Tamalpais Union High School District was founded in 1907, to serve students from the Mill Valley Elementary and Sausalito Elementary School Districts who had previously commuted to San Rafael to continue their education. Tamalpais Union High School held its first classes with 70 students in 1908, in tent-like structures.[4][5][6] Ernest E. Wood took the lead in founding the District and was the first principal.[7] In its second year, there were six teachers, 100 students, and 300 volumes in the school library.[8] By the 1913–1914 school year, enrollment had increased to 175, with eight faculty; the library holdings had grown to 650 books plus subscriptions to eight magazines and two newspapers.[9]
Known in its early years as Tamalpais Polytechnic High School, Tam was a comprehensive high school from its beginning, with a curriculum that included both academic subjects and technical training. In an interview with the local newspaper the year before he died, Principal Wood said, "I believe the students learned by doing things. I believe in the philosophy of students getting in and doing work and accomplishing things."[4] Architecture students designed the first building on campus, and students built several structures there over the years.
For a while, theNorthwestern Pacific Railroad ran what they called the "School Special, a special 5-car train running fromManor to Tamalpais High School viaAlmonte. 2 of the cars on the school special were separated by gender - 1 boys-only car and 1 girls-only car.[10]
On February 27, 1967, after a year of increased racial tension and disturbances, regular classes were canceled for "Breakthrough Day," a student-initiated teach-in on race relations. All students and faculty met in Mead Theater and then broke out into discussion groups around campus. The event was widely covered by local and national media.[11]
In 1981, Antenna Theater premiered Chris Hardman'sHigh School at Tam during the fourth Bay Area Playwrights Festival. The work introduced Hardman'sperformance art concept, "Walkmanology," with SonyWalkmans providing the narration to audience members as they walked the Tam campus observing the story.[12] In 1982, Antenna presented thePink Prom at Tam. In this play, unrehearsed student actors wore the Walkmans, which provided their stage direction, while the audience interacted with the actors and each other.[13] Antenna Theater later spun off its Walkmanology concept to Antenna Audio, which has become a leading international producer of audio tours for museums and other attractions.
In the 1989–1990 school year, members of the student body petitioned to formally remove the school's original mascot "Indians" at the interdiction ofSacheen Littlefeather, apretendian Marin County resident and activist for Native American causes. The original mascot had been chosen to recognize the area's indigenous inhabitants, theMiwoks, and was represented by illustrations (both dignified and caricature), costumed performers, and, beginning in the 1960s, a wooden sculpture named Charlie.[14][15] Sports teams were identified only as "Tam" for the fall and winter seasons of that school year. A schoolwide contest was held, and theRed Tailed Hawks was chosen as the winner, beating out other entries such asMountaineers andLocomotives. The Red Tailed Hawk logo and mascot was adopted beginning in the 1990–1991 school year. Tam High was one of the first American institutions to remove a "politically incorrect" Native American moniker.[5][a]
On May 9, 1990, following the death of history teacher Charles Smith due to complications from AIDS, Principal Barbara Galyen announced that students had persuaded the administration to allow the school nurse to distribute free condoms. Tam would have been the first high school in California to dispense prophylactics without parent approval,[16] were it not for the immediate uproar. The controversial plan was objected to by several parents, as well as San Francisco ArchbishopJohn R. Quinn, all calling for it to be rescinded.[17] The following week, after the parents of one student threatened to sue, the district postponed the program indefinitely.[18] In June, Sausalito pharmacist Fred Mayer, originator of "Condom Week" in 1979, announced that he would give free condoms to high school students that summer.[19] Despite the program being deferred, a suit was filed in June. On August 1, the Marin County Superior Court denied the request for an injunction, since the district had not approved the program.[20] About 1990, Tam initiated the Condom Availability Program, which provides free condoms to students who have received parental permission and completed a training session.[21]
In 1997, Tam sophomore Ari Hoffman won a Marin County science fair, showing that fruit flies exposed to different doses of radiation had increased mutation rates and reduced fertility in proportion to the dose. He was subsequently disqualified from the Bay Area Science Fair when officials ruled that his experiment, which resulted in the premature death of 35 of the 200drosophila, had violated rules on the use of live animals.[22] After widespread news coverage, Hoffman was contacted byNobel laureateEdward B. Lewis, ageneticist who had begun his own work with fruit flies while in high school. Lewis congratulated Hoffman for his work and sent him a check.[23] The science fair prize was reinstated. (As of 2009, after graduating fromStanford University and completing classwork at theUniversity of California San Francisco Medical School, Hoffman is a predoctoral fellow in bioethics in theClinical Research Training Program at the intramural campus of theNational Institutes of Health inBethesda, Maryland.[24][25])
