Ring Mountain Day School

My daughter transferred to Ring Mountain last year and she is like a different child — she went from a kid who never wanted to go to school to one who can’t wait to get out the door in the morning. She is happy, confident and thriving. This is the dream school for us. The head of school, Sarah Flowers, is excellent and makes sure that all kids get what they each need individually. Ring Mountain is a school where kids are challenged, engaged, heard, and nurtured. I love this school!

Our son started at RMDS in Kindergarten and is now in first grade. Not only is he thriving academically, but he loves his teacher and school. The small class sizes ensure that each student gets the attention they need. The head of school, Sarah Flowers, is a superb administrator and also approachable and loved by the children. If our son is having a difficult day, he can take a break to go and talk with Ms. Flowers, groom Gulliver, the Flemish Giant bunny and get re-​centered before going back to class. I love the academics and environment in which my son is enveloped each day.
Yes, it is expensive to send a child to a private school, but it is so worth it. If he were in public school, not only would his class sizes be at least twice or three times his current class size, but he would not receive such a well-​rounded education either. Here he gets Math, Reading, Writing, Science but also Spanish, Music, Art, Drama, PE and more. The programs that public schools have to cut for budgetary reasons? They’re here and enriching the lives of these students.
Last week I learned that every one of this year’s 8^th grade class were accepted in to their first choice high schools, and often were accepted in to their alternates as well. If that isn’t a mark of academic success, I don’t know what is. It only bolsters my love and confidence for this school.

We have been at RMDS for 7 years with three children who have each had very different educational needs and interests. The new head of school is terrific. She is engaged with students, parents and the faculty. The children adore her. There is a an overall nurturing and accepting feeling on the campus. The faculty is committed and creative. The education has been phenomenal. My two sons have graduated and gone on to very desirable high school programs where they have excelled. My current eighth grader continues to thrive. The discussion based curriculum in middle school is a much needed compliment to the technological focus of our times. These kids can analyze text, form opinions of their own backed up with facts from class and express themselves articulately in a group. These are amazing skills that help them stand out in high school (and college) classes. The technology is all there too, along with an art and drama program, music, a science lab and animals (really) of all kinds.

My son has attended Kindergarten at Ring Mountain. He was attending Pre K last year in another well known private school in Marin. We chose Ring Mountain because of small class size and individual attention that the students get.
Within the first month my son told me“mom, I can pay attention and hear the teacher here”(his former private school had large classrooms with three teachers, which made it somewhat chaotic).
My son has blossomed academically ever since starting here. He’s above grade level in math and reading/​writing. His Spanish skills have improved tremendously. Within the first few months he had learned many Spanish words and could count to 30 in Spanish. Contrast that to the previous school where he had only learned to say Hola after a full year of Spanish classes. Their Spanish teacher is amazing. But so is the kindergarten teacher, PE teacher, music teacher, art teacher and any other teacher that he has had.
The Teachers and staff are caring. Everyone knows everyone by name and as a student you never get lost.
My son had a minor issue with one of his class mates and the whole situation was handled far beyond my expectation. Now both the class mate and my son can play and have resolved their differences. The school helped my son to find ways to resolve daily issues and gave him the courage to be more assertive.
The school went through a recent change of head. Having experience with a few private schools, I know that some parents are constantly looking for the next bigger and better school, but if you just slow down to observe the great things about this place, you realize there is no need to go anywhere else. In addition to everything else that’s great about this school, their record for high school placement is amazing and their middle school is even better than elementary from what I hear from the parents.
Here is a school where your child can completely be himself/​herself and thrive both academically and emotionally.
The new interim head, Sarah Flowers, is amazing and if anything will make this school an even greater place for the students.
Ring Mountain must be the best kept secret in Marin.

The reviewer who gave this school 1 star is probably an unhappy person. She didn’t see the outstanding gift that RMDS is giving to the students who attend this charming school. We live in SF and choose RMDS because of the small classroom size and the amazing outdoor space that you can’t get in the city. We didn’t want our child to get lost in school with 28 other kids in a class and one teacher. He has flourished and grown into a student who wants to learn and is excited every day to go to school.
Many schools are so quick to label a child or put a child into a box. RMDS believes that every child has amazing potential.

This is a quite an expensive school for a very average education. In addition, there is a quite a bit of bullying, high teacher turnover, and a decent number of children who depart each year. Not recommended.

We love RMDS! It is a wonderful school and the staff and administartion is supportive and caring. It has changed our lives in such a positive way. Fabulous school in all ways.

With all of the wonderful options of schools that we have in Mill Valley, I would think very strongly before choosing an expensive private school such as RMDS. When I enrolled my child at RMDS, I believed that because of the small size that he and my family would receive individualized attention. This has proved to be far from the case. In fact, my child is struggling academically and in addition to tuition, I have to pay tutors! The school administration is completely unresponsive to the needs of parents and is unprofessionally run. It has been a terrible experience.