District shows sharp use of wellness center and declines in student substance-use indicators

District counselors detailed the Redondo Beach Unified school wellness center model and the Tobacco-use Prevention (2P) program at the May 13 board meeting, reporting high utilization and measurable reductions on student substance-use indicators.

Rachel Andrews (RUHS counselor) and Kelly Gu (TP counselor) described a tiered counseling model offering universal lessons, group supports, brief intervention and individual therapy. They highlighted partnerships (Beach Cities Health District, South Bay Children's Health Center, Clear Behavioral Health) and initiatives including naloxone training, safe turn-in collections for vaping devices and the Seahawk Summit restorative day program.

Program data (as presented by Andrews, current through May 5) included 1,654 individual sessions, 236 crisis drop-in sessions, 2,605 class-time wellness visits, 195 students receiving regular therapy, more than 650 group counseling attendees and 25+ workshops with over 600 participants. For the 2P prevention survey results, presenters reported a 1.6 percentage-point drop in marijuana use, a 1.2 percentage-point drop in vaping and a 5.3 percentage-point drop in alcohol use among the sampled eighth graders since 2022; the HBSC-style survey was administered anonymously and compiled independently by UC San Diego researchers.

Andrews described restorative alternatives to suspension (Seahawk Summit) and the peer-counselor program that triages students to clinicians and interns. The district said data will be updated at the end of the school year and that the program collaborates with district staff and community partners.

Board members and attendees applauded the counselors' work; there was no formal board action tied to the presentation.