State Superintendent Tony Thurmond Announces 2021 Model School Attendance Review Board Winners

SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond announced today that 20 school attendance review boards (SARBs) have been designated as model programs in California for their attendance strategies during distance learning. The announcement of these Model SARB Awards comes after an unprecedented disruption of in-person attendance due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“These 19 school districts and one county office of education created exemplary plans and worked hard to follow through on them to help students stay engaged in their education—all during the unprecedented closure of our schools due to a global pandemic,” said Thurmond. “Many of these same great attendance strategies will also be crucial for student success as even more schools reopen for safe in-person attendance in the near future.”

The Model SARB Award winners, which include 19 school districts and one county office of education, implemented Learning Continuity and Attendance Plans that focused on these four approaches to meeting the needs of students during distance learning:

1. Shifting staff roles and responsibilities to meet the needs of distance learning students.
2. Supporting virtual attendance of pupils with unique needs.
3. Providing for the mental health and well-being of students during distance learning.
4. Pupil and family engagement and outreach.

As an example, Long Beach Unified School District is a Model SARB because its attendance strategies focus on quality interactions with families and students to promote improved attendance. This includes looking at students’ and families’ unique needs and providing personalized supports to remove barriers to attendance. SARB members are assigned follow-up with each referred family to provide materials, asynchronous work assignments, and links to community resources. SARB members also connect with community partners to ensure that families have access to timely and quality services. By working with the family and community as partners for children, Long Beach Unified’s SARB provides families with a supportive and empowering experience.

State Superintendent Thurmond annually convenes the State’s School Attendance Review Board, which brings together key agencies and community partners to score applications submitted by district and county SARBs throughout the state.

The Model SARBs will be recognized publicly and information about their strategies will be shared at the State SARB meeting on April 15, 2021, and at the annual state conference of the California Association of Supervisors of Child Welfare and Attendance on April 27, 2021.

Below is a list of the recognized school districts and county office of education and their Model SARB chairperson:

• Alhambra Unified School District, Lindsey Ma
• Alvord Unified School District, Ian Fish
• Centinela Valley Union High School District, Vanessa Landesfeind
• Centralia Elementary School District, Dr. Stacy Chang
• Corona-Norco Unified School District, John Reynoso
• Fontana Unified School District, Jose Barzaga
• Glendale Unified School District, Dr. Ilin Magran
• Hacienda la Puente Unified School District, Cynthia Cabello
• Jurupa Unified School District, Olga Lidia Alferez
• Kern High School District, Erin Rader
• Lake Elsinore Unified School District, Steve Behar
• Long Beach Unified School District, Claudia Sosa-Valderrama
• Murrieta Valley Unified School District, Katherine Wood
• Pittsburg Unified School District, Dr. ReJois Fraziers-Myers
• Romoland School District, Carmen Kaas
• Sanger Unified School District, Johnny P. Gonzalez
• Santa Ana Unified School District, Jackie Sanchez
• Tuolumne County Superintendent of Schools, Rob Egger
• Val Verde Unified School District, Thomas Gronotte
• William S. Hart Union High School District, Erum Velek
  

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