School Community Profile
Community Profile
Somerset Continuation High School was founded in 1966 on a former elementary school site. The campus, which is located in Bellflower, California, occupies approximately 2.9 acres of land and is surrounded by a number of lower to middle-class single-family homes. The estimated median household income in the city of Bellflower in 2022 was $75,379 with a population of 76,405 people. Downtown Bellflower, which is just a few blocks from Somerset, has been revitalized. Residents can now enjoy a number of new restaurants, shopping, and entertainment. Bellflower’s surrounding communities include Lakewood and Cerritos. Both Lakewood and Cerritos have major shopping malls and Cerritos has one of the largest auto malls in Southern California.
Somerset High School, which is part of Bellflower Unified School District, primarily serves students from the district’s two comprehensive high schools, Bellflower High and Mayfair High. Somerset also accepts students from outside the district who moved into the area and have formally attended a continuation school. Somerset’s attendance area includes portions of Bellflower, Lakewood and Cerritos. The majority of the students that attend Somerset High School reside in Bellflower. Less than 10% of the students live in neighboring communities or outside of the district.
Demographic Comparison of Bellflower, Lakewood and Cerritos
|
Bellflower |
Lakewood |
Cerritos |
Out of District |
|
|
Student Population (2021) |
91% |
6.9% |
0.0% |
1.8% |
|
City Population (2019)* |
76,435 |
79,307 |
49,859 |
|
|
Median Income (2019)* |
$67,658 |
$97,508 |
$113,608 |
|
|
Median Home Prices |
$522,800 |
$612,100 |
$756,852 |
*www.city-data.com
The Somerset school community and its surrounding cities are ethnically diverse. Seventy-five percent of the students are Hispanic; 14.5% African-American; 6.4% White and 1.2% Two or more races. The city of Bellflower has the largest Hispanic population between the two cities of Lakewood and Cerritos. Bellflower’s Hispanic population is 60.7% compared to Lakewood 28.7% and Cerritos 13.8%. Of the three cities surrounding Somerset, Lakewood is more evenly diverse. Thirty-two percent of the population of Lakewood is White; 28.7% Hispanic; 21.1% Asian; 14.8% and African American. American Indian/Alaska Native, Pacific Islander, Filipino, and Two or more races all combined make-up 14% of the population.
Ethnicity in Somerset and Surrounding Communities
|
Somerset |
BUSD |
Lakewood* |
Bellflower* |
Cerritos* |
|
|
African American |
14.5% |
12.5% |
14.8% |
16.9% |
8.3% |
|
American Indian/Alaska Native |
0.00% |
0.4% |
0.2% |
0.08% |
0.3% |
|
Asian |
0.00% |
3.8% |
21.1% |
8.6% |
59.2% |
|
Filipino |
0.6% |
3.8% |
--- |
--- |
--- |
|
Hispanic |
75.0% |
65.7% |
28.7% |
60.7% |
13.8% |
|
Pacific Islander |
0.6% |
0.9% |
0.2% |
0.3% |
0.5% |
|
Two or More races |
1.2% |
2.7% |
2.5% |
2.0% |
4.1% |
|
White |
6.4% |
8.7% |
32.5% |
11.4% |
13.8% |
*www.city-data.com (2019)
The Bellflower Unified School District serves over eleven thousand students. There are two combined 7-12 middle/high schools, one continuation high school, one K-12 Independent Study School, ten K-6 elementary schools, a Virtual Academy, and an Alternative Education Center. Other educational options for students within the Bellflower Unified School District include District Home Education, District Independent Studies, and Adult Re-entry.
BUSD also has ten California Distinguished schools, three National Blue Ribbon schools and two California Democracy schools. In 2016, Somerset received a California Department of Education certificate of recognition for outstanding dedication and support of California’s mission to provide an excellent education for all students. In 2019, Somerset was named a Model Continuation High School.