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Q
How many students are enrolled at The Marin School?
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A
Over the last few years, we have enjoyed an average enrollment of 95 students. Our enrollment will increase gradually over the next few years to approximately 130 students. This maximum enrollment will allow us to fulfill our mission and maintain our unique program.
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Q
What is unique about your program?
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A
The Marin School offers a small class size designed to support a high level of student participation, creative approaches to teaching, and an in-depth understanding of each student's interests. Our website is a communication tool that offers daily statistics, weekly assignments, and bi-weekly progress updates – all of which encourage student ownership of the learning process. Most importantly, because we are a small school, our staff is able to discover each student’s unique personality and talents; finding creative ways to encourage and support their growth.
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Q
What is your academic focus?
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A
We provide our students with a college preparatory education that meets the requirements for the University of California. Our goal is to ensure that every student who spends four years with us will be eligible for a UC or comparable school. In addition to completing the prerequisites for UC, students choose from a variety of unique academic elective courses to complete their course of study.
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Q
Do you have an arts program?
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A
We offer a dynamic arts program that includes classes in both the visual and the performing arts. Students are able to take four years of fine arts, three years of photography, four years of drama, or four years of jazz band. Students’ work is displayed in local art shows, and we also offer fall and spring drama performances and jazz concerts. Each year, our jazz students record a CD of their repertoire in an on-site recording studio. The culminating event for our arts program is the spring visual and performing arts show, a showcase of our students’ creative expressions in all areas, including film. We strongly encourage our students to include a visual or performing arts class in their program every year.
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Q
Is there a “typical” student at The Marin School?
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A
What makes The Marin School unique is that there is no one “typical” student at our school. We are fortunate to enroll a wide spectrum of students including gifted students who thrive in a challenging, personal environment, creative students who love the opportunity to explore their artistic side while maintaining an academic program, students who love learning and are excited by the opportunities a small school offers, and students who have great potential that can be realized in a small-school environment.
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Q
How well do your students do on standardized tests?
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A
The majority of students achieve scores in the range that qualifies them for the University of California and/or the California State University System. Each year, we have a small number of students who qualify for the National Merit Scholarship Program based on their PSAT. In order to support our students in their preparation for college entrance exams, we offer test prep workshops designed to help them prepare.
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Q
Why doesn’t TMS offer Advanced Placement courses?
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A
Advanced Placement, or AP courses are courses where content is proscribed by the College Board, the same organization that owns the PSAT and the SAT. Originally intended as college level courses for high achieving students, many colleges and universities no longer accept AP courses for credit. The Marin School has never offered AP classes and does not plan to do so. We feel that our faculty is best suited to determine the content of our courses and in doing so can meet the individual needs of each of our students. The smaller, more intimate nature of our classroom allows teachers to tailor curriculum to individual classes and students so that students of varying levels are challenged appropriately.
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Q
Will the lack of AP courses hurt my child when applying to college?
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A
Colleges evaluate a student within the context of their school. When evaluating an applicant’s transcript, colleges also receive information about The Marin School, which provides context, including the statement that we do not provide AP classes. Colleges and universities do not penalize applicants for something that is not available to them. As our college acceptance list attests, our graduates have gone on to selective colleges and performed well, without having taken AP classes