There is a full-time, licensed marriage, family and child counselor and a school counselor who help families with problems ranging from abuse to learning disabilities. A full-time social worker is on campus, helping to identify other barriers that prevent children from attending school. Parent involvement is improving dramatically thanks to a collaborative effort with our district's Adult Education program. Sixty-five parents attend English classes and five parents have already passed their high school equivalency exams. Special classes are taught so that parents can learn to help their children with math and reading.
Parents also learn about nutrition, women's health, citizenship and tax information.
Support groups are provided, including domestic violence groups and a mentor mothers program. The absence of fathers has been addressed by Sheridan Way staff who make a conscious effort to bring fathers into a child's educational program as both a worker and a learner. While the results are still coming in, I'm pleased to report that Sheridan Way has shown the greatest improvement in school attendance among all Ventura Unified schools. Actual student attendance has increased by 3.45 school days per child. Unexcused absences have decreased by 50 percent since the program started.