As an alumnus (1959 - 1967), I'm disappointed that the school has chosen trendiness over substance…read more I will not give my opinion on teaching "the gender non-binary" to second graders. But I will note that parents seem to be afraid of giving their opinions, which was certainly not the case when I attended the school. In second grade, my teacher Miss Williams read "The Princess and the Goblin" to us. There was no question that the school was patriotic and valued a classical education. Today the decision makers claim that the school is just following the vision of its founders, who emphasized educating "the whole student." But I doubt that the founders would approve of what the school is doing today. The insincere virtue signaling that pretends to be social justice is not a grass-roots phenomenon but rather a fashionable elite pose that allows the unjust to pretend they care when they really do not. Imposing this on children can only be described as a travesty. The parents are trapped because it's the powers above them who have imposed this on the rest of us, and careers and reputations are at stake. Instead of socially engineering students, my alma mater needs to get back to teaching the basics and treating students as the unique individuals they are rather than as representatives of groups. The motto of the school when I went there was "A spirit always surging." Today, I would say "cringing" is a more accurate description.

Our child just completed first year here. This school has surpassed our expectations and we are…read morealready looking forward to the next school year. The environment is friendly, fun, supportive, and progressive. The facilities are fantastic, and there is ongoing construction and improvements happening. There is an emphasis on the overall child, not just academics. If your child is lucky enough to have Doug Zesiger as their teacher, I have nothing to say but the best things about him. It is sad to see Dierdre leave, though - as she has been fantastic :( Step-up day was a moving experience, and it was so cool to see the 8th graders 'stepping down', and stomping their feet when the kindergarteners 'stepped up.' It was a very memorable day! I know it sounds like I am going on about this school, but I really can not imagine a better environment for my children. There really was nothing negative I can say at all about this year. I know a few parents had gripes about the bus and after school offerings, but that is maybe all I can even think of (very minor in my opinion). We applied to a number of independent schools in San Francisco and Southern Marin and were accepted to all, but MCDS was our top and standout choice. We couldn't be happier after our first year and without hesitation highly recommend this school. I have no doubt this school is one of the best in not only the Bay Area, but in the country.

We could not be more happy with our Marin Montessori Middle School experience. We transferred our…read moredaughter in mid year and have been thrilled to see her engagement and interest in learning return. The staff are incredibly lovely and caring professionals who have the deepest respect for each student. We were met with openness and warmth and the turnaround for her academics was pronounced. She looks forward to going to school and loves getting to have choice in her own learning. Marin Montessori has truly created a culture of kindness and it has made all the difference for our family!

My oldest child is completing his first year at MMS, and I couldn't have dreamt up a better…read moreexperience for the equivalent of his pre-K year. He has always had a tough time with transitions until he made the transition to MMS! The school thoughtfully welcomed him in such a way that he walked in on his first day with no hesitation, making me feel at ease sending him to school everyday. The mixed age Montessori classroom environment nurtures his curiosity, giving him the opportunity to learn from his peers and practice leadership skills. The school's administration and guides are incredibly supportive of my child, meeting him where he is while ushering him to the next level. When my son's guide checked in with me after his first two days of school, the words she used to describe him were spot on. Beyond the school's administration and guides, the parent community has been an excellent resource to me and my growing family. My family moved to the Bay from the East Coast a few years ago, and I greatly appreciate that many parents are from other states and various non-US countries with diverse cultural backgrounds and experiences that their children can share with my children. I am looking forward to my second child starting in the fall!

The sheer enjoyment of giving an opinion to my high school as an adult seems so beautifully…read morecathartic, and so wrong. Just perfect, so me. Why is Tam so much more fly than when I went there? It's not like I went to school in the dark ages. I'm not forty. I'm not embarassed to tell anyone that I'm 26 years of age and that I was class of 2000. That school, for the area that we are in was incredibly ghetto in my opinion a few years back. Our science classes had no new equipment and so we would be stuck with twenty year old beakers that you couldn't read the measurements on. The glass on the tubes seemed so thin I was always terrified it would break in my hands when I put them in the centrifuge (oh yeah, sorry, we didn't have a centrifuge, bummer). My drama department, for whom I will represent until I die, holla CTE, holla, had productions in a ghetto side room attached to the gym which we called "the black box". Folding chairs half falling apart and duck taped stage boxes were what we used to create "lavish" productions and blocking. But I guess maybe we had it better. We needed to create bigger and larger concepts in order to make the meager surroundings fantastic to our audience. We had to work harder. The back parking lot was filled with potholes, which would damage my car. Hence, the fact I was that asshole student that parked my nice car in Mead theatre (yes, right in Mead theatre to those that know it) and for some reason got away with it. Must have been that crazy rockstar mentality of "fuck you, and who gives a fuck" that I had back then, and still retain to this current day. Some of my teachers were incredible, hence the four stars, that's just for you guys! I had some inspirational teachers that literally changed my life like Dr. Cruz and Susan Brashear. They helped to make me believe in myself and were my home away from home while going through those difficult formative years which I try to keep telling them have never really gone away. My high school reunion is coming up soon. I'll be interested to see all those people that I never really liked that tried to cheat off of my science and foreign language tests, who I never let. It wasn't my fault that they didn't study or get it. I'll have to re-dye my hair the color it is now, pink, which is the color it was in school 8 years ago. Oh, and show up in my Ferrari with one of my sexy high school teachers that they'll probably assume I was sleeping with in school (did I? hmmmm......) as my date so that I can really come back and throw 'em through a loop. I do have a note to my science teacher at Tam though. You know who you are, the one that told me that I would never become of anything, and that I was cheating beacuse I didn't need to study like the other kids, because I understood it and it came second nature to me. The one that told me I should be a writer and not a veterinarian. Well hey there, I was top of my class in Boston in sciences. So eat that shit bitch! See staff of Tamalpais High School!!!! I haven't changed a bit. I just have a better car, more authority, I'm more obnoxious, and have a better laywer.

