The Somerdale School District provides all children with a curriculum that includes a balance of enriching programs, skill development, and support systems. We want our children to become lifelong learners, and to enjoy the process of learning while acquiring the skills necessary for a lifetime of continuous learning and adaptation.
The Somerdale Park School is the district's single operational plant housing pre-school through eighth grade. The district provides a half day pre-school and a full day kindergarten program for its primary students. Additionally, the district houses a pre-school disabled program. The district recently (2000-2001) completed a major renovation and building addition to the Park School facility. The district's curriculum focuses on the basics of an elementary curriculum, with a strong emphasis in the reading/language arts and mathematics skill areas. The district also provides support services for all students. Areas of support instruction include Basic Skills Instruction (BSIP); English as a Second Language (ESL); speech therapy; occupational therapy; physical therapy and guidance counseling services.
Student also receive instruction in the areas of career awareness; creative arts; physical education; music (including instrumental); library reference skills; and computer instruction. Our most recent GEPA scores continue to show a marked increase, most notably, in the area of language arts. Our NJASK4 test scores have shown improvement in both the reading/language arts and math areas. We continue to work with our entire community to identify those areas most in need of improvement. The support generated by the community strengthens the students' learning environment within the school. The school also offers an array of extra-curricular and athletic programs for its students and recognizes and promotes diversity within its school programs. Lastly, we continue to work with our professional staff to better align our curriculum with the state's Core Content Standards.
As the New Jersey Department of Education continues its review process of the Core Content Standards in conjunction with the federal government's No Child Left Behind Act, we'll continue our focus to evaluated, assess and realign our curricular programs to meet the guidelines for the successful adoption of the standards into our school