State Superintendent Tony Thurmond Announces 2025 Model School Attendance Review Board Recipients

SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond announced today that 19 school attendance review boards (SARBs) have been designated as model programs by the State SARB for exemplary practices that have contributed to reducing chronic absenteeism rates and improving student attendance.

"School attendance improvement programs are a critical tool to have children back in the classroom, which is an important part of academic success and social-emotional well-being, especially for our most vulnerable students,” said Superintendent Thurmond. “I commend each Model SARB as they voluntarily undertake the responsibility to serve as an example of best practices and extend technical assistance to other SARBs, school districts, and counties throughout California."

This technical assistance includes providing sample materials and telephone consultations, along with invitations to visit, see, and discuss the model SARB in person. Model SARBs may also be asked to present best practices through participation in webinars and in workshop presentations at statewide and regional conferences.

The Model SARB Recognition Program identifies and recognizes multi-tiered school attendance improvement programs at the district or county level, including efforts to reduce the use of exclusionary school discipline practices of suspensions and expulsions and replace them with prevention efforts and positive alternative means of correction. Attendance interventions have been modified to address students in independent study and students in quarantines.

Early Intervention: The exemplary practices implemented by this year’s recipients share similarities. Among them are the frequent and consistent practices of the School Attendance Review Teams, whose members recognize their role as “the catalyst in supporting and improving student attendance and behavior.” A focus on early interventions is key to de-escalating trends toward chronic absenteeism, truancy, and suspension.

Professional Development and Added Staff: Recipients have taken the vital step of utilizing increased school funds to invest in new and existing staff. Improved professional development has focused on enhancing cultural competencies, elevating social and emotional learning, recognizing and addressing mental health needs, and providing engaging practices for students in remote learning. The addition of counselors and social workers has allowed for rapid and positive response aimed at mitigating the needs of disengaged students.

Family Engagement and School Connectedness: To best meet the needs of students and families, some of our recipients have adjusted the processes for attendance improvement as a way to provide students and families the individual and needed support to ensure they are successful, feel valued, and are connected to their school community. A key part of the SARB process involves asking about, respecting, and understanding students and their families within their lived experience. Communications and interventions at the school and district levels provide education to families via newsletters and attendance presentations to inform and empower parents and guardians. Community resources and partnerships further help mitigate the many barriers to attendance faced by students and families.

State Superintendent Thurmond convenes the State SARB, which brings together key agencies, professional organizations, and community partners for statewide policy coordination and personnel training to divert students with serious attendance and behavior problems from the juvenile justice system and reduce the number of dropouts in the state public education system.

The Model SARB Recognition awards will be presented at the California Association of Supervisors of Child Welfare and Attendance State Conference on April 28, 2025, in Garden Grove, California.

2025 Model SARBs and Their Chairpersons

• Bakersfield City School District, Jesse D. Beed (Kern County)
• Beaumont Unified School District, Bobbi Burnett (Riverside County)
• Chowchilla Elementary School District, Ara Derkalousdian (Madera County)
• Conejo Valley Unified School District, Amber Bowman (Ventura County)
• Corona-Norco Unified School District, Crystal Carroll (Riverside County)
• Covina-Valley Unified School District, Fernando Sanchez (Los Angeles County)
• Cutler-Orosi Joint Unified School District, Antonio Quintanilla (Tulare County)
• Eureka City Schools, Sheri Jensen (Humboldt County)
• Folsom-Cordova Unified School District, Scott Meyer (Sacramento County)
• Humboldt County Office of Education, Gillian Townsend (Humboldt County)
• Menifee Union School District, Melinda Conde (Riverside County)
• Needles Unified School District, Jamie Wiesner (San Bernardino County)
• Newport-Mesa Unified School District, Angela Allen Hess (Orange County)
• Patterson Joint Unified School District, Sandra Villasenor (Stanislaus County)
• Riverside Unified School District, Raul Ayala (Riverside County)
• San Jacinto Unified School District, Courtney Hall (Riverside County)
• Shasta County Office of Education, Wendy Hall (Shasta County)
• Val Verde Unified School District, Steve Coelho (Riverside County)
• Woodlake Unified School District, Melissa Lawson (Tulare County)

# # # #

Tony Thurmond — State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Communications Division, Room 5602, 916-319-0818, Fax 916-319-0100