A South Bay dropout prevention program was recently recognized by California schools chief Jack O'Connell as being tops in the state.

The joint School Attendance Review Board of Redondo Beach, El Segundo, Manhattan Beach Unified and Hermosa Beach City School districts last week was named one of seven "model" such programs in the state and, with the highest average score of them all, ranked No. 1.

The local program, and the six others so named, will be honored during the State Conference for the California Association of Supervisors of Child Welfare and Attendance on April 24 on The Queen Mary in Long Beach. All will retain their titles through the 2008-09 school year.

The SARB process for dropout prevention was created by the Legislature in 1974 to provide a
framework for school districts and county offices striving to deal with persistent school
attendance and school behavior problems. SARBs are composed of parents, representatives from
the school district, and members of the community at large, including representatives from law
enforcement, social services, probation, and school or county health care personnel. The
members meet regularly to combine their expertise and resources to develop dropout prevention
strategies and to meet with the high-risk students referred to them.

Districts or county offices applying for model SARB designation must demonstrate excellence in
content areas, including SARB chairperson leadership, interventions prior to SARB referral,
SARB collaboration, inventory of resources for high-risk youth, goals and objectives, program
design and content, measuring and reporting outcomes, and interpersonal communication.