Credit

This course is designed to teach students practical consumer skills. Special emphasis is placed on: banking, including both checking and savings accounts, paying taxes,credit card usage, concepts of principle and interest, living expenses, car payments and personal expenses. In addition, topics in geometry, binary numbes and sketching polynomials will be covered.

Course Guidelines: Successful completion of Math 10.

SC ENGLISH 9 AND 10

The ninth and tenth grade special class curriculum involves intense vocabulary development to assist students on standardized testing necessary in high school. Literature is explored in various forms and comprehension techniques are developed. Short stories, novels, poetry, and non-fiction works are used to identify various literary elements and techniques. Authors include but are not limited to: Steinbeck, Shakespeare, Harper Lee, Orwell, Homer, and Arthur Miller. The language study stresses writing mechanics, parts of speech, and the writing process of drafting and editing.

SC ENGLISH 11 AND 12

The eleventh and twelfth grade special class curriculum relies heavily on continued bolstering of receptive and expressive language and vocabulary skills. Analytical skills are emphasized to identify themes, symbols, central ideas, and textual evidence. Literature explored includes: The Great Gatsby, Streetcar Named Desire, Macbeth, Hamlet, Night, Lord of the Flies, Our Town, and The Hunger Games series. Eleventh grade culminates in the NYS English Regents for which the students are prepared to write extended responses including the argument essay and cite textual evidence properly. Twelfth graders embark in an independent study in the fourth quarter based on a fictional novel of their choosing.