In the last eight years, San Marin High School has had three different principals. Current principal Jennifer Larson accepted her permanent position as principal in July of 2023. At the end of this school year, Larson will move from Novato Unified School District (NUSD) to the Sonoma County Office of Education, as Assistant Superintendent of Equitable Education Services. Larson has worked in NUSD for 25 years, in multiple roles (Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services, Director of Student Access, Coordinator of Instruction, Instructional Coach, and Teacher) at schools and the district office.
One of the many things Larson pushed for in her two years at San Marin was equity. Under her management, the college readiness of students who are in poverty or underserved was raised by four percent, and of English language learners by seven percent, in just two years.
Following in the footsteps of other high schools in Marin such as Tamalpias, Novato, and San Rafael, the Wellness Hub was implemented in the fall of 2023 due to Larson’s push for it. It holds the occasional “wellness week,” where activities surrounding student wellness and health are placed around the campus at lunch.
“You can define equity a whole bunch of different ways, but at the heart of it, you want to feel like every student has what they need… You’re at school [for] a whole bunch of time, this should feel like your home away from home,” Larson said. “You want equity to make sure kids aren’t just academically successful… but also that they have the resources they need, that they have support, and they bring value.”
This leaves San Marin with a new foundation of wellness and equity. Larson trusts that the work that has been done will be upheld.
“I definitely think the change in leadership changes culture and will interrupt stability, but one of the things we’ve worked really hard on is building a foundation so the ones that are here will carry it on,” Larson said.
Six other staff members along with Larson are leaving. Larson has been proactive in hiring and already has candidates for the math and Spanish teacher roles. The principal position was opened up on Apr. 25.
“People are applying as we speak, and [on Apr. 30] I helped the district office put together a flyer highlighting the great things about San Marin, hopefully that will attract some high-quality candidates. [On May 2] the superintendent will come to talk to the staff to see what they want in a principal, as well as a survey going out to the parent and student community to see what they value,” Larson said.
Larson wishes to personally train the new principal to fill her current position over the course of the next few months. She wishes for the entire school to feel heard when selecting her successor.
“My hope is that we have someone selected sooner rather than later so that I have a couple of months to work with them. I want students and staff to be a part of that process, we will have teachers, students, and administrators on the panel to select them, I won’t be on the panel, that wouldn’t be appropriate,” Larson said. “I want strong voices on that panel that represent our culture and aren’t afraid to say what they think.”
Note: Since this article was written, former Novato High teacher and assistant principal Andy Boone has been selected as the finalist for the position.
