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San Bernardino Unified credits counseling and restorative practices as suspensions, chronic absenteeism fall
Summary
District directors told the school board that suspension rates fell below 4% and chronic absenteeism is trending down after expanded counseling, restorative practices, school-based health services and targeted SEL instruction. Board members pressed for more site-level implementation details and family outreach.
San Bernardino City Unified School District officials told the Board of Education that investments in counseling, tiered behavior supports and restorative practices are producing measurable declines in suspensions and chronic absenteeism.
Dr. Sandra Rodriguez, the district's student services lead, introduced two directors who presented longitudinal data showing the district's progress. Colleen Williams (student wellness and support services) said the district has expanded physical- and mental-health services and counselor supports across campuses, and that bully-prevention lessons rose from roughly 52% to about 62.5% completion midyear.
"When students are in school, learning can happen," Williams said, describing the district's multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS) and partnerships for telemedicine, vision clinics, and Saturday immunization clinics.
Dr. Marlene Baikendova, director of Positive Youth Development, highlighted a drop in suspension rates: "Our suspension rate at the end of last year went down by one whole percentto below 4% for the first time," she said, adding the district is trending at approximately 2.1% for the August-through-January period this year. Baikendova credited youth court pilots, increased use of restorative conferencing and targeted interventions with reducing both suspensions and suspension days.
Officials said access to mental-health therapy has been extended to 36 schools, and that tiered interventions (check-in/check-out, emotion-management groups, and Trails to Wellness) provide escalating supports before suspension is considered. Their analysis found schools that teach at least 70% of the SEL curriculum saw chronic absenteeism drop about 9.5%; schools teaching 60—70% saw a 7.9% drop.
Board members pressed for operational details. Trustee Alexander sought clarification on how dental and vision clinics are organized and funded; Williams explained vision screenings follow mandated grade-level checks (K, 2, 5, 8) and referred students are invited to on-site clinics staffed by partners such as Lisenbee Free Clinic and Western University. Williams said approximately 900 students received free glasses last year through those partnerships.
Trustees also questioned fidelity monitoring. Williams described progress-monitoring tools in the Panorama platform, weekly goal tracking for students in interventions, and school-site coaching designed to ensure staff implement interventions as intended.
The presentation concluded with trustees urging continued expansion of site-level coaching, clearer family outreach about services, and continued monitoring of implementation fidelity. Officials said they will return with additional data and plans for broader rollout of youth court and site-based coaching.
