The Santa Ynez Valley Union High School Board held a regular meeting on Tuesday, where they addressed a wide variety of items. Two members of the public spoke out against Measure L and Mary Conway, bringing red ribbons to board members, told of the upcoming focus on drug and alcohol awareness.
Principal Mark Swanitz and Alfonso Gonzalez then proudly honored 11 students who recently were re-designated Fluent English Proficient. They are: Francisco Coronado, Mariela DeLeon, Jesus Guerrero, Jose Moya, Rodolfo Navarro, Jessica Salomon, Sally Sixto, Emely Solorzan, Yanet Valdez, Stephen Zepeda and Virginia Zepeda.
Student representative Chase Hemming updated the board on the past and planned activities of the Associated Student Body, just before guidance department members explained the modifications in their format made following staffing changes.
Eduardo Cué is the director of The Daniel Byant Youth & Family Treatment Center – one of the entities through the Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse, which runs Teen Court. He and two colleagues were on hand to explain to the board the program, which they describe as an innovative approach to traditional school-based discipline.
The aim is to keep kids in school and keep them learning with behavioral issues addressed constructively rather than simply punitively. Teen Court Peer Review sessions are currently held on the fourth Wednesday of each month from 5-7 p.m. at Superior Court Solvang Division, but the program is meant to be molded to the needs of the community it serves, said Cué, so it can change if need be. Adult volunteers serve as judges on the bench, but the program is run entirely by students. The idea is that by offering early intervention focused on restorative justice derived from peer influenced sentencing, offending students will take accountability for their actions and see the process as offering them a second chance.
“Restorative justice is vitally important,” Cué explained.
Teen Court has been operating quietly in the Valley for some time, as well as in Carpinteria, Santa Barbara, Solvang, Lompoc and Santa Maria. It deals with a variety of case types, including ones where students are caught under the influence of drug or alcohol, or found in possession of marijuana or other drugs and/or paraphernalia. “Marijuana is the drug of choice,” Cué said.
Currently, more than 600 cases are processed annually through Teen Court with 90% of offenders completing sentencing requirements. Additionally, 90% of youth who complete the program refrain from re-offending in the following year, the board was told. More than 5,600 cases have been heard since 1992.
Cases may also involve possession of tobacco, petty theft, fighting, simple assault, simple battery, trespass, defiant behavior, disruptive conduct, bullying, harassment and graffiti or vandalism.
Any student can volunteer to be on the interactive jury. Trustee Kyle Abello briefly described his own experience, volunteering while enrolled at Santa Ynez. All students going through the process must also serve on the jury duty, and must ask questions when doing so. They may also be required to complete community-service hours, write letters of apology and/or provide restitution.
To assist them, participants are often offered or required to accept services from People Helping People or the Tribal Health Clinics and/or attend crime awareness, alcohol drug education, life choices or conflict resolution classes.
Kovena Avila, herself having gone through the Teen Court process, now works for the program. Describing herself as a follower rather than a leader while in high school, she allowed herself to follow the wrong sort of kid, she says. She hopes to help young women develop stronger self images.
“They use their appearance instead of their intellect to identify themselves,” she explained.
By including Teen Court in their services, Santa Ynez hopes to be able to bring swift resolution to school code violations, provide innovative alternatives to suspension and expulsions, thereby keeping students in school and having additional outreach services available. The program was approved.
In his report, Swanitz relayed the same information he gave to parents during his coffee hour. See page 8 for more details. The superintendent then discussed the numerous “firsts” the school has achieved – “from 3D scanners to agriculture” in the form of its new sustainable feed program, the school has a lot to be proud of, he said. “Our current implementation of 3D LiDAR scanning in EAST strengthens our focus on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) skills even further, putting our students in a position to act as productive members of the 21st century workforce.”
Having met recently with Schools for Sound Finance, superintendent Paul Turnbull said he learned that “there are some perils for Basic Aid schools under Proposition 30,” exactly what they are will depend on how the governor later defines certain programs.
The board then moved on to conduct a public hearing on whether to continue Regional Occupational Centers and Programs (ROP). The average representation of ROP classes on high school campuses in Santa Barbara County and in the state are between 5% and 7% of the total classes available. The district has a strong relationship with North County ROP, resulting in a 35% representation of ROP classes.
Santa Ynez student enrollment percentages, compared with other districts in Santa Barbara County, are also high. On average, 21% of students in the county enrolled in at least one ROP course in 2010-11, while 89% of students locally did.
ROP reimburses the District for employee salary and benefit expenses. The estimated reimbursement from ROP is $506,039 from a total salary/benefit cost of $639,044, which equates to an approximately 78% reimbursement for costs. “If we factor out the assignments that are being reimbursed 100% for two teachers, the ROP reimbursement rate for all other sections averages 71%,” Turnbull advised.
“Our expanded offerings (such as Anatomy & Physiology and Entrepreneurship) meet our Strategic Plan goals to include 21st century-oriented classes within the overall curriculum,” said Turnbull. The board approved the school’s participation in the program. Upcoming board meetings, set for 6 p.m., in the high school board room are scheduled for Nov. 20 and Dec. 11.