The sound of children’s laughter cut through the crisp air as families gathered in the Tomales Town Hall last Tuesday evening to discuss new youth programming and explore how the town’s schools can better serve as community hubs. The meeting, led by the Shoreline Unified School District, Supervisor Dennis Rodoni’s office and West Marin Community Services, was intended for families in Tomales to provide input. “We don’t have infrastructure the way that Point Reyes does. This block is the town,” said Adam Jennings, superintendent of Shoreline Unified. “The schools are the hub for the community.” Over warm pork and veggie tamales, an audience of two dozen offered ideas for afterschool activities, but one suggestion became a prominent talking point: driving courses. “Everything is far. You have to drive everywhere,” Obdolia Hernandez, a mother who lives in Tomales, said. “We need driving classes because they are too expensive. It costs $300 to almost $1,000.” Ms. Hernandez stressed that parents cannot always step away from work to drive their children to sports practices and enrichment classes, and the school bus does not operate past 5:30 p.m. Marin Transit has no routes directed north to Tomales, and private drivers education courses are cost prohibitive. That leaves some young people without formal instruction before they get behind the wheel. Resoundingly, parents echoed one another in suggesting that the high school offer drivers ed courses for free or at low cost. Families also suggested holding potlucks and rodeos to foster stronger connections among students and parents. Student enrichment suggestions included music lessons, art, ceramics, a community garden, career counseling, college readiness, entrepreneurship training, more sports training, longer sports seasons and financial literacy workshops. The meeting will inform the Tomales Youth Center Planning Collaborative, whose mission is to establish a sustainable program at a permanent site. According to the collaborative, West Marin youth face greater isolation and less access to support and services than their peers elsewhere, partly because of a lack of public infrastructure, including transportation. The initiative follows a pilot program recently launched at Tomales High School. This fall, middle-school and high-school students are gathering in the gym on early-release Wednesdays to play sports and participate in extracurricular and college-preparation activities. Recently, the program hosted a lesson in making pumpkin pancakes. Although it had a slow start, the program is growing through word-of-mouth. The planning collaborative will release a survey in coming weeks and hold a virtual meeting in January. To learn more and get involved, contact West Marin Community Services at [email protected] or (415) 663.8418.