Marin Academy

MA requires students to take two years of one of its performing or visual arts programs, four years of English, three years of History, three years of Mathematics, three years of Science (Biology, Chemistry, and one Physics course are required), and two semesters of Human Development, a health and social awareness class.[1] In addition to classroom instruction, Marin Academy students undertake a number of non-traditional learning experiences such as minicourse,[7] the Outings program,[8] end-of-year projects (EOY), wilderness quest, and mandatory senior speeches or senior arts performances. The student body sustains many socially conscious student organizations[9] and has been active in politics in Marin.[10][11] The school conducts annual conferences and workshops on equality and social justice, called the Conference on Democracy[12][13][14] and has a tradition of seniors delivering speeches to school assemblies.[15]

Foster Hall and 'the Circle' are at the center of Marin Academy's San Rafael campus

The Library building (right) and Bodie Brizendine Leadership Center or 'BBLC' (left), which contains administrative spaces, the school café, and classrooms.

A plaque dating from the days of the San Rafael Military Academy

Marin Academy is an academically focused school, with a student-to-teacher ratio of 9:1 and an average class size of 15. More than two-thirds of the faculty hold advanced degrees.[2] More than 99% of Marin Academy graduates go on to attend a four-year college or university.[16]

Travis Brownley, an educator who was the dean of the Groton School, was appointed the Head of School in 2008 following the departure of the previous head of school, Bodie Brizendine, who had led the school for 12 years, and Dick Drew, who served as interim head of school.[17] The Bodie Brizendine Leadership Center (BBLC), a centrally located building on campus, houses faculty offices, math classrooms, and the school cafeteria while keeping Brizendine's legacy alive.

Marin Academy has developed a strong athletics program, highlighted by recent successes in soccer, cross country, boys' lacrosse, and girls' volleyball. The school competes in The Bay Counties League (BCL) within the North Coast Section (NCS).

Marin Academy won back-to-back North Coast Section championships in boys' soccer in 2000 and 2001, and is a regular contender for regional championships. Girls' varsity soccer won the BCL and placed second in the North Coast Section Championship, losing to the Branson High School 4-2, in 2002. In 2006, the boys' soccer team won their third NCS championship in a match against University High School. Tied 1-1 through overtime, the NCS championship game was decided by penalty kicks, in which MA won 5-4.[18] MA also defeated University in the BCL finals that year. In 2007, MA and University again matched up in the BCL and NCS championships, with UHS winning BCL and MA winning NCS 2-0. In 2008 MA and University were matched up once again in the BCL final and the Wildcats defeated the Devils 2-0.[19] These 5 final matches have fueled a fierce rivalry between the two schools[20] and have been known to attract the entire student body from both schools to matches specifically in the past at Kezar Stadium. Most recently, the high school varsity team captured the NCS title in 2016 despite losing star player - Josh Cohen - a few years prior. Marin Academy's varsity soccer teams, of which the boys' was ranked as high as fourth in the country among schools of all sizes,[21] are coached by Josh Kalkstein.

The girls' volleyball team won the state and NCS division V championships in 2004, after losing to University High School in both the NCS and Northern California championship games the year before.[22]

In the 2012 spring season, the Girls' Varsity Swim Team set the first North Coast Section record in Marin Academy history, with a time of 1:34.82 in the 200 yard freestyle relay. The relay team consisted of senior Charlotte Kamai, junior Tai Hallstein, sophomore Isabelle Kitze, and freshman Maddie Salesky. The girls placed fifth overall at NCS, first out of Marin County teams, and first out of schools with fewer than one thousand students.

The Marin Academy Boys' Lacrosse team placed first in NCS DII against the defending champion Marin Catholic in 2012, second place DII in 2017, first place DII in 2018 against Acalanes and second place to De La Salle in 2019 after moving to DI.

The Marin Academy Cross Country team placed first in NCS DII in 2015 and placed second in the California State Championships D V in both 2013 and 2015.

Current athletics offered include:[23]

The following people attended Marin Academy (the year shown is their year of graduation or, for non-graduates, the year that their class graduated)

• Ruth Parasol ('84) – co-founder PartyGaming[24]
• Nancy Juvonen ('85) – co-founder Flower Films[25]
• Carré Otis ('87) – actress and model[26]
• Peter Som ('89) – fashion designer[27]
• Luke Esterkyn ('90), Greg Gueldner ('90), John McDermott ('91) – members of the band Stroke 9[28]
• Jason Rezaian ('94) -- reporter for The Washington Post
• Rumi Neely ('00) – fashion blogger at Fashion Toast[29]
• Alexandra McCullagh ('05) – Member of the San Francisco Ballet[30]
• Rozzi Crane ('09) -- Singer-songwriter
• Lydia Hance (‘03) — Artistic Director, Frame Dance

• Marin Academy website
• Archive of Academic Courses
• Homepage for Marin Academy's Conference on Democracy
• Marin Academy Voice - Student Newspaper