San Marin Sun - November 8, 2026

Our Mission

San Marin is committed to an environment that promotes critical thinking, a culture of support and wellness, optimal learning, and successful outcomes for all students.

Our Vision for Student Learning

At San Marin, every student is greeted by name and heard, reasons aloud with classmates through problems they cannot solve alone, drives their own thinking and revision, and leaves San Marin ready to think, contribute, and lead.

From Principal Boone

Last week I shared a mid-fall check with our staff and the PTSA Executive Board. I want every family to see it. This week's Mustang Way pillar is Goal Setting: setting a target and checking our progress. This is us checking ours, and sharing what we found with you.

We looked at four things, and one way teachers are learning from each other. What our staff learned about each other in a circle conversation, where each person gets a turn to talk and be heard. Whether every student has an adult checking in on them. How grades moved between the first and second progress reports. Where teachers are in their data cycles. And learning walks, where teachers visit each other's classes.

Here is the short version. The adults are moving. 58 of our 82 staff have now checked in with at least one student they chose to get to know better, up from 24 on Wednesday, November 4. F grades fell 13 percent. More grades are sitting at D, though, and the increase is in ninth and tenth grade. Our juniors and seniors improved. Now we know where to focus next.

If your student has a D or an F, now is the time to talk with the teacher, and to use Access (our tutorial period) and the Learning Lounge. The full numbers are in the WASC section below.

I want more families at the table. Two chances this month: the Sports Boosters meeting on Monday, November 9, at 5:00 PM, and the PTSA General Association meeting on Wednesday, November 18, at 7:00 PM, with an update on the district budget. Both meet in the Library. More participation, more voices: that is what we are building.

Also this week: the facts on the district budget, and free spring trades classes for San Marin students at the Career Technical Education (CTE) Center at Novato High.

Coming Up

Full district calendar at nusd.org →

Athletics

Seven contests this week, five of them at home. Home contests are at San Marin. Wednesday is a no-school day, and the games still run. Every team, every result, at sanmarinathletics.com →

The Mustang Way

What is one goal you want to reach by winter break? In October, a freshman teacher nominated a student for the Goal Setting award because he "has clearly stated his goal of doing well in this class, and he is completely following through." That is Goal Setting: say the goal out loud, then check it. Progress grades are in Aeries now. That is a good place to start the conversation at home.

WASC Self-Study

1 · Meeting in circles: what our staff learned about each other

On October 29, our staff sat in circles, the same way more and more of our teachers now ask students to. In a circle, everyone gets a turn to speak and be heard. That is the first promise of our Vision for Student Learning, and we practiced it as adults first. Each person talked about the adults they remember from high school. They remembered the adults who cared, not what those adults taught: knowing names, an open room at lunch, asking about life outside school, noticing when a student drifted. Some staff had no one, and several said they became educators to be that person. The work is small and daily: names at the door, two-minute check-ins, following up.

2 · Every student, an adult checking in

After the circles, every staff member chose one or two students to get to know better and set a goal: a first one-on-one check-in by Friday, November 6. Staff log each check-in in a shared tracker, so we can see who has been reached and who has not.

Most check-ins were one-on-one or a short conversation in class. Others happened at lunch or before and after school.

3 · How grades moved

We track every student with one or more D or F grades. We call this group Back on Track (a working name). Here is how the first two progress reports compare.

By subject. Math and science carry the most D and F grades. At progress report 2, at least 221 of the 767 were in math classes and at least 152 in science classes. English rose the most in ninth and tenth grade, which matches the grade-level increase.

Fewer grades are at F, and more are at D. More students now carry three or more. Ninth and tenth grade drove the increase, and staff named ninth grade as the hardest year for belonging in our circles too. What we are doing: our Freshman Support Team; Back on Track follow-up that assigns students to Access and the Learning Lounge; individual staff members assigned to support students in math and science; new peer tutors in math and science at the Thursday Learning Lounge; and our COST team (the staff team that coordinates student support) meeting every week.

4 · Teachers checking their own progress

Every teacher runs a data cycle this year. Each teacher picks one thing to improve for their students, tied to our schoolwide work on student engagement: which students it is for, why it matters, and what they will try. They set a goal they can measure, then collect three sets of data across the year to see whether it is working, and adjust. In May, teachers present what they learned to each other. It is Goal Setting for adults. At our October 27 check, 42 of 71 teachers (59 percent) had a finished goal, and 8 (11 percent) had collected their first set of data. Next, every teacher collects that first data set before Thanksgiving break.

5 · Learning walks: teachers learning from each other

Learning walks are one example of how our teachers learn from each other. Small teams of teachers from different departments visit classes together. They record what they see and hear: what students are doing and saying, and what the teacher is doing and saying. Then they share what they noticed with their colleagues. The goal of this peer-based professional development is to support each teacher's data cycle and raise student engagement in every classroom.

Sources: San Marin staff circles, October 29, 2026; Mustang Connections check-in tracker, November 6, 2026; progress report 1 and 2 grade reports, 2026-27; San Marin data cycle tracker, October 27, 2026.

District Budget: The Facts

What the Board may consider: libraries, counseling and wellness staff, electives and class options (including 6th and 7th periods for juniors and seniors), and signature programs, including Marin School of the Arts, STEM Marin, and Dual Immersion.

Board meetings on the budget

Meetings are at the NUSD Office, 1015 7th St., open to the public, with time for public comment. You can also watch live on the NUSD YouTube channel. On November 3, Trustee Abbey Picus (Area 4) was re-elected to the Board. Diane Gasson (Area 5) and Theresa Rogoff (Area 6) ran unopposed. All three will be sworn in at the December 15 meeting.

Overview in English → En español → NUSD financial update → Watch live →

Spring Trades Classes

Apply: Building Trades A or B → Apply: CAPP → Apply: Construction Corps →

STEM Marin

Mark your calendar

Math and science tutoring. Peer tutors are at the Thursday Learning Lounge, 4:00 to 5:00 PM in the Library, for any math or science class. Science support is also there on Tuesdays. Physics is where students need the most help right now. Students who want science help, or want to become a peer tutor, can use the form.
Science tutoring form →

Eighth grade applications. Eighth graders at charter schools, private schools, and schools outside NUSD must schedule an appointment to apply. Schedule →

The October STEM Marin newsletter features the October STEM Students of the Month.
Read the newsletter →
Subscribe to the newsletter →

San Marin Performing Arts

This week

🎵 Music🎭 Theater💡 Technical Arts

Parent and Family Education

Register for Let's Talk → County events calendar →

Counseling and College

Every week

Around Campus

Five home contests this week, all basketball. Girls JV and varsity host Sonoma Valley on Wednesday at 1:00 PM and 2:30 PM. Boys freshman, varsity and JV host Albany on Saturday, starting at 9:30 AM. Come out to the gym.

Go Mustangs. Go Green & Gold. 🐴