Summit High to fill important unmet need

Santa Barbara Summit High will open in the fall, filling a critical unmet need among young people facing challenges in our community.

Following a model used in many states in the East and Midwest, the high school will serve students who are recovering from alcohol and drug dependency and are dedicated to a 12-step recovery program. The school will provide a safe, supportive, and chemically-free high school environment, supporting these young people in their efforts to stay clean and sober.

The school is a joint project of the Santa Barbara County Education Office (SBCEO), the Santa Barbara Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse (CADA), Fighting Back, and the Daniel Bryant Youth and Family Treatment Center, in collaboration with local school districts.

Staff from my office will teach the classes and operate the school. The focus is on reducing school risk factors through a social norm based firmly on “no drug use.” Among these students, recovery from dependency will be the norm; the environment at the school will be permeated with support for that message, and students will help hold each other accountable.

We know very well that many students who are able to break loose from the binds of drug abuse revert to their former practices when placed back in the environment where they started using. By removing them from that environment, and the peers there who influenced them, attending Summit High will provide a much better chance for their success in the long run.

The words we use to express the guiding vision of the program are those we all wish for all children: love, respect, dignity, and a rigorous educational program. The academic program will meet California academic course requirements and content standards.

With a small class size of 11 students to one teacher, the program will be geared to each student’s learning pace and style. Modeled after Sobriety High in Minnesota, Santa Barbara Summit High will be a safe place to get a good education, following the motto: “You’re not sober because you’re here, you’re here because you’re sober.”

The school will be about much more than sobriety and academic standards. It will also be about learning to be in healthy relationships and how to enjoy them while clean and sober. It will be about participating in life. Special links to other organizations will provide opportunities for drug-free activities outside of school. Individual and group volunteer experiences will be part of the wellness program.

The need for this school is well documented. According to the most recent figures available from the Santa Barbara County Children’s Scorecard, in 2003 there were 1,766 youth in treatment. It is our goal to fill the needs of those students who have completed a treatment program, are committed to a recovery program, and voluntarily seek admission to a chemically-free high school environment.

Funding is a mix of federal grants, state ADA for students, and generous community donations.

We are extremely excited about the prospects of making a real difference in the lives of young people who have faced challenges and need some help to work through their difficulties and become productive adults. 

 I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to all the local community members and organizations that have banded together to support the vision and reality of Summit High. The benefits will accrue not only to the students who are the direct beneficiaries, but also the larger society these students will enter when they graduate.