Marin Academy

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Marin Academy
Established	1971
School type	Private, Coeducational
Religious affiliation	None
Head of School	Eleanor "Bodie" Brizendine
Location	San Rafael, CA, USA
Campus	Suburban
Enrollment	400
Faculty	56
Average class size	15 students
Student:teacher ratio	9:1
Average SAT scores (2006)	Unreported
Athletics	25 teams
Color(s)	Red, White and Black
Mascot	Wildcats

Marin Academy (familiarly known as MA) is a private college preparatory high school of approximately 400 students situated at 1600 Mission Avenue, San Rafael, California. Eleanor "Bodie" Brizendine is the head of the school. Located on the campus that for decades housed the San Rafael Military Academy prior to its closure, MA was founded in 1971 with 16 faculty and a student body of 59.

The Marin Academy mascot is the wildcat and the school colors are red and black.

1 Mission statement
2 Changes at MA
3 Athletics
4 Notable alumni
5 References
6 External/Related links

[edit] Mission statement

"Marin Academy asks every individual to think, question, and create in an environment of encouragement and compassion, and challenges each person to accept the responsibilities posed by education in a democratic society."^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Changes at MA

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MA is in a transitional period between its more historic standing as a creative-arts school to a more rigorous college preparatory school, facilitated in part by a new Admissions Director and pressure from the board of trustees. This is partially due to increasing pressure on MA to compete with other private, college preparatory schools in the area, specifically The Branson School, Lick-Wilmerding High School, and San Francisco University High School. The last class admitted under the old Admissions Director, Tony Krackeler, graduated in 2005.^{[citation needed]}

Another agent of change is the impending departure of Bodie Brizendine. Following a career of twelve years, she announced her departure scheduled for summer of 2007 in assembly on January 24, 2006. After leaving MA, Bodie will take up work as Head of School at Spence School, an all-girls school in the Upper East Side, Manhattan.

The school is also changing physically, having begun a spate of building projects in the late 1990s. A new library has been built beside the administration building, one of the few remaining structures that dated back to the campuses days as a military academy, which is undergoing renovations. Other physical additions in the recent building period include Founders Hall which features classrooms as well as teachers' offices and a computer lab, a new Performing Arts center comprised of a theater, music studio and practice rooms, a new Fine Arts Center, a new Gymnasium, and a new parking lot which replaced a pair of tennis courts. The soccer field was also retrofitted, replacing the natural grass with artificial turf.

[edit] Athletics

Marin Academy has developed a strong athletics program, highlighted by recent successes in boys' soccer 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 has a history of placing its athletes in Division I and III college soccer programs.^{[citation needed]} They are coached by Josh Kalkstein.

In 2006, the boys' soccer team again won the 2006 North Coast Section Championship over University High School, the team they defeated in the Bay Counties League Finals. Tied 1-1 through overtime, the game was decided by penalty kicks, in which MA won 5-4.[1] The team was also ranked as high as fourth in the country among schools of all sizes[2].

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.[3]