What do Dixie Elementary, Kentfield, Larkspur-Corte Madera, Novato Unified, Ross Elementary, San Rafael City, and Tamalpais Union High School Districts all have in common? They are the elite few school districts in California to have some of their schools presented with Gold Ribbon Awards.

Marin County is home to many extraordinary schools - public, charter and private, but few public schools in California meet the requirements to be honored with the Gold Ribbon Schools Award (currently taking the place of the California Distinguished Schools Program).

Gold Ribbon Awards are presented to schools by the Department of Education that have implemented academic content and performance standards approved by the California State Board of Education in the areas

5606 #101 California @ 18th San Francisco, CA SOLD!

I had the pleasure of working with Rebecca Brooks, a San Francisco Modern Realtor, to list and sell the this hip move-in ready 2 bedroom 2 full bath condo belonging to oneof my Marin Modern buyers who made the move to a San Rafael Eichler last year. With the tenants moved out, we went quickly to work staging the home for "show" and preparing an array of winning marketing. We quickly received offers and closed escrow in a timely manner for $690,000.

There are an increasing number of buyers that are migrating out of San Francisco to greener pastures where they can raise their children and confidently enroll them in the public schools of Marin.  As a Marin County Realtor, I help buyers "cross the

Today, the Marin Independent Journal published the 2011-12 API Scores for the Marin Public Schools.  Marin public schools continue to score well above the 53% of schools statewide in academic achievement according to the recently published figures. In addition, all but three of the Marin school districts posted gains from the previous year.  According to Thomas Lohwasser, superintendent of San Rafael's Dixie School District, "you can't always judge a school by its test scores but the 11 point jump in score validates our efforts."

To check out the scores for individual schools, click on the link to the Marin Independent Journal article.  Some highlights are districts with significant gains, Kentfield, Lagunitas, Ross and K-8 in

Deck Views from Mill Valley, California

So, you've made the decision to move to Marin County. On top of all of the other things that pop up during a move (home inspections, price negotiations, etc), you need to choose a school for your kids. One might think that this is a quick and easy decision- just send them to the school in your neighborhood, right? Not necessarily. The school that you choose to send your child to is going to be one that is instrumental in shaping them as a human being, so it is best carefully thought out and planned. I have complied a few things that will help you when it comes to deciding where to send your most precious cargo.

• Talk to other parents. They will be the ones who can tell you all the great things about the school,

"Excellent public schools" is a reason frequently cited by our clients interested in relocating to Marin County.  For families with small children contemplating a move to Marin, you'll definetly want to checkout the frontpage article in today's Marin IJ Newspaper entitled Academic Performance Index Results: Marks Rise in Marin.  

This article includes the most recent Academic Performance Index (API) scores for Marin County with a detailed breakdown on API scores in Marin by School District and School.   The API scores represent a number from 200 to 1,000 and reflect a school's results on several statewide test.

Once again Marin County schools have demonstrated their academic achievement and have risen well above most schools in California (and above