From Dr. Victor Thompson:

LECTURES ON S.A.R.B.
AVAILABLE ON CD OR AUDIOTAPE

SARB and ACT: A Successful Partnership by Dr. Victor Thompson,
Paramount USD and Michael Mallano, Deputy District Attorney, Los Angeles
County - 1/11/02

ACT: The Abolish Chronic Truancy Program by Michael Mallano, Deputy
District Attorney, Los Angeles County - 1/9/03

Improving ADA by 1% - David Kopperud, California Department of
Education - 1/8/03

GRIP: The Gang Resistance is Paramount Program by Tony Ostos - 1/9/03

The School Attendance Review Board: A Strategy to Improve Student
Attendance by Dr. Victor Thompson, Paramount USD and members of SARB
20B, Dennis Pagenkopp, District Attorney Hearing Officer, Cynthia
Bearse, Bellflower USD, Terry Gendreau, Bellflower USD, and Kevin
Piggee, Deputy Probation Officer, Los Angeles County - 1/12/01

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Disclaimer: Note that TSOK is not affiliated in any way with the
Paramount Unified School District, SARB 20B, the Los Angeles County
Probation Department, Bellflower Unified School District, Los Angeles
County District Attorney's Office, the City of Paramount, or the
California Department of Education.  These organizations and individual
employees were participants in the Association of California School
Administrator (ACSA) Pupil Services and Special Education Symposium as
presenters, and TSOK recorded their respective sessions.

              ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION
                            (Victor Thompson)
         
             THE SCHOOL ATTENDANCE REVIEW BOARD:
                  A STUDY OF A STRATEGY TO IMPROVE
                               STUDENT ATTENDANCE
         
Truancy is a complex problem that involves the student, his or her
family, the school, and the community as a whole. The School Attendance Review Board (SARB) is a strategy that utilizes school and community resources to help the student to improve his or her attendance and deal with truancy-related issues. School officials, counseling agencies, probation department, law enforcement, District Attorney, and other  community  agencies  serve on the SARB, which meets with students and families to address attendance issues.
         
The problem addressed in this study Is that truancy results in daytime crime and poor student performance, which negatively affect the aca-
demic preparation of students and the quality of life In the community as a whole.
         
The purpose of the study was to examine SARB as a strategy to improve student attendance. Data collection consisted of reviewing county and school district SAAB records and interviewing school administrators. The Irvine, Garden Grove, Orange, and Downey SARB's were profiled, compared and contrasted to determine whether improvement trends in student attendance are occurring and to determine the perceptions and attitudes of SAAB administrators regarding the SARB process.
         
     This study posed the following questions:
         
1. What is the effect of SARB in reducing truancy among habitually truant students in the Irvine Unified School District in Orange County?
         
2. What has been the effect of SARB In reducing truancy among habi-
tually truant students in the Garden Grove Unified School District in Orange County?
         
3. What has been the effect of SARB in reducing truancy among habitually truant students in the Orange Unified School District in Orange County?
         
4. How do these school districts compare to the highly successful Downey Unified School District in Los Angeles County in the reduction of truancy among habitually truant students?
         
5. According to school administrators, what are the strengths and what are the weaknesses of the SARB process?
         
The results of the study indicate that efforts to increase the number of students referred to SARB and expand pre-SARB processes result in a decrease in the number of students experiencing academic failure and an increase in student attendance.

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