Editorial: New MLK Academy a shining star for Sausalito Marin City School District

Opening of the new campus of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Academy in Sausalito is a community milestone worth celebrating.

The new campus, which recently welcomed its 263 students and faculty with a traditional ribbon-cutting ceremony, marks another turn for the Sausalito Marin City School District from its history of lagging student performance and racial segregation.

The previous school, for most students, fell short of its namesake’s dream.

After two years of construction, made possible with voter-approved bonds, the new campus was opened – in the month of King’s birthday.

Superintendent LaResha Huffman said the new campus reflects the district’s focus “on commitment to equity, commitment to our students and commitment to ensuring that our kids get the best.”

The campus wasn’t always a reflection of that commitment, separated into the MLK campus and its largely Black student body and a charter school that was diverse, but drew youngsters from Sausalito’s mostly White population. The district drew the attention of the state attorney general’s office, which conducted an investigation and concluded that the academic offerings and faculty support at the two schools were significantly different.

“Every child — no matter their stripe or stature — deserves equal access to a quality education. That’s what we say, what we believe, and what’s required under the law,” said then-state Attorney General Xavier Becerra in 2019. “But what we say isn’t always what we do. Certainly, it’s not what the Sausalito Marin City School District did when it chose to segregate its students.”

An agreement with the state put the district on a path to integrate the district’s schools and improve their academic programs with the goal of promoting student achievement.

That local commitment also included a complete architectural overhaul of the MLK campus, a project that cost $33 million and was financed by the 2020 bond measure backed by voters in Sausalito and Marin City.

The new campus also reflects that promise of rightful change for the district. It has not been easy. Nor has it been without debate and controversy. But the district has moved forward toward providing what Becerra called “equal access to a quality education.”

The new campus adds a dose of well-deserved excitement in the district’s progress.

As Principal Amy Hale put it, the school “carries Dr. King’s vision with it — a belief in dignity, justice, kindness and the power of young people to shape a better world.” The new campus has four main buildings including 10 classrooms, conference rooms, a library and an art room that doubles as a center for science, technology, engineering and math, and office space.

Some of the older buildings have been renovated for transitional kindergarten and kindergarten classrooms, a multipurpose room and the district’s four middle school classes.

Bringing all of the district’s students onto a single campus was a step of progress toward unifying the district.

The full completion of the project will be the demolition of part of the old campus and creation of a new baseball field.

The district also has a federal grant to restore the historic Willow Creek, bringing the long-buried underground stream into the open.

Shirley Thornton, a former district trustee and longtime Marin City leader, called the new campus “a dream come true.”

It certainly is a huge step in the right direction. The new campus provides a framework for students and faculty to reach that goal and promise.