Sausalito Marin City School District Explained

Sausalito Marin City School District
Address:200 Phillips Drive
Postalcode:-->
Zipcode:94965
Country:USA
Motto:Building Tomorrow Today
Grades:K–8
Superintendent:Dr. Itoco Garcia
Deputy Superintendent:-->
School Board:Caroline Van Alst (2012–20), Joshua Barrow (2012–22), Ida Green (2014–2022), Debra Turner (2016–20), Bonnie Hough (2018–22)
Chair Of The Board:Ida Green
Accreditation:-->
Schools:Martin Luther King, Jr. Academy
District Id:CA-2165474
Students:558 (2018-19)
Teachers:25.4
Staff:37.3
Ratio:21.97
Colours:-->
Free Label:Dashboard
Free Text:CAS Performance Review
Free Label2:SARCs
Free Text2:https://ca50000199.schoolwires.net/Page/75

Sausalito Marin City School District (SMCSD) is a public school district serving Sausalito and the unincorporated area of Marin City in Marin County, California. The school's administrative offices are in the Martin Luther King Jr. Academy facility in Marin City.[1] [2] Previously the administrative offices were in Bayside Elementary School in Sausalito.[3] [4]

As of the 2018–19 school year, the district had 558 students at its two schools. It now has one school, with preschool and middle school in Marin City and elementary school in Sausalito.

History

During much of the district's history, the demographics were evenly split between White students and African-American students. Most of the military families from nearby bases, who were mostly White, sent their children to Sausalito public schools. After the Cold War ended, the United States Department of Defense closed Fort Baker, Fort Barry, and the Presidio of San Francisco. Over 100 students left the school district in one period after the military transfers. By then, many families in Sausalito were sending children to private schools instead of public schools. By 1996 80% of the students were African American, and most of the district's students were poor. Despite the district's high student spending and small class sizes, test scores were low.[5]

In 1997 the Marin County Civil Grand Jury published a report indicating that, despite the ample funding, the district had poor performance and violence.[6] Between that year and 2011 the district had experienced, on six occasions, a conflict like a member of the board of trustees or a superintendent leaving without notice which required action from the Marin County Office of Education.[7]

In 2006 Jennifer Gollan and Don Speich of the Marin Independent Journal said "Poor academic achievement in the Sausalito Marin City School District has rendered the concept of public neighborhood schools largely meaningless as dozens of children in the district, both black and white, flock to private schools."[8]

A 2008 followup to the county report indicated improvements and suggested that the Bayside and Martin Luther King schools be returned to K-8 configurations.[6]

In 2011 Rob Rogers of the Marin Independent Journal said that the district continually had, of all of the Marin County school districts, the lowest test scores. That year the University of Southern California's Rossier School of Education named Willow Creek Academy one of the top charter schools in California.[9]

On Thursday January 21, 2014, the board voted to make the Marin City school a K-8 and to close Bayside, having its buildings be used by the Willow Creek charter school, which will use the Bayside campus to house three additional classrooms.[10] The consolidation of Bayside into MLK will be in effect in the northern hemisphere fall of 2013.[11]

In 2014 the district community and administration stated that there is no will to merge with another school district since the community does not wish to lose local control. At the time the district planned on making some cuts to educational services due to costs, despite having $30,000 per student per year due to a tax loophole.[12]

In 2018 the office of the Attorney General of California had accused the Sausalito Marin City district of racially discriminating by keeping the two different schools open.[13] The school board changed composition after elections in November 2018, and decided to reach an agreement with the Office of the Attorney General; three of the board members were viewed as being in favor of helping the Bayside MLK School. In August 2019 the State of California's courts ordered the Sausalito district to racially desegregate.[14] In 2021 Willow Creek consolidated into the Martin Luther King School in Marin City.[7]

Itoco Garcia became the superintendent in 2019.[15] He is in this capacity until the end of the calendar year of 2022.[16]

Staff

The District had 19.0 full-time-equivalent classroom teachers (2.0 kindergarten and 17.0 elementary). The other 25.0 staff included 11.5 instructional aides or coordinators, 8 district and school administrators, and 5.5 support staff. There were no guidance counselors or library staff.

Operations

It includes Sausalito, Marin City, and a section of Tamalpais-Homestead Valley.[17]

In 2015 it became the first school district in the United States to only serve organic and genetically modified organism-free food. A pilot program to only serve that kind of food was enacted at Bayside MLK in 2013.[18]

The District budget as of 2004-05 was $5,333,000, or $17,203 per student. Revenue sources were 6% federal, 81% local, and 13% state.

School Buildings Improvement Bond

On November 2, 2004, District voters approved Measure I, the School Improvement Bond of 2004, a $15.9 million bond measure that authorizes funding for repairs, upgrades, and new construction projects to the three schools in the District.

