1,431
Youth
benefited from
funded
programs
17 Youth in
funded
programs
SPBCSI at
Richmond High
School
The City of San Pablo granted program funding to one community-based organization, Familias Unidas, to provide direct services at Richmond High School.
Familias Unidas
Familias Unidas counselors facilitated one-on-one mental health and case management services to students at Richmond High School . The two therapists at the school offered bilingual and bicultural support to Spanish-speaking students.
Richmond High School
2022-23 School Profile
Violence Prevention and Intervention Grantee Agency: Familias Unidas Familias Unidas
100%
of youth surveyed feel
safe in their program
100%
of youth report they
try harder in school
93%
of youth say they are
better at setting
goals
SAN PABLO BEACON COMMUNITY
SCHOOLS INITIATIVE
San Pablo Beacon Community Schools Initiative Page 2
Richmond High School Profile
About Richmond High School
Richmond High School is the designated high school for youth in San Pablo. In the 2022-23 school year, the school served 1,431 students. About half of the students are San Pablo residents. Richmond High School’s graduation rate has increased in the past decade from 80% in the 2010-11 school year, to a high of 89% from 2013-15, followed by a decline to 84% in 2021-22. The change in graduation rates over time largely mirrors the district and county trajectories.
Figure 1: Richmond High School graduation rates have increased and followed Contra Costa County (CCC) and District (WCCUSD) trends over time.
Source: 4-year Graduation Rate data retrieved from: http://data1.cde.ca.gov/dataquest/ July 2023.
The City works to support the District’s Positive School Climate Policy, which includes efforts to reduce suspension rates. Over the past nine years, suspension rates across Richmond High School have decreased from 13% in the 2011-12 school year to 5% in 2019-20.1 This decrease generally follows grade nine through twelve trends at the county level. There were zero suspensions in the
1 Suspension data retrieved from: http://data1.cde.ca.gov/dataquest/. Graduation data for the 2022-2023 school year is not currently available.
0%
50%
100%
10-11 11-12 12-13 13-14 14-15 15-16 16-17 17-18 18-19 19-20 21-22 CCC WCCUSD Richmond
San Pablo Beacon Community Schools Initiative Page 3
Richmond High School Profile
2020-21 school year because of pandemic-related distance learning due to the pandemic. From 2020- 2021 to 2021-2022 Richmond High’s suspension rate rose from 0% to 9%.
Figure 2: Richmond High School’s suspension rates have kept pace with Contra Costa C ounty (CCC) and District (WCCUSD) trends over time.2
Source: Suspension rate data retrieved from: http://data1.cde.ca.gov/dataquest/ July 2023.
The City’s Violence Prevention and Intervention programming at Richmond High School seeks to help improve school culture and climate, which has been assessed across the District by YouthTruth surveys in the 2018-19 and 20 19-20 school years . According to YouthTruth, the proportion of Richmond High School students who believe there is at least one adult who would be willing to help with a personal problem decreased slightly between the 2018-19 school year (60%) to 2019-20 (57%), and went from being higher than the District high school average (54%) in 2018-19 to being slightly below it (58%) in 2019-20.3 On the other hand, the number of students who feel like they are part of the school’s community in the 2019-20 school year (38%) increased from the 2018-19 survey (33%).
This increase also reduced the gap between Richmond High School students’ responses and the average rate for District high school students overall (40% in the 2019-20 school year, 37% in 2018- 19).
Spring 2022 data from a student survey for the WCCUSD Community Schools Discovery Report showed that more than half of the students said that Richmond High School offers an environment where students feel safe and cared for (56%) and a policy of restorativ e practices to create an environment of respect and collective responsibility (51%).4
2 Suspension data for the 2022-2023 school year is not currently available. 3 YouthTruth student survey results, 2020, Richmond High School and West Contra Costa Unified School District. 4 Survey data provided by the Glen Price Group for the WCCUSD Community Schools Discovery Report Spring 2022. 0%
50%
100%
12-13 13-14 14-15 15-16 16-17 17-18 18-19 19-20 20-21 21-22 CCC WCCUSD Richmond
San Pablo Beacon Community Schools Initiative Page 4
Richmond High School Profile
City Investments
The City of San Pablo directly contracted with community-based organizations to provide Violence Prevention & Intervention services at Richmond High School . The City of San Pablo recognizes when students have interpersonal and personal challenges, they may not perform well in school.
