Original Research by School Decision on Archie Williams High
Archie Williams High is a comprehensive public high school serving grades nine through twelve in San Anselmo, a small, tree-lined residential town in central Marin County. The school sits in a community oriented around its downtown antique district and village-style commercial core, with access to regional open space and transit lines that connect residents to jobs throughout the Bay Area.
The school enrolls a mid-sized student population with relatively low free-or-reduced-price lunch eligibility; the student body is predominantly white, with smaller shares of Hispanic, multiracial, and Asian students. The school's most recent state testing data, from 2024-2025, shows English proficiency just above two-thirds of students, math proficiency at just over half, and science proficiency at roughly one-third. Only one year of testing results is available, so trend information is not yet available to parents. The data provided does not include graduation rate, chronic absenteeism, discipline records, or special population counts for students with IEPs or English learners, so a parent may want to look into those metrics directly with the school.
Archie Williams is part of Tamalpais Union High School District, which covers several communities across central and northern Marin. The district faces significant structural pressures. Student enrollment has declined substantially over recent years and is projected to continue falling, triggering district-wide staffing reductions and program consolidations. The district passed a smaller facilities bond in November 2024 after voters rejected a larger proposal in March 2024; the approved bond funds roof repairs, classroom modernization, and safety improvements at Archie Williams and two other district high schools, but does not include the major campus overhauls that were originally proposed. These constraints will shape what facilities and programs the school can offer over the next several years.
Two changes families should be aware of: The district has adopted a new ethnic studies graduation requirement called Community and Consciousness, which will replace World Cultures and Geography and become mandatory beginning with the class of 2028-2029. Additionally, the district's parcel tax is set to expire in June 2029, and voters will decide on a renewal in November 2026; this property-tax obligation affects every household in the district.
San Anselmo itself is a built-out town with a strong residential character and limited greenfield development. Housing costs are substantially above state and national medians, and monthly rent and mortgage obligations each represent a significant share of median household income. The town is a small, self-contained economy with retail and service jobs; most residents commute outward to San Rafael, greater Marin, and San Francisco for professional and technical work. The community has a strong civic presence through its library, parks, and a walkable downtown anchored by galleries, restaurants, and local shops, with a summer concert series and boutique retail culture. Transit service operates through the San Anselmo Hub via Marin Transit and regional bus lines.
A parent considering Archie Williams should weigh its place in a district under fiscal and enrollment pressure against the town's stable residential character and strong community institutions.
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