Dear LCMSD Community,

Our top priority is to keep students and staff safe. It is important for you to know that we, LCMSD, Central Marin Police Authority (CMPA), and Central Marin Fire Department (CMFD) have a strong partnership and work regularly with one another to keep our schools and community safe. Due to these clear lines of communication, we are continually revisiting procedures and implementing the practices recommended by first responders. 

Over the years, CMPA, CMFD, and the FBI have supported and trained LCMSD staff through tabletop exercises, de-escalation strategies training, school resource officer visits, and an FBI active shooter workshop and simulation. CMPA and CMFD have keys to all school sites, access to live cameras on campuses, and direct phone numbers of our administrators. 

This partnership and ongoing safety efforts were an essential component of our application and award of the 2022-2024 School Violence Prevention Grant ($900,000 over three years), which allowed us to expand our training and further our school-first responder collaboration.

Please review the important information below. Thank you for your support in helping us maintain safe schools.

Chief Michael Norton, Central Marin Police Authority

Chief Ruben Martin, Central Marin Fire Department 

Brett Geithman, Ed.D., LCMSD Superintendent

Campus Fencing Update

The LCMSD School Safety Task Force has been studying campus safety through multiple sources, including best-practice research from Hanover Research, site inspections by our insurance provider, and community perception surveys. One recommendation under consideration is additional fencing at each school. Feedback meetings were held at all sites last May, followed by several LCMSD Board discussions and presentations to the City of Larkspur Council (August 20) and the Town of Corte Madera Council (September 2). District leadership will bring a recommendation to the LCMSD Board of Trustees on September 17. We encourage families and community members to attend and share feedback as we work to balance safety, accessibility, and community connection. For more information, please click HERE.

Anonymous Tip Line

• Is located on the main LCMSD page and each school’s homepage 

• Talk to students about this anonymous tip line. It can (and has) been a forum for students (and parents) to report concerns about friends or classmates (i.e. Charlie is acting different than usual and I am worried about him, I’m concerned that Chloe might hurt herself, Jaden told me there was going to be a fight after school).

• Notification is sent immediately to the principal, superintendent, and Senior Director.

ID Badges

• All visitors are required to swipe a photo ID in the main office (this will perform a background check).

• If there is an issue with the individual checking in, the principal is notified immediately via text and the visitor is told to wait in the office for the principal.

• All staff have been issued ID badges to be worn at all times.

• If you see someone without a staff or visitor badge, say something - tell the individual to report to the office or call the office.

• Per California Law, all middle school student IDs will have the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline printed on them

Updated Emergency Student Release Procedures

During an active emergency, staff members are prioritized to enact critical safety procedures, which require their full focus and attention. It’s important to note that all Emergency Operation Procedures (EOP) include a student release plan. However, please understand that reaching the student release portion of the EOP may take some time and typically falls towards the end of the EOP. Please review our emergency student release procedure as follows:

• During an emergency or security threat, parents/guardians and emergency contacts will be directed to a student release location to pick up students

• This might be a location other than the school office

• Parents/caregivers must wait at the student release location until staff are available to start releasing students

• Students will be released to parents/guardians or emergency contacts only - we will no longer take phone calls or email requests to release students to other contacts

• Please have a photo ID ready

Update Your Emergency Contacts

If student release procedures are enacted, students will be released to parents/guardians or the emergency contacts listed in Aeries only, with a valid photo ID. We do not take phone calls or emails to release students to other contacts. Please take a few minutes to update your emergency contacts in Aeries to add any additional adults who are authorized to pick up your child in the event of an emergency. This includes older siblings, family members, friends or other parents.

Intruder/Active Shooter/Lockdown Drills

• LCMSD drills intruder/active shooter protocols on a regular basis.

• We do not call these “active shooter drills” as that may scare students. We call them lockdown or intruder drills. It is explained that sometimes there are unsafe situations on campus where we need to lock the door. For example, one year Hall Middle School went on lockdown because horses were running through campus. 

