‘We need to keep their memories alive’

— board president Cynthia Roenisch

In an emotional tribute, Tamalpais Union High School District leaders expressed their grief over the four students killed and two injured in a crash in Woodacre.

“We need to keep their memories alive,” board president Cynthia Roenisch said at the trustees’ meeting Tuesday.

Roenisch read brief tributes dedicated to each student who died — ninth-grader Olive Koren and 10th-graders Sienna Katz, Ada Kepley and Josalynn Osborn Oliver.

She noted the sports the girls played — lacrosse, field hockey and wrestling — and their laughter, devotion to helping others and their love of pets. She also mentioned the students’ parents by name.

“We are deeply touched by the loss of these souls,” Roenisch said. “We send our sincere condolences.”

The four girls were students at Archie Williams High School in San Anselmo. So are the two survivors, Marley Barclay, 14, and driver Elsa Laremont Stranczek, 16.

The cause of the crash, in which their car struck a tree, remains under investigation.

“Maybe the next time we think about pets, wrestling or art, we will think of them,” Roenisch said, referring to activities they loved. “Anything that helps us connect with the people we lost will help to make it easier.”

Roenisch also read tributes to two other district students who died in April: Tamiscal High School ninth-grader Indigo Carducci, who had cancer, and Zion Greenwood, a 2024 Tamalpais High School graduate s shot in Oakland on April 4.

Courtney Goode, who takes over as district superintendent in July, was at the board meeting and listed the students by name.

“I’d like to start by offering my deepest and most heartfelt condolences for the families,” Goode said. “As well as the friends, the entire student body, teachers, staff and administrators at Archie Williams, and to the broader Tam community.”

“When I heard of this tragedy, know that my heart broke for you all from afar, and that you’ve been in my thoughts constantly ever since,” he said.

He said he has continued to receive updates.

“Certainly as unspeakable as your grief must be, it was incredibly heartwarming to watch from afar to see how the community has come together — to care for one another, to uplift one another,” Goode said. “I hope that there’s some comfort in that.”

Goode was hired to replace Tara Taupier, who is leaving the post after seven years.

“Our hearts are heavy in the wake of this tragedy,” Taupier said. “We also have a tremendous sense of gratitude and heartfelt compassion for the strength of our community who have been able to find resilience and to move forward.”

Taupier said that while the community’s “outpouring” was overwhelming, “it shouldn’t take a tragedy for us to stand together and love each other.”

Taupier also read a statement from Samantha Winslow, the student trustee of Archie Williams High School. Winslow said the school has rallied with memorials, events and tributes.

That included placing memory books for each family of the students who died at the campus health center. In each book, students may write in their personal thoughts, condolences and memories of each girl. The books will eventually be given to each family, Winslow said.

The student leaders are also offering “art carts” for their peers to paint rocks or do other crafts in memory of the students who died. The painted rocks are being displayed at the senior tree on campus.

“This tragedy has impacted our school a great amount and it’s incredible how our school can come together to support the ones affected and the families of these beautiful souls,” Winslow said. “Our teachers are going through similar feelings and are working closely with students to make sure everyone has what they need at this time.”

Winslow offered thanks on behalf of the school “for every single person who has shown support in any way possible, it truly means the world.”

“We will forever have our hearts with the families and friends affected and will continue to show up in any way possible,” she said.

She said the high school will hold a remembrance at lunch Friday for students and teachers to talk or share a meal.

“Grief looks different on everyone,” Winslow said. “But one thing we all have in common is caring for each other.”

Bay Area News Group contributed to this report.