The District contracted with the Professional Projects Advisory Group, VBN Architects and Turner Construction to prepare a detailed timeline and budget for construction.[19]

Community demographics

In 2019 the school district had a total of 465 students, with 361 at Willow Creek and 104 at Bayside MLK. In the former, the student body was 42% white, 27% Latino, and 10% African-American.[14]

In 2000, the attendance area had a total population under age 18 of 1,265, of which 101 (8.0%) were Hispanic.[20]

The racial composition was

Schools

Martin Luther King, Jr. Academy
Motto:Panther Pride
Streetaddress:200 Phillips Drive
City:Marin City
State:California
Zipcode:94965
Url:https://www.smcsd.org/domain/48
Schoolnumber:NCES 063600006162
CDS CA-2165474-6024889
Principal:David Finnane
Principal Label:Principal
Staff:9.4
Fundingtype:Public
Schooltype:elementary school
Grades:K-8 (formerly 7–8)
Language:English
Feeders:formerly: Bayside Elementary School
Mascot:Panther
Enrollment:119
Enrollment As Of:2018-19
Footnotes:Martin Luther King, Jr. Academy Information
at the National Center for Education Statistics

Martin Luther King, Jr. Academy

Martin Luther King, Jr. Academy, formerly Bayside Martin Luther King, Jr., Academy had an enrollment of 51 students in seventh and eighth grades. With 3.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, Martin Luther King, Jr. had a student-teacher ratio of 17.0. The campus is located in the urban fringe of a large city. Martin Luther King, Jr.is neither a charter or magnet school.

Effective 2021 it is the only school in the district.[7] Its preschool and middle school are in Marin City and its elementary school is in Sausalito.[21]

In 2021 there were people who signed a petition asking for the name of the school to be kept the same.[22]

Student demographics
The majority of the students are Black or African American. Enrollment by race or ethnicity and by gender are as follows:

Martin Luther King, Jr.is a Title I School, with a School-Wide Program. The majority of the students are eligible for subsidized meals: 92.% for free lunch or reduced-price lunch. There are no migrant students.

Ethnicity History[23] !Year!Total!African!Native!Asian!Filipino!Latino!Pacific!White!2+!?
201911948.70%0.80%3.40%0.80%30.30%0.00%6.70%7.60%1.70%
201812750.40%0.00%7.10%1.60%27.60%0.00%3.90%9.40%0.00%
201716150.90%0.00%8.70%2.50%29.20%0.00%5.00%3.70%0.00%
201614043.60%0.00%10.00%2.90%30.70%0.00%8.60%3.60%0.70%
201516050.00%0.00%6.30%2.50%31.90%0.60%4.40%3.80%0.60%
201414552.41%0.00%7.59%3.45%26.21%1.38%5.52%3.45%0.00%
201312753.54%0.00%7.09%4.72%21.26%0.79%3.15%3.15%0.79%
201213860.87%0.72%3.62%2.17%18.84%2.17%6.52%3.62%0.00%
201116360.12%0.61%6.13%2.45%20.86%3.68%4.91%3.07%0.61%
201013173.28%0.76%6.87%2.29%29.77%2.29%4.58%0.76%3.82%
200917762.71%0.56%5.08%0.56%22.60%1.13%1.69%5.65%0.00%
200812676.19%0.00%5.56%0.00%14.29%0.00%0.79%3.17%0.00%
200711472.81%0.00%4.39%0.00%14.91%0.88%3.51%0.00%0.00%
200614777.55%0.00%5.44%0.00%10.20%0.00%4.76%0.00%0.00%
200515775.80%3.82%0.64%0.00%12.74%0.00%6.37%0.00%0.00%
200420766.67%0.00%2.42%0.97%16.91%0.00%5.31%0.00%0.00%
200319170.16%0.00%1.57%1.05%16.75%0.52%8.90%0.00%0.00%
200222661.50%0.00%1.33%0.44%15.04%0.00%16.37%0.00%0.00%
200115962.26%0.00%6.29%0.00%13.84%0.63%15.72%0.00%0.00%
200027661.96%0.00%5.43%0.00%10.14%0.00%19.93%0.00%0.00%
199926363.88%0.00%4.18%0.00%11.03%1.14%18.63%0.00%0.00%
199825668.36%2.34%3.91%0.00%7.42%0.00%17.97%0.00%0.00%
199724876.21%0.40%3.23%0.00%3.63%0.00%16.53%0.00%0.00%
199626266.41%0.38%3.44%0.00%5.34%0.00%24.43%0.00%0.00%
199528858.68%1.04%2.08%0.00%6.25%0.00%31.94%0.00%0.00%
199430751.14%0.33%2.28%0.00%4.89%0.00%41.37%0.00%0.00%
The statistics in the table include the combined demographics from Bayside Element and MLK Jr. Academy which were separate schools until 2013. The data is combined to best visualize the history as it relates to the current combined school.