• Fire Drill Protocol: Several years ago we implemented this recommendation from law enforcement and will continue drilling this updated procedure. If the fire alarm is triggered, classrooms go into lockdown unless they smell smoke, feel heat/flames, or are instructed over the intercom to exit the building. 

• It is difficult to shelter children from hearing about violence in the world. Here is a tool to help talk to your child about violence.

Controlled Access for All Main Offices
Our schools use a controlled access system at all main offices to help keep students and staff safe. During the school day, the front doors remain locked. Visitors check in by using a camera, intercom, and buzzer at the entrance. After pressing the buzzer and stating the reason for the visit, office staff will unlock the door remotely. 

Air Quality

All LCMSD classrooms are outfitted with air purifiers and upgraded HVAC units that include MERV 13 filters and ionization equipment. The HVAC units are on a schedule to run the fan periodically regardless of temperature settings. Our classrooms’ air is filtered better than most homes; therefore, even when air quality isn’t optimal, our classrooms can offer safe spaces for students and staff. With that said, there are air quality guidelines that we follow based on AQI. Please know our very last resort is to close school. 

Alert Marin / Nixle

If you have not already done so, sign up for Alert Marin today to receive incident specific information or potentially life-saving instruction to a precise geographic location. Alert Marin only initiates contact if action is needed where you are such as evacuation or shelter in place. You can sign up for Nixle in any zip code (by texting your zip code to 888-777) for updates on road closures, police active and general public safety information.

Marin County Public Emergency Portal

Please bookmark this page, or just remember to google “Marin Emergency” to be led to this portal to stay up to date on emergency situations in our county, where the Public Information Map (with some amazing features, including “school status”) is also located.

ICE

• ICE is not allowed access to any student or student records, as California is a Sanctuary State. 

• LCMSD is committed to protecting the right of every student to attend public school, regardless of the immigration status of a student or of a student’s family members. This commitment extends to school employees having the right to work in a welcoming environment as well. 

• The police, superintendent, and our legal counsel will be called immediately if ICE enters school grounds.

Getting to School Safely

• Safe Routes to School

  • Check out this website for information on getting your child safely to campus.

e-Bikes and Scooters

• Only class 1 e-bikes are allowed on LCMSD campuses 

• No e-scooters are allowed on any campus

• For more information, please visit this website

Safety Plans

• Annually they are updated and reviewed with staff members.

• All documents are not published for the public to review. This protects our schools from potentially harmful individuals. 

• LCMSD schedules drills monthly and collaborates regularly with first responders.

• Share911 is used district wide in coordination with first responders

Facilities

• Lock Bloks - all LCMSD doors are in the locked position at all times. They can be propped open with a LockBlok, which is a device that can quickly secure a classroom in the event of an emergency. 

• Window Coverings - all LCMSD classrooms are outfitted with window coverings in the event of a lockdown or other emergency.

• Security Systems - LCMSD has expanded the alarm/security network across all schools. This also includes controlled substance detectors.

• Cameras - Have been installed at all school sites and are accessible by first responders in the event of an emergency. Additionally, we have AI built into all cameras to monitor specific threats to campus.

Questions to Ask Before a Playdate 

Safety is important to all of us, and might have been a driving factor in your decision to raise your children in Marin. Even though we live in a safe community, it is important for us to ask some simple questions (from this article) before our children go on a playdate.

1. Who will be watching the children? Is it an older sibling, nanny, relative, or parent?

2. Do you have a pool, trampoline, or any other things that are potentially unsafe? If your child is younger, ask who will be watching the children if they go in the pool. If your child cannot swim, let the parent know and ask if there is a fence around the pool. 

3. Do you have any unlocked guns in your house? Experts believe that 8 kids a day are shot unintentionally by unsecured guns found in the home. The Brady Center partnered with the AdCouncil to create and launch a campaign to end "Family Fire." 

