Original Research by School Decision on Reed Elementary
Reed Elementary is a small school serving kindergarten through second grade in Tiburon, with an enrollment of about mid-small for its grade band. The school sits in a notably affluent housing market where home values are very high and rents have climbed steeply. Only a very small share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic profile of the community.
The student body is predominantly white, with smaller populations of multiracial, Hispanic, Asian, and Black students. No students in the data are reported as American Indian, Alaska Native, or Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander. Data on whether students are English learners or receive special education services was not available, so a parent may want to reach out to the school to understand those populations if that context matters for their decision.
Because Reed serves only early elementary grades, it has no state testing results, graduation rate, or chronic absenteeism data; these measures apply only to grades that take state assessments or complete high school. This is a structural feature of the school's grade band, not a data gap.
The district, Reed Union Elementary, recently adopted Eureka Math as the core curriculum for Reed and the upper elementary school, Bel Aire. At the middle school level, the district moved to Illustrative Mathematics. These curriculum decisions took place within the past few years and represent a lasting shift in how math is taught across the district. At Del Mar Middle School, the district also moved to standards-based grading, where a student's grade reflects mastery of grade-level standards prioritized on the most recent consistent performance rather than averaging the whole term. Academic grades are now separated from a "Habits of Learning" citizenship grade. While these changes are at the middle school, they signal the pedagogical direction of the district as a whole.
For families considering this school, the practical reality is clear: Reed serves an economically privileged community with high housing costs and a very low free-lunch rate. The early elementary setting means families are not yet navigating state testing. The school's small size within its grade band supports close attention to individual students. The recent curriculum adoption in math is in place, so parents can ask the school directly how those materials are being used in their child's classroom and what they emphasize pedagogically.
A parent researching Reed should ask the school about English learner supports and special education services, since those enrollment figures were not publicly reported. They should also ask whether the standards-based approach adopted at the middle school level influences how learning is understood and communicated in early grades, and what families can expect as their children progress through the district. The housing costs in the area are very steep, so families moving to Tiburon for this school should have that conversation with a realtor and local residents early in the process, as affordability is the largest constraint in the community rather than school choice itself.
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