Redwood High School

5 star school in every way possible...

Competition! the two words that popped into my mind about this school were, Cultural Capital. great school.

Athletics are too competitive to participate in. Clubs fall apart on a whim. Students are entitled, snobby, exclusive, mean and cliquey - the school atmosphere drives many in to drinking, drugs and sex or else they cannot belong to a group. My daugher experienced 2 of her best friends from growing up in Marin moving schools because of the party scenes they fell into. It is the parental money that gets everyone into college, that gets private tutoring and college prep, that pays thousands of dollars each season for competitive traveling sports from the time they are 5 years old and that helicopter their kids so that they archive whatever the parent wants them to be. It is a full time job for a parent to participate as many are during school hours, so parents do not feel part of a community at all. I found the communication horrible, an occasional letter form the principal touting only the best achievers in athletics, etc. The website takes a lot of searching to find what you need and never proactively send things to parents or students about available volunteer or internship positions. It takes a lot to keep up with the helicoptered kids at this school and we have had enough and are leaving to somewhere where being in the Honor Society actually means something besides an email and provides opportunity to participate in athletics. Sure, the numbers are there for this school, but it seems to be more the super competitive parents that are being judged rather than the school.

We moved to Marin with my daughter not knowing anyone at the school. She also went to a private K-8 school beforehand, and this was our first foray into the public school system. What a pleasant surprise. Although my daughter considered going private for high school, after we toured Redwood she decided this was the place for her. And, it's been a fantastic experience. The teachers and administration have always been helpful and available to answer questions. The student body has socio-economic diversity (could be a bit better but it's from the neighborhoods that feed into the school), plenty of activities, sports, and clubs to get involved with, and it's a fun and safe environment. There is academic rigor and teachers who are truly interested and passionate about what they are teaching. The school is fantastic in communicating with parents also!