4. What are your rules about screen time? Common Sense Media is a great resource to create your family rules around screen time. 

5. Do you have any pets? Ask if the pet is friendly around children, or if there is anything you should know about it before your child comes over.

Updated California Laws Regarding Firearm Storage & Prevention of Child Access to Weapons

The California Legislature (Assembly Bill 452, Section 1, 2023) has found and declared:

• Guns are the third leading cause of death of children in America. Every day, eight children and teens are shot in instances of family fire, which is a shooting involving improperly stored or misused guns found in the home resulting in injury or death.

• Data show that 75 percent of school shootings are facilitated by children having access to unsecured or unsupervised firearms at home. Eight-seven percent of children know where their parents’ firearms are stored and 60 percent report that they have handled them.

• Over 80 percent of teens who have died by suicide used a firearm that belonged to someone in their home. 

Below are the important updates to California’s child access prevention laws and laws relating to safe storage of firearms. 

• With very limited exceptions, California makes a person criminally liable for keeping any firearm, loaded or unloaded, within any premises that are under their custody and control where that person knows or reasonably should know that a child is likely to gain access to the firearm without the permission of the child’s parent or legal guardian, and the child obtains access to the firearm and thereby (1) causes death or injury to the child or any other person; (2) carries the firearm off the premises or to a public place, including to any preschool or school grades kindergarten through twelfth grade, or to any school-sponsored event, activity, or performance; or (3) unlawfully brandishes the firearm to others.[1]

  • Note: The criminal penalty may be significantly greater if someone dies or suffers great bodily injury as a result of the child gaining access to the firearm.

•  With very limited exceptions, California also makes it a crime for a person to negligently store or leave any firearm, loaded or unloaded, on their premises in a location where the person knows or reasonably should know that a child is likely to gain access to it without the permission of the child’s parent or legal guardian, unless reasonable action is taken to secure the firearm against access by the child, even where a minor never actually accesses the firearm.[2]

• In addition to potential fines and terms of imprisonment, as of January 1, 2020, a gun owner found criminally liable under these California laws faces prohibitions from possessing, controlling, owning, receiving, or purchasing a firearm for 10 years.[3]

• Finally, a parent or guardian may also be civilly liable for damages resulting from the discharge of a firearm by that person’s child or ward.[4]

[1] See California Penal Code sections 25100 through 25125 and 25200 through 25220.

[2] See California Penal Code section 25100(c).

[3] See California Civil Code Section 29805. 

[4] See California Civil Code Section 1714.3.

Thank you for helping to keep our children and schools safe. Remember that the easiest and safest way to comply with the law is to keep firearms in a locked container or secured with a locking device that renders the firearm inoperable.

TLDR (Too Long, Didn’t Read)

• August 20 - First Day of School 

• 2025-26 Focus Areas: EL Literacy Curriculum, Depth & Complexity at Hall, Data to Action, and Strategic Plan Implementation (Vision 2036)

• District Goals: Equity, Academic Excellence, and Wellness

• Interested in joining a district committee? (click here)

Dear Staff, Families, and Community Members,

Welcome to the 2025-26 school year! I hope you had a wonderful summer, with time to relax and enjoy meaningful moments with the people who matter most. As we kick off another exciting year in the Larkspur-Corte Madera School District, I’m energized by what’s ahead and grateful for the partnership we share in supporting our students.

As we build on the momentum from last year’s themes of Data to Action and Imagine Tomorrow Together, our focus for 2025-26 sharpens on four key areas that will help us continue advancing student learning and preparing every child for future success.

• EL Education Literacy is our new K–8 curriculum designed to inspire a love of reading and writing while building knowledge across subject areas. Grounded in the science of reading, EL Education provides students with rich, meaningful texts, opportunities for deep discussion, and engaging writing tasks. Our teachers have already participated in professional development workshops to prepare for this launch and will continue with ongoing training throughout the year. In addition, they will benefit from job-embedded professional development, working alongside Instructional Coach Lisa Capobianco both as grade-level teams and individually to successfully implement EL Education in every classroom.

