The Lagunitas School District has appointed new district leadership and hired three teachers for its open classroom program.
“We’ve come out of a couple of very hard years,” trustee Richard Sloan said at a special board meeting on Friday.
“We’ve managed to survive, but these actions are very positive things,” Sloan said. “We need to get the word out to let everyone know that we’re back.”
Trustees unanimously appointed Lagunitas principal Laura Shain as superintendent/principal. She will replace John Carroll when he becomes Marin County superintendent of schools in January.
“I am so excited, it feels really great,” Shain said at the meeting. “This is a district that takes a long time to understand. I feel we are actually in a great place to look at this as a new beginning.”
Carroll, who won the countywide post in the June 7 primary elections, said that the other district he oversees, Bolinas-Stinson Union, is making a similar move.
Bolinas-Stinson Union trustees are have chosen principal Michelle Stephens as interim superintendent/principal, effective in January.
In the Lagunitas open classroom program, which just celebrated its 50-year anniversary amid worries that it could go under because of declining enrollment, the board hired Jason Cole as a teacher.
Cole has a master’s degree in theater and was a theater teacher and a substitute teacher in North Carolina, where he decided he was thrilled with teaching, according to Shain. He then moved to Lagunitas with his wife, who is from the San Geronimo Valley.
He does not have a teaching credential but plans to enroll in a program to obtain one.
“Our hiring committee just really loved everything he had to say,” Shain said. “He will help make a remarkable new beginning for open classroom.”
Board president Amos Klausner voted no on Cole’s appointment, saying that in general that he wants teachers who have more experience and current credentials. But other trustees said Cole’s enthusiasm and energy will be a perfect fit for open classroom.
“I look at it in a different way,” trustee Denise Bohman said. “We’re trying to build the program back up to what it was before. I think this could be the start of something great.”
She said teacher staffing shortages are a problem throughout the county, state and nation.
“I think finding teachers is more related to COVID-19 than being about Lagunitas,” trustee James Sanders said. “I’m comfortable with doing something unconventional, if we find the right person.”
Open classroom teacher Anita Collison said Cole is an “incredible fit” for the program.
“I really feel excited about coming back to school in the fall,” Collison said.
Trustees hired back retired open classroom teachers Marlene Maiello and Larry Nigro for a job-share position teaching kindergarten and first grade.
Maiello and Nigro, who agreed to come back for a year, will be able to mentor Cole, Shain said.
“The benefits of these two teachers coming back are many,” Shain said. “This allows us to have boots on the ground for mentoring.”
Shain said Maiello and Nigro were among four retirees who wanted to come back.
“It’s highly unusual and very ironic,” Shain said. “It’s unbelievable.”
Klausner, who voted in favor of hiring the two teachers back, said he nonetheless was disappointed in the short-term contract.
“It’s a great solution,” he said. “I just wish it was for more than one year. Our public is frustrated with teacher turnover.”
Collison said she is extremely pleased about the return of Maiello and Nigro.
“It’s a great solution to help open classroom,” she said. “Both are very well-known in the community. I’m excited that we’ll have some teachers who can fit right in for next year.”
Sloan said he is “thrilled” about all the appointments, particularly those in the open classroom program, which he helped found 50 years ago.
“I have wanted us to restore the open classroom program,” Sloan said. “I believe this is going to do that.”
The district still has several key openings to fill because of the death in April of Jeff Lippstreu, who was chief business officer and facilities manager. The trustees also voted Friday to advertise for an open secretary position in the district’s lower campus.