I went to high school here and it was not as pretty as it is now. What lucky kids, and they…read moreprobably don't know how good they have it. Talk about an institution for learning.

Del Mar is a fabulous school with a amazing administration and teachers. I have always felt the…read moreteachers here were motivated and truly cared. I feel a lot of gratitude for this village of people that have enlighten my kids.This school provides a great jump start for high school.

Overall not bad for a public school, I guess I should be glad my kids go here above other public…read moreschools. Like many others in the area I wish I could afford private schooling but with the cost of Marin / Mill Valley this will have to do Hang in there kids middle school isn't easy no matter where ya go!

This is amazing school with a Fantastic cuticular choices but the classrooms now are not used for…read moreits original purpose. for example the science classrooms have way too many sinks and not Originally made for science but instead to learn how to wash dishes and cook food. As someone who has gone to Mill Valley Middle School for a couple of years this problem needs to be fixed to provide future generations the learning environment where they can thrive and learn in a place suited for what it is being used to do.

It's been disheartening to watch this school's accelerating slide into mediocrity…read more Things were bad before COVID, and then some new administrators and teachers came in. It looked like things turned around for a year or two, but now they're worse now than before. The one remaining bright spot were the friends and community we built through the school, but now many families we know are pulling their kids out for other schools, or are actively planning on it in the coming year. The school is raising tuition and hoping to scoop up clueless newcomers to area who heard about how great MPMS was in the past, before they realize what it is now.

We have sent all three of our children to MPMS and they thrived, both academically and socially…read more There is a commitment to knowing each student not just for their school work but for their emotional growth and development. MPMS is a hidden gem in Larkspur and I appreciate the commitment the school makes to deeply knowing kids and their needs. The parent/faculty community is wonderful too.

I attended Redwood as a freshman and sophomore from 1967 to 1969. The math and English classes for…read moreAP students (they didn't use that term back then) were excellent. With about 1800 students, it stands to reason that quite a few would be academically outstanding. I personally knew two who went on to Harvard and one who went on to Yale. Virtually all of the students who bothered to study qualified for a UC or CSU campus. The rest went to community college and then transferred to university, or they had no interest in college and went into sales, the trades, the military, etc. I had attended a small private school and was not comfortable with such a large high school. I had no understanding of what people dread about large public high schools: cliques, bullies, etc. But for someone who wasn't particularly outgoing, I was treated reasonably well. I have always been interested in what is going on in education. I understand that Redwood chose to stop taking money from the state of California (am I wrong?). That would be a good thing. The more parents have control over what their students are learning, the better. Some people talk about Redwood kids being snobby. That was certainly not my experience when I went there. But large public high schools are much more forgiving environments for children who are goodlooking, athletic and outgoing than they are for students who aren't any of those things. I advise parents who have choices (e.g., public vs. private schools) to keep this in mind when they are selecting schools for their children.

UPSIDE - Best teachers around, especially Ms. Rubio who consistently works overtime to help her…read morestudents succeed. Top notch education for your children. DOWNSIDE - Lots of drugs, entitled kids and intense social politics; emphasis on money and status. Not too unusual for a high School, but this school makes the book Mean Girls look like child's play. Little or no participation by my daughters teachers concerning diversity week which is sad, because the kids I have met here show a surprising lack knowledge about people who are not white, straight, rich or privileged.

I attended Marin Horizon in the early-mid 2000s, from 3rd through 8th grade. Those years were…read moreextremely formative for me, but unfortunately were not positive - in fact I remember them today as being the worst years of my life. The academics at MHS may have been good, but were rendered irrelevant by the brutal, ceaseless bullying I experienced, the scars of which haunt me to this day. I have memories of horrible things my classmates did to me while the faculty and administration stood by and did nothing. It pains me to think that my parents spent so much money for me to be treated so poorly, and even today I wonder how I made it through those years of misery and came out the other side. Today I'm 32 and have a wonderful and fulfilling life that I am extremely proud of - everything I have is not because of, but rather in spite of, my time at MHS.

My daughter had the privilege to attend Marin Horizon School for 8th grade and her experience…read moreexceeded our expectations on every level. My only regret is not moving to MHS earlier. What most impressed me was how close the teachers, staff and administrators got to know her, and the dedicated coaching she received in every single class. This struck me reading the narrative from each teacher in the first report cards. It was clear they knew my daughter deeply and had worked closely with her to develop her strengths and push her in the areas she needed to grow. The school community was incredibly warm and welcoming, she had many new friends within days of joining the school and felt as if she had been there for years. This was clearly intentional, MHS focuses on fostering a sense of belonging, bonding with teachers, character building and strong academics. I highly recommend MHS and can see why they have been voted 'Best Private School in Marin' for many years. It is indeed the best!

Mo is an amazing math tutor, especially for people who have a hard time "getting" math!…read more He's helped my daughter tremendously and she now feels confident with math whereas before she thought it was almost impossible to do. He also tutors the sciences, entrance exams for college, & exit exams for high school, including the CHSPE. We've tried several recommended tutors over the years & always encountered challenges until Mo. He's great with learning differences (dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia), gifted kids & those who are both (often called stealth dyslexia) which describes our daughter & can be very challenging to teach. He's head of the math dept at Fusion Academy in Marin, which is where we first met him years ago. However we've primarily been working with him through his independent tutoring service over the past year. He's a very kind, patient, intelligent and knowledgeable person & has a gift explaining math & challenging concepts in a simple, easy to understand way. We recommend him highly!

Mo is patient, punctual, and professional. He has a good foundation in math. He's responsive and…read moreflexible to work with your schedule.