Parents of four African-American students from Tam filed a class-action lawsuit against the Novato Unified School District and administrators atSan Marin High School over racial slurs made by San Marin students at a basketball game in 1998, charging that a "climate of intolerance" was allowed at San Marin. TheMarin County Athletic League put San Marin on probation for a year because of racial insensitivity.[26][27][28][29]
In 2001, students from Tam and other high schools in the TUHSD formed Marin Students for Liberating Education to discuss the number of prerequisite classes and level of testing.[30] Large numbers of grade 9, 10, and 11 students at Tam andDrake High School boycotted the Stanford-9 achievement tests required by the State'sSTAR Program after their parents signed waivers. The boycott had been endorsed by school board member Richard Raznikov. Since more than 10% of the students missed the test (22% at Tam and 35% at Drake), the two schools were not givenAcademic Performance Index (API) rankings, making the schools ineligible for the funds distributed by the State to high-scoring schools. (The three comprehensive high schools in the District, Tam, Drake, andRedwood, received approximately $750,000 in 2000, including individual $1000 scholarships awarded to 339 high-scoring students).[31] Raznikov resigned from the board of trustees in 2002, citing the testing controversy among the reasons.[32]
Tam was the subject of local controversy during the 2004–2005 school year when several anti-gay crimes, targeting a 17-year-old female student wrestler, received coverage in theAssociated Press and the local newspapers.[33] When the police investigation suggested the "crimes" were staged, they confronted the "victim" with the evidence causing the student to confess to the hoax. Subsequent coverage of the hoax received even greater attention in the media and blogosphere.[34][35][36][37]
On January 4, 2006, the former president of Tam's Associated Student Body, Nima Shaterian, took his own life.[38] A citywide memorial was held in Mill Valley.[39] In January 2007, junior Clive Barry also committed suicide.[40]
In May 2006, controversy over use of a rifle in a physics class demonstration received national coverage. Teacher David Lapp, a military veteran and avid hunter, had fired hisM1 carbine into a wooden block in his physics classes almost every year since 1992 to allow his students to calculate themuzzle velocity of the bullet based on conservation of momentum. After an anonymous complaint from a parent, local police and the district attorney investigated, found no illegality and dropped the case. The experiment had been authorized by the school administration, but the administration responded to pressure by banning the experiment.[41][42]
In August 2006, physical education teacher and tennis coach Norm Burgos was arrested and charged with sexual battery against a former member of the boys tennis team. The player had been 16 years old in 2002 or 2003, when the alleged event occurred. Burgos pleaded innocent and has received public support from players and their families. Burgos was charged in July 2008 with similar behavior with two other boys. On October 7, 2008, after Burgos had been on unpaid suspension for two years, theTamalpais Union High School District board of trustees voted to terminate him. In 2011, the jury voted 8–4 to convict Burgos on felony charges in the Superior Court of Marin County. He was later arrested and sentenced to prison.[43][44][45][46]
Misbehavior by parents ofSan Marin High School basketball players on February 2, 2008, in two games with Tam teams led to drafting of the first code-of-conduct contracts for parents of athletes at a Marin County school. Following a girls junior varsity game at Tam, the mother of a San Marin player followed two referees, shouting obscene insults; later, at San Marin, two parents of San Marin players confronted Tam's coach after he made a gesture indicating that the home team had "choked." Novato police were called and the parents were later asked not to attend the remaining games of the season. Tam Principal Chris Holleran said that the coach's behavior was inappropriate, but declined to discuss possible disciplinary action.[28]
The firings of three nontenured math teachers in February 2014 sparked bitter divisions between administrators, teachers, students, and parents. Under state law, administrators may dismiss nontenured teachers without due process; despite several petitions and protests, TUHSD's board of trustees voted to uphold the dismissals in a public forum held March 12, 2014.[47] Critics of the firings alleged that they were politically motivated actions against the Tam math department, which had questioned district instructional policies and had not cooperated with administrators' attempts to introduce a controversial, highly costly instructional program.[48]
On November 30, 2022, a bomb threat was targeted towards the school, prompting evacuation during the first period of the day.
