Santa Rosa Clean & Sober School

• Year founded: 1994

• Year closed: 2011

• Location: Santa Rosa, CA

• School Address(es): 3559 "B" Airway, Santa Rosa, CA, 95403

• Facility:

• Other Names: Became Amarosa Academy after changing from a recovery high school.

• School Type: Public - Alternative

• Mission/Purpose & Description: To provide a safe and supportive environment free of negative peer influence for students in grades 9–12. (2) Described as "Sonoma County’s first clean and sober classroom for recovering school-age drug addicts." The school combined counseling and recovery programs with academic subjects for "students who are serious about living a sober life." The school initially teamed a counselor with the nonprofit Drug Abuse Alternatives Center (DAAC). 

• Origins: The nonprofit Drug Abuse Alternatives Center (DAAC) teamed with the Sonoma County Office of Education to start the school in December 1994. (1) According to a school brochure, "The program originated from the realization that there is a high level of alcohol and other drug abuse in the area and that students who have started rehabilitation need to change their environment to be successful in overcoming their problems." (2)

• Reason Closed: School became a more general alternative school. The transition happened as the Sonoma County Office of Education consolidated several of its scattered storefront alternative education programs—including the specialized "clean and sober" classrooms—into a centralized, dedicated campus in southwest Santa Rosa. The newly unified community school opened its doors under the name Amarosa Academy in September 2011. (3)

• Student Demographics: Students came from throughout Sonoma County.

• Funding: Publicly funded. The Santa Rosa-based DAAC provided the classroom and counseling services, while the Sonoma County Office of Education provided a teacher, teaching assistant, and academic materials. (1)

• Enrollment: 20 students

• Staffing: Teacher and teaching assistant. Marriage and family therapist.

• Recovery Model and Philosophy: Each week, students were required to attend three 12-step meetings run by groups such as Narcotics Anonymous or Alcoholics Anonymous. They take random drug tests and have an adult sponsor who helps them with their recovery....Staff members are realistic about relapses. Some of the kids haven’t hit the bottom yet and could turn back to drugs again before seriously committing to staying clean. The school alone isn’t the answer. 'It’s just one piece of a support system. It doesn’t keep them clean and sober for someone who isn’t practicing it in their daily lives.'" (1)

• Academic Program: Combined counseling and recovery programs with academic subjects like math, history and science. (1) Academic services evolved over time to become an 11-month, accredited academic program aligned with California state standards. Students had the opportunity to remediate as well as to prepare for higher education, vocational training, military service, or the workforce. Students could choose to earn credits to return to their district high school or to remain with the Alternative Education program to graduate. Some students prepared for GED or CHSP exams, and a partnership existed for "Junior College enrichment". (2)

• Recovery & Therapeutic Services. 

  • The counseling program grew to include marriage and family therapists "with experience in drug and alcohol recovery" and "onsite group and individual counseling to help youth achieve and maintain sobriety and develop a positive sober self-image." (2)

  • According to one newspaper article, "Between academic lessons, the kids attend daily counseling sessions and keep journals about their recovery programs. Each week, they are required to attend three '12-step' meetings run by groups such as Narcotics Anonymous or Alcoholics Anonymous. (1)

  • They take random drug tests and have an adult sponsor who helps them with their recovery. (1) 

• School Hours:

• After-School Programming: 

• Key Figures:

  • Georgia Ioakimedes, Principal

SOURCES

(1) Anima, T. (1995, Nov 11). Making the Grade. Clean and Sober Class Gives Kids Second Chance.

(2) Clean & Sober School brochure (2012).

(3) Benefield, K. (2011, September 19). Alternative Education Campus Opens in Santa Rosa.