• Depth & Complexity at Hall Middle School focuses on rigor and deepening students’ knowledge by encouraging them to think more critically, make connections across ideas, and approach learning from multiple perspectives. Originally developed by Kaplan and Gould to advance thinking in Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) high school courses, these icons represent the 16 deep and complex thinking processes. By applying Depth & Complexity strategies across subjects, we aim to elevate the level of challenge, engagement, and intellectual curiosity for every learner.

• Data to Action remains a cornerstone of our instructional work, ensuring that every student receives the right support at the right time. Teacher teams and school leaders will engage in focused Data Learning Labs throughout the year, analyzing iReady and DIBELS assessment data to identify strengths, address areas for growth, and inform next steps for students. With the leadership of Daniel Norbutas and the expertise of our intervention team, we are well-positioned to turn data insights into targeted action that helps all students thrive.

• Strategic Plan Implementation marks the launch of our 2025–2030 Strategic Plan, built from our Vision 2036 initiative. Many of you participated in our Imagine Tomorrow Together stakeholder engagement process, which generated more than 1,200 individual inputs—the largest community engagement effort in decades. The plan reflects our collective vision for the future and includes three essential guideposts. Our Graduate Portrait outlines the knowledge, skills, and dispositions we want every LCMSD graduate to possess. Our Adult Portrait answers the question: If we want these things to be true for students, what must be true for the adults who serve them? Our System Portrait identifies the levers of change—those critical systems and structures—that will allow us to actualize this vision. Together, these portraits form the foundation of our strategic plan and ensure our work stays aligned with the aspirations we share as a community. 

District Goals - Our Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) continues to guide our work with three central goals:

• Equity: We strive to close or narrow the equity gap for our student groups, including English Learners, students with disabilities, BIPOC, and socioeconomically disadvantaged students.

• Achievement for All: We want all students to make at least one year’s growth in mathematics and English language arts, with a special emphasis on accelerating the progress of specific student groups. 

• Wellness: We are committed to maintaining and enhancing our comprehensive wellness program, which encompasses social-emotional learning, campus and student safety, growth mindset, and a well-rounded course of study.

Our wellness program, along with art, music, and STEM, is funded by SPARK and enriches our learning community. These opportunities are made possible through community support, and we hope every family will participate in supporting SPARK this year.

2025-26 District Committee Survey

The purpose of this survey is to identify team members for the variety of this year's District committees. Some of the teams are continuing the work from last year, and others are new opportunities. They all represent the District's commitment to work collaboratively with parents, faculty and staff to develop action plans in key areas. In this survey you will see a brief summary of the focus areas for each team and a list of its scheduled meeting dates for this year. Please indicate which committees you are interested in joining so we can build our teams!

I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to our dedicated staff, visionary Board of Education, supportive families, and community partners who work tirelessly to support our students and advance our vision. The leadership of our Board of Education— Amir Movafaghi (President), Beth Blair (Vice President), Natalie Medved (Clerk), Ava Fruin, and Eric Schmautz—remains instrumental in guiding our district towards excellence.

All students will return to school on August 20. As we begin this new school year, I encourage families to consider walking or biking to school where feasible. For those who drive, please be vigilant about safety to ensure our community remains a safe and vibrant place for all.

It is an honor to serve as your superintendent for the ninth year. Each day, I am inspired by the passion and commitment of our staff, families, and community members. Together, we make Larkspur-Corte Madera a remarkable place to live, learn, and grow.

Here’s to an outstanding 2025-26 school year!

Brett Geithman, Ed.D.

Superintendent

Photo from Marin IJ

Dear LCMSD Community,

It is with great pride and excitement that I announce Dana Boren-Swisher, 2nd Grade Teacher at Neil Cummins Elementary, as the Marin County Teacher of the Year!