On December 10, 2024, another bomb threat was targeted towards the school, also prompting evacuation. A student took photos of the event and posted them on social media, under the username ambum.stone, falsely labelling the event as a walkout for alleged CEO assassin,Luigi Mangione. These posts went viral on TikTok and Twitter, until they were taken down for community guidelines violations after the US TikTok ban in January.
In 1996, Principal Frank Gold and a group of parents formed the nonprofit Tam High Foundation to raise funds for support of the school. The Foundation raised $60,000 its first year, increasing annual funding to $360,000 by 2007–2008. The foundation awards academic grants of up to $10,000 to teachers and administrators.[49]
Tam's first 100 years, 1908 to 2008, were widely recognized in local media. The Tam Centennial Committee, which included the principal, alumni, parents, retired faculty, and others, began meeting in 2006. The centennial celebration began with kickoff events on Homecoming Weekend in September 2007. Several events were scheduled for the year, including a Tam Oral History Project, a centennial documentary, and a celebration over the 2008 Memorial Day weekend.[4]
Initially consisting of only a couple of tents on a shore front campus that allowed students to take their boats to school, the Tamalpais campus was fully developed over the years, but has seen its share of wear and tear. Following a 2004 bond measure, the campus underwent renovations to some of its nearly century-old buildings. The oldest building, Wood Hall, reopened in late August 2005.[citation needed] Wood Hall houses the school's administrative offices.[50]
The 2005–2006 academic year was delayed by five days when unhealthy levels of mold were discovered in the walls of Keyser Hall. The building was closed, and portable classrooms were used instead of Keyser's 17 classrooms. The mold grew due torunoff from the hillside the building was situated on. Keyser Hall was demolished during the summer of 2006; a state-of-the-art replacement structure, also named Keyser Hall, was opened in January 2009.School administrators are consulting with architects about the construction of a handicapped elevator in front of the school's most recognizable building, Wood Hall. Architects unveiled a plan for a four-story elevator tower in front of the school's signature archway, complete with a bridge to take handicapped students into the building. Staff were shocked at the drastic proposal, which would be costly and would have an extensive impact on many of the campus' most well-known architectural features. An elevator of some sort may be necessary to comply withhandicapped accessibility laws. Administrators have formed a committee to look into alternative ways to provide that accessibility.
