Excellent Marin Schools Attract Home Buyers
The strength of Marin schools remains a strong motivating factor for young home buyers. They are willing to pay 25-50% more for houses in districts with outstanding and distinguished schools.
Cove School, Larkspur-Corte Madera
School Ratings
School are rated based on test scores, attendance, improvements in performance, and suspension rates. The California Department of Education reports this information for each school on the California School Dashboard. Niche.com consolidates many sources of information into ratings for schools. Once you learn more about specific schools, it is useful to visit, to talk to the educators, and observe the facilities and classes.
For parents and students, choice of a school often includes subjective criteria and depends on the goals and expectations as well as curriculum, educational philosophy, teaching staff, community involvement, and more. Talk to educators at schools of interest and parents of students to obtain a complete picture.
Distinguished Marin Schools
Each year, the California Department of Education selects the highest achieving public schools in the state as Distinguished Schools. Here are the Marin schools on the list over the last 5 years (2019-2023).
| Larkspur-Corte Madera | Cove Elementary |
| Larkspur-Corte Madera | Neil Cummins Elementary |
| Larkspur-Corte Madera | Hall Middle School, also a National Distinguished School. |
| Mill Valley | Tamalpais Valley Elementary |
| Mill Valley | Strawberry Point Elementary |
| Mill Valley | Edna Maguire Elementary |
| Mill Valley | Mill Valley Elementary |
| Miller Creek | Vallecito Elementary |
| Novato Unified | Novato Charter |
| Reed Union | Bel Aire Elementary |
| Ross Valley | Hidden Valley Elementary |
High Schools
Marin is served by the Tamalpais Union School District. The District includes Tamalpais High in Mill Valley, Redwood High in Larkspur and Archie Williams High in San Anselmo. All three high schools have excellent academic programs, with different personalities to suit a diversity of students. Students are assigned to high schools based on where they reside, however, intra-district transfers are possible.
Continuation and Alternative Schools
The District also provides two smaller high schools, San Andreas High School and Tamiscal High School, tailored to specific student needs. San Andreas was recognized as Model Continuation High School for 2021. These schools utilize innovative programs that focus on academics and social and emotional learning and helping students who have faced many challenges, including chronic absenteeism and truancy, get back on the path to realizing their full academic potential.
Marin’s Community School in San Rafael provides alternative programs for students and families who are seeking a smaller setting with a higher staff-to-student ratio, personalized learning, and increased supports to help students prepare for college, career, and life.
Marin Charter Schools
Marin has three established and successful charter schools:
- Novato Charter School, K-8, is located in Hamilton Field, Novato. “Through a curriculum based on the Core Principles of Public Waldorf education our teachers nurture the imagination in the early years, building a foundation for abstract thinking, gradually and appropriately challenging the intellect through out the grades.” Their program includes nature-based education. See more on their Youtube channel.
- Phoenix Academy, 7-12, in San Rafael, A “flexible learning model supports learning both on and off campus to create opportunities that may not exist in traditional schools.”
- Ross Valley Charter, K-5, in Fairfax, has a curriculum that “relies heavily on project- and problem-based learning. With two grade levels in one classroom, teachers focus on individual learning progress, customizing instruction and guidance to accommodate students’ needs.”
Marin Private Schools
See this list of Marin private schools.