Howard M. Blonsky, MSW, LCSW, started his career in mental health environments and has used his experience to make a difference in schools. He served thirty-five years with the San Francisco United Schools District and formerly directed the Schools Partnership Training Institute, a foundation-funded program aimed at uniting communities' greater resources with those of schools. After completing a clinical fellowship in psychiatry, Mr. Blonsky worked to bridge mental health and education in his work with students and families. He has supervised school dropout-prevention programs on the federal and California state levels. He has a passion for improving student attendance and reducing student dropouts.