Former schools

Bayside Elementary School

Bayside Elementary School had an enrollment of 106 students in kindergarten through sixth grade. With 9.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, Bayside has a student-teacher ratio of 11.8. The campus is located in the urban fringe of a large city. Bayside is neither a charter or magnet school.

Student demographics
The majority of the students were Black or African American. Enrollment by race or ethnicity and by gender were as follows:

Bayside was a Title I School, with a School-Wide Program.[24] The majority of the students are eligible for subsidized meals: 74.5% for free lunch and 7.5% for reduced-price lunch. There are no migrant students.

Willow Creek Academy

(See article on Willow Creek Academy.)

Consolidated into MLK School in 2021.[7]

See also

Notes

  1. "District Office." Sausalito Marin City School District. Retrieved on January 3, 2016. "200 Phillips Drive Marin City, CA 94965"
  2. "Bayside Elementary/Martin Luther King, Jr., Academy." Sausalito Marin City School District. Retrieved on January 3, 2016. "200 Phillips Drive Marin City, CA 94965"
  3. "About the District" (Archive). Sausalito Marin City School District. April 5, 2005. Retrieved on January 3, 2016. "Location & Mailing Address 630 Nevada Street Sausalito, CA 94965"
  4. "Your Schools" (Archive). Sausalito Marin City School District. February 10, 2004. Retrieved on January 3, 2016. "Bayside Elementary School 630 Nevada Street Sausalito, CA 94965 "
  5. La Ganga, Maria L. "COLUMN ONE; Sausalito Schools: Money Isn't Enough; A wealthy district struggles to teach some of its poorest students, creating an education enigma. Underachievement ignites a firestorm of protest from frustrated parents." Los Angeles Times. May 16, 1997. Part A Metro Desk Page 1. Retrieved on July 4, 2011.
  6. "The Sausalito Marin City School District." Marin County. June 26, 2008. Retrieved on January 3, 2009.
  7. Web site: Brenner. Keri. Sausalito Marin City School District gears for desegregation. Marin Independent Journal. 2021-06-07. 2022-07-24.
  8. Gollan, Jennifer and Don Speich. " Public school exodus." Marin Independent Journal. June 12, 2006. Retrieved on July 4, 2011.
  9. Rogers, Rob. "Willow Creek in Sausalito named one of state's top charter schools." Marin Independent Journal. June 16, 2011. Retrieved on July 4, 2011.
  10. Prado, Mark. "Board vote will result in closure of Bayside School in Sausalito." Marin Independent Journal. January 24, 2013. Retrieved on February 3, 2013.
  11. "K-8 Comprehensive Education Program." (Archive) Sausalito Marin City School District. Retrieved on February 3, 2013.
  12. Tucker, Jill. "Tiny Marin County district clings to struggling school" (Archive). San Francisco Chronicle. Saturday, April 5, 2014. Retrieved on January 3, 2015.
  13. Web site: Brenner. Keri. Attorney general: Sausalito Marin City School District violated anti-discrimination laws. Marin Independent Journal. 2018-12-13. 2022-07-24.
  14. Web site: Rainey. James. A tiny Marin County district got California’s first school desegregation order in 50 years. Los Angeles Times. 2019-09-22. 2022-07-24.
  15. Web site: Brenner. Keri. Sausalito Marin City schools name new superintendent. Marin Independent Journal. 2019-06-21. 2022-07-25.
  16. Web site: Brenner. Keri. Sausalito Marin City School District superintendent to exit. Marin Independent Journal. 2022-07-12. 2022-07-25.
  17. Web site: 2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Marin County, CA. U.S. Census Bureau. 2023-04-28. - Text list
  18. Palmer, Tamara. "Sausalito Marin City School District Becomes Nation's First Organic, GMO Free District" (Archive). NBC Bay Area. August 28, 2015. Retrieved on January 3, 2016.
  19. http://www.94965-schools.org/go/district Sausalito Marin City School District
  20. http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/districtsearch/district_detail.asp?Search=2&ID2=0636000&DistrictID=0636000&details= NCES Census information
  21. Web site: Brenner. Keri. Sausalito Marin City School District sets unification date. Marin Independent Journal. 2021-03-20. 2022-07-24.
  22. Web site: Brenner. Keri. Petitioners want Marin City school name preserved for MLK. Marin Independent Journal. 2021-05-15. 2022-07-24.
  23. Web site: DataQuest (CA Dept of Education). dq.cde.ca.gov. 2019-08-22.
  24. Title I School-Wide Program: NCES term for "a school in which all the pupils in a school are designated under appropriate state and federal regulations as being eligible for participation in programs authorized by Title I."

Further reading

External links