This honor goes far beyond a title  -  it marks the start of a year-long journey in which Dana will serve as a voice for educators across the region, representing Marin County at the state level and sharing her expertise, passion, and vision for education throughout the year.

We were thrilled to have John Carroll, Marin County Superintendent of Schools, join us at our Welcome Back Breakfast to make the official announcement and personally congratulate Dana on this incredible achievement. Here is the article in the Marin IJ. 

Dana’s impact extends far beyond her classroom walls. She is a passionate educator, an award-winning environmental leader, and a tireless advocate for our community. As Neil Cummins Principal Kyle Shaw shared, “Dana brings an unmatched combination of dedication, compassion, and high expectations to her classroom. She inspires her students not only to grow their academic skills, but also to care deeply for themselves, each other and the world around them.”

Dana’s many accomplishments include:

• Founder of Refugia Marin, a nonprofit dedicated to educating the community about the benefits of native plants and creating thriving wildlife habitats.
  

• Secured a $300,000+ Point Blue Roots Program Grant to replant and restore the Hall Middle School landscape with pollinator-friendly native plants — a project that will serve as a living classroom and community space.

• Led numerous restoration projects, including revitalizing the Hawks Garden at Neil Cummins, creating the Native Habitat Garden in Town Park, and enhancing several areas of the Neil Cummins campus through partnerships with Home Ground Habitats and the NOAA Ocean Guardian School Program (Neil Cummins was just awarded the Year 2 designation!).

• Recognized nationally and locally for her leadership, receiving the Presidential Innovation Award for Environmental Educators and the Marin County IPM Award in 2022.

• Honored as Grand Marshal of the 2023 Corte Madera 4th of July Parade for her contributions to the community.

• Recipient of the 2024 Golden Bell Award, recognizing her excellence as an educator in Marin County.

Dana’s work blends academic excellence with hands-on environmental stewardship, empowering her students to see themselves as changemakers who can make a difference in the world. Her creativity, leadership, and dedication have left an indelible mark on LCMSD.

Please join me in congratulating Dana Swisher on this well-deserved honor. We are so fortunate to have her in our district — inspiring students, supporting colleagues, and making our community a better place for all!

Dear LCMSD Families,

Over the past several years, our district has taken significant steps to evolve Hall Middle School's grading practices through the lens of equity, academic excellence, and clear communication. Based on extensive feedback gathered from the Hanover Research focus groups, longitudinal achievement study, and trimester parent/teacher/student pulse surveys, we have determined that the next step in Hall Middle School's grading journey will be to implement an A–F gradebook and report card beginning in the 2025-26 school year. Cove and Neil Cummins will continue the same grade reporting system they are currently using,

This change reflects the feedback of many students and families who have expressed a preference for a more familiar and transparent grading format. While the reporting structure will shift to A–F, our instructional practices will continue to be grounded in equitable practices, standards-referenced grading, and competency-based learning. These will remain central to how we design instruction, assess student proficiency, and provide feedback.

This transition builds on the progress we’ve made over the years. Our staff has strengthened the alignment between classroom activities and standards, clearly defined what it means to demonstrate proficiency, and deepened feedback practices to support student growth and partnership with caregivers. 

Our primary objective remains the same: to clearly and effectively communicate student progress. By maintaining the core instructional values of equity and competency-based teaching while aligning our reporting with community expectations, we believe this approach meets the diverse needs of our school community.

We will be discussing this update in greater detail at the June 10 Board of Trustees meeting and again at the beginning of the 2025-26 school year to ensure our families have clarity in this transition.

Thank you for your continued partnership

Dr. Brett Geithman

Superintendent

TLDR - Too Long Didn’t Read 

• Controlled access for all main offices begins this week. All school visitors will be required to buzz in and state the reason for their visit.

