Superintendent Adam Jennings, who has spent more than half his career in the Shoreline Unified School District, will be leaving for a job with the Marin County Office of Education at the end of the school year.
Mr. Jennings, 51, served as principal of Tomales High School for nine years before stepping into the superintendent’s role amid the pandemic four years ago. He replaced Bob Raines, who resigned after he was charged with molesting a student and was later convicted.
Mr. Jennings quickly restored stability in the district and has been praised for overseeing the post-pandemic return to classroom learning, working closely with parent groups, and maintaining a steady hand in the aftermath of a threatened shooting at West Marin School. He has also worked to improve the district’s systems for curriculum evaluation and professional development.
“Working here has been a really personal and meaningful experience for me,” Mr. Jennings told the Light. “It’s changed my life, and I’m proud to be a part of this district.”
He will assume his new duties as an assistant superintendent with the county education office in July. Among his assignments will be overseeing projects related to technical and outdoor education. Given the timing of his departure, the district is likely to hire an interim superintendent to take the reins next fall while it looks for a permanent replacement.
Thomas Tyson, a school board member who served on the selection committee when Mr. Jennings was hired, said the superintendent will be greatly missed.
“With the geographic spread of our district and the relatively minimal administrative staff we have, a lot falls on the superintendent,” Mr. Tyson said. “He’s got to be present. He’s got to do a lot of his own work. And since day one, Adam has just stepped up. He works incredibly hard, he’s very responsive and he has always cared deeply about this district.”
At the end of 2023, Mr. Jennings confronted a crisis when a Tomales High student threatened to shoot two eighth graders at West Marin School, forcing a lockdown. Six law enforcement vehicles descended on the school. No one was hurt, but nerves were badly frayed.
Mr. Tyson credited the superintendent for his handling of the stressful episode.
“He was answering more emails and phone calls than there are minutes in a day,” Mr. Tyson said. “He stayed late at night to hear out parents and reassure them that we would take steps to ensure that we had the proper processes and procedures in place.”
The district hired a safety consultant to review its handling of the episode and conferred repeatedly with the Marin County Sheriff’s Office to make sure its policies were up to date.
“It was a very charged atmosphere, and Adam left things in a good place,” Mr. Tyson said. “He’s a great communicator. He’s the kind of guy you’d like to speak to if you’re scared and uneasy.”
Mr. Jennings also worked closely with parents who won a $150,000 state grant to improve the district’s food offerings, according to Marianne Recher, who chairs the West Marin/Inverness School Site Council and was instrumental in winning the grant. The district used the farm-to-school incubator funds to incorporate California-grown produce and culturally relevant, climate-smart dishes into the cafeteria while decreasing the use of processed foods.
“Adam very quickly came to work with us and trust us and communicate about what the goals were and how to realistically implement them,” Ms. Recher said. “His departure will be a big loss for the district, and whoever comes in will have the proverbial big shoes to fill, for sure.”