Community Guide 2017
appointed, but felt deep gratitude toward the District for having supported it for 10 years. The Middle School For most of its history, the school district’s programs each consisted of a kindergarten and eight grades, with one teacher for each grade (or in the Open Classroom, several grades together). In the late 1970s, the 6 th , 7 th , and 8 th grade students from all programs wanted to be together with their peers and wanted a more “high school” atmosphere. Some were transferring to White Hill Middle School in Fairfax. The District then created the Lagunitas Middle School. Departments were formed, and students would have dif- ferent teachers for different subjects and change rooms for the different classes. Middle School staff faces a challenge working with students from different programs, but they have been very successful at honoring those differences while providing students with skills to make the transition to high school. New buildings were constructed for the Middle School on their own campus, adjoining the other campuses. Each segment of the Lagunitas School District— School Board, administration, staff, teachers, parents, and students—has done an admirable job over the years. Today, there are three programs in the District: the Open Classroom, the Montessori, and the Middle School. Each program has undergone challenging periods, but survived stronger because of the challenges. A constant has been the reflection of community values and desires, strong com- mitment to offering different programs to the community, and deep commitment to parental involvement in the lives of their children and the school. Current Lagunitas School Principal Laura Shain sums it up, “The School District has held onto its progressive educational approaches despite the political and societal pressures that have imposed upon much of public education in recent years. . . . Through determination and shared decision-making, the school has remained innovative and unique.” Retired Superintendent Larry Enos agrees, “The passion and involvement by the school community outweighs dif- ficulties and helps maintain a dynamic and vital environ- ment for the children of the Valley.” This history of Valley schools relied on discussions with history guides Larry Enos, Laurie Klein, Heather Podoll, Richard Sloan, Bernie Stephan, Amy Valens, and Judy Voets. Thank you all.
A Brief History, continued
Judy Voets with Sandy Doward looking on
concept of parental choice of program prevailed, and there were classrooms available as the A&E program had closed. Waldorf education is based on the educational philoso- phy of Rudolf Steiner. This approach focuses on practical, hand-on activities and creative play for young children, developing artistic expression and social capacities for grammar school children, and developing critical reason- ing and empathic understanding for older children. As with the other programs, parents in the Waldorf-Inspired Program were extremely involved, both in the classroom and financially. Due to a change in funding for the School District (Basic Aid), not as many students were coming from other Districts, and there was insufficient enrollment to justify hiring more teachers. The program was termi- nated in 2014. Most parents in the program were very dis-
Lagunitas School 1930s (Photo from the collection of Chuck Ford)
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SGVCC
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