• School Safety Coffee Chat on February 7 at 8:30 at Neil Cummins

• Stay tuned for community feedback meetings regarding potential updates to fencing

• Review updated student release procedures

• Update your Emergency Contacts in Aeries

Dear LCMSD Families,

The safety and security of our students, staff, and school community is our top priority. Below are some important updates regarding LCMSD’s advancement in school safety measures. Additionally, here is our annual safety newsletter from the beginning of the year. 

Thank you for your partnership in keeping our schools safe and secure.

Dr. Brett Geithman

Superintendent

Controlled Access for All Main Offices Begins this Week

As part of our ongoing commitment to fostering a safe and supportive learning environment, we are implementing a controlled access system at all school front entrances (LCMSD Board Policy 1250: Visitors/Outsiders).

Starting tomorrow at Cove and Neil Cummins, and by the end of the week at Hall Middle School, the front office doors will be locked during the school day. Visitors will encounter a camera, intercom, and buzzer system at the front entrance. Upon arrival, visitors will need to ring the intercom, state the reason for their visit, and then office staff will grant access remotely via an iPad.

Please note that staff will continue to have access through designated alternate entrances, ensuring smooth operations while maintaining security protocols.

The controlled access system was identified as a priority through a comprehensive safety study conducted by Hanover Research and Keenan during the 2023-24 school year. Their recommendations were carefully reviewed and prioritized by our School Safety Task Force, ensuring that our schools are equipped with best practices to support the well-being and security of our students and staff.

This initiative aligns with our Vision 2036 commitment to Safety, Health, & Wellness, which emphasizes the importance of creating a safe, nurturing, and connected school environment where the well-being of students and staff is integral to the learning experience. By enhancing campus security, we are upholding our dedication to fostering a sense of security for all while maintaining proactive and adaptive safety measures.

We appreciate your cooperation as we implement this important security measure. 

School Safety Coffee Chat on February 7 at Neil Cummins from 8:30 am - 9:30 am

Parent, staff, and community engagement is essential to our District’s success. We will begin this chat focused on school safety updates, followed by an opportunity to ask any district-related questions. Parents from Cove, Hall, and Neil Cummins are welcome. I look forward to seeing you there!

Coming Soon . . . Community Input Sessions Regarding School Fencing Updates
On November 12, 2024, the LCMSD Board approved a contract with the architecture firm responsible for designing Cove School and modernizing Neil Cummins and Hall Middle to draft potential fencing updates for all three school sites. This decision follows recommendations from the 2023-24 Hanover and Keenan studies, which identified fencing upgrades as a key way to enhance school security.

The School Safety Task Force reviewed the studies and developed a priority list of improvements. Since there are various approaches to addressing this need, drafts for each school are being created to facilitate informed discussions and gather community input. We anticipate hosting feedback meetings at each school as early as February. Stay tuned for updates and dates - your input will help shape these important decisions. 

Updated Emergency Student Release Procedures

During an active emergency, staff members are prioritized to enact critical safety procedures, which require their full focus and attention. It’s important to note that all Emergency Operation Procedures (EOP) include a student release plan. However, please understand that reaching the student release portion of the EOP may take some time and typically falls towards the end of the EOP. Please review our emergency student release procedure as follows:

• During an emergency or security threat, parents/guardians and emergency contacts will be directed to a student release location to pick up students

• This might be a location other than the school office

• Parents/caregivers must wait at the student release location until staff are available to start releasing students

• Students will be released to parents/guardians or emergency contacts only - we will no longer take phone calls or email requests to release students to other contacts

• Please have a photo ID ready

Update Your Emergency Contacts

If student release procedures are enacted, students will be released to parents/guardians or the emergency contacts listed in Aeries only, with a valid photo ID. We will no longer take phone calls or emails to release students to other contacts. Please take a few minutes to update your emergency contacts in Aeries to add any additional adults who are authorized to pick up your child in the event of an emergency. This includes older siblings, family members, friends, or other parents.