This program contributed to the school’s overall efforts to reduce violence.
Program
Youth Matters/Proyecto Bienestar
Mental health services to Richmond High School students including individual, family, and group therapy. Case management advocacy and crisis intervention services were as needed. 17 Youth served
Grant Strategy: Violence Prevention & Intervention
Agency: Familias Unidas
San Pablo Beacon Community Schools Initiative Page 5
Richmond High School Profile
Youth Outcomes
San Pablo Beacon Community Schools Initiative programs are rooted in positive youth development practice. Youth survey data from Richmond High School suggests programs are helping youth build personal and social competencies.
Figure 3: Youth felt empowered and supported.
Figure 4: Youth developed social competencies.
Figure 5: Youth demonstrated commitment to learning.
Source: Youth Surveys (N=14), 2022-23. Surveys are from programs directly funded by the SPBCSI. This represents a subset of the total programs offered at the school. These figures represent a subset of the items included in the survey.
100%
100%
100%
100%
This program has helped me to stay away from violence and fighting.
In this program I can go to an adult for advice if I have a serious problem.
In this program I feel safe.
I like this program.
93%
93%
93%
100%
This program has helped me to say “no” to things I know are wrong.
In this program I am better at setting goals.
In this program the adults care about me.
This program has helped me to try harder in school.
86%
86%
86%
93%
This program has helped me to care more about my school.
In this program I am better at taking care of problems
without violence or fighting.
In this program I am better at planning ahead.
This program has helped me to become more interested in going to school.
San Pablo Beacon Community Schools Initiative Page 6
Richmond High School Profile
Program Description
Familias Unidas
“A big positive lesson that I see is that the students are welcoming the help. They want to see a therapist. A lot of the kids at the high school are self-referred. They have come and wanted to talk to someone.” — Familias Unidas Counselor
Familias Unidas has provided services at Richmond High School for more than a decade. Given the ever-increasing need for social-emotional support for youth, two Familias Unidas therapists were available to students this past school year. The two counselors provided one-on-one mental health support, group therapy, and case management services. They also helped students access critical resources for themselves and their families. These included medical care, psychiatric evaluation, substance use treatment, and positive youth enrichment activities. One therapist noted, “A lot of these students who walk into the Richmond High Wellness Center themselves wouldn’t be able to access the counseling services because they don’t have Medi-Cal,” due to immigration status or other challenges.
Both Familias Unidas clinicians shared that they worked closely with families, many of whom were recent immigrants.
“When supporting families, it's important to build effective collaborations. So we are often the bridge between the school and the home. A lot of the students themselves don't know English and the parents don't know the language. So we are building that bridge and helping them find who can help with their child and helping them identify resources not only at the school, but community based. Another way we help families is through building healthy relationships.
A lot of the students have been separated from their parents. Their parents immigrated to the United States and the students stayed back in the home country and immigrated to this country when the parents decided to send for them.” — Familias Unidas Counselor According to the therapists, many of the students they saw were girls who experienced trauma and as a result, were dealing with multiple issues, such as low self-esteem, drug use, and depression. At the end of last year, one of the counselors started a group for these students “to talk about their feelings and not feel so alone.” Students chose the topic for each session, and the clinician facilitated the discussion. Many of the participants reported finding the group helpful. “I like that we can help each other and talk about things and share advice.” – Richmond High Student
“I like that we can talk about things that we don't tell other people, and no one judges.” – Richmond High Student
San Pablo Beacon Community Schools Initiative Page 7
Richmond High School Profile
Plans for Next Year
Familias Unidas provided support for some of the most vulnerable student populations at Richmond High School. For the following school year, they hope to continue offering mental health and other services to both uninsured and insured students, as needed. They recognize that there are more youth than the two counselors can meet one-on-one. However, they feel confident about their impact.
“We just keep doing what we're doing. We're not able to serve the whole entire school, and we may be a pebble in the pond, but the little ripple effects that we make are a difference. – Familias Unidas Counselor