Red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)—since 1991, the sports teams have been called the Red Tailed Hawks or, more simply, the HawksStudents work out on the track and field of Tamalpais High School, October 2004
Through the 1940s and early 1950s, Tam played against NBL teams fromHealdsburg, Napa, San Rafael, Santa Rosa, and Vallejo; non-league opponents includedAnaly andPetaluma. In the 1950s,Drake andMarin Catholic joined the League.[57][58]
Track, Boys – NCS Redwood Empire Champions, 2006; Redwood Empire Division III Champions, 1971[72]
Water Polo, Boys – North Coast Section Champions, 1994, 2016[73]
Water Polo, Girls – North Coast Section Champions, 2018, 2019; NorCal Champions 2019[74]
Three Tam teams have won NCS Scholastic Championships for the highest team Grade Point Average—the Girls Cross Country Team in 1991, with a GPA of 3.58, the Boys Swimming and Diving Team in 1998, with a 3.49 GPA, and the 2008 Softball team, which took first in the Class 2A Redwood Empire, at 3.46. In Spring 2008, the Boys Golf team took third in the NCS, with a 3.57 GPA.[75][76]
Five Tam coaches have been recognized as Honor Coaches at the North Coast Section: Bruce Grant (girls track, 1982); Janis Villasenor Wood (girls track, 1985); Beth Juri (boys volleyball, 1997); and Don Smith (softball, 2003). Ed Chavez, long-time basketball coach at Tam, was named Honor Coach while coaching tennis atBranson after retiring from the Tam District.[77]
In 2009 Tam hired former Redwood High School pitcher Mike Terry to take over the program. After missing the playoffs in 2009 and 2010 the Hawks made it as the last seed and went out in the first round of the MCAL playoffs. In 2014 Scott Osder took over the program coming from Southern California. He brought Tamalpias High to its first NCS Championship in 85 years.[78]
Junior Dan Milechman won the 2009 State Division IV Championship, covering the 3.1-mile course in 15:37.[82] Milechman was NCS Division IV Individual Champion in 2008 and 2009.[63]
Although Tam has never won avarsityfootball championship at the section level, which NCS held from 1919 to 1930 and from 1975 to present,[83] the Fall 1966 Tamalpais Indians team set records at the league, state, and national levels. In its second year under coachWillie Hector, 1957 graduate of Tam and formerNFL player, the 1966 Indians had a 4–1–1 record in the MCAL and 6–2–1 overall. After sophomore quarterback Donny Mackin broke his wrist in the opening league game, he was replaced by senior Steve Woodward, in his only season playing MCAL football. In his first game as starting quarterback, againstNovato High School, Woodward set the state record for passing, at 546 yards (499 m), while split-end Mike Biber set the league record with 19 receptions.[84][85][86] Woodward's passing record stood for 21 years, until a Southern California quarterback passed for 562 yards (514 m) in 1987.[87] Tam's total offense of 821 yards (751 m) in the Novato game set the state record and was the second-highest ever recorded in the nation. Tam's state record only stood for one year, until tinyHappy Camp High School gained 912 yards (834 m) against the even smallerMcCloud High School.
Fifty years later, following the 2016 season, Tam's big day ranked fifth in California and is tied for twelfth in the nation.[88]
Since the current brackets were established in 2008, Tam's varsity football team has competed in Division III and has qualified for NCS playoffs seven times with the following results: lost 35–14 toBishop O'Dowd High School in the first round in 2008;[89] defeatedEl Cerrito High School 33–13 in their first round in 2009, and lost toAlhambra High School of Martinez in the second round 34–13;[90] lost 40–21 toEncinal High School in the first round in 2011;[91] lost 35–7 to Encinal High School in the first round in 2012;[92] lost 64–8 in the first round in 2013 to the eventual Champion,El Cerrito High School;[93] lost 50–6 in the first round in 2014 to the eventual runner-up,Marin Catholic High School;[94] and lost 55–7 toAnaly High School in the first round in 2016.[95]
In addition to the NCS championships won by the boys team in 2000 and the girls team in 2008. The boys team won MCALS in 2010, and proceeded to win NCS in 2012, beating 1st seeded Maria Carillo in the championship game. They finished the season with a record of 20–3–3.[citation needed]
The 1999 boys varsity was the MCAL champion, finishing the season 14–0, the first undefeated season in the team's history. The boys varsity team also won the MCAL title in 2007 and 2011.[96]
On October 23, 2008, the girls varsity tennis team won the 2008 MCAL championship for the first time in nine years, beatingMarin Catholic 6–3 in the finals. The team was 16-6 for the season; it beatRedwood in the semifinals 5–4.[97]
On November 15, 2008, Tam was upset by the Marin Catholic Wildcats 5–2 in the NCS Division II finals.[98]
Two Tam milers have taken first place in California State Track Meets. In 1936, Simon Scott won in 4:31.2; in 1976, the mile was won by Linda Broderick in 4:56.8.[99]
Anne Campbell, North Coast Section Champion, 2004 and 2005,[100][101] 2004 State Heavyweight Champion (non-CIF);[102] Kelley Charlton, 2008 North Coast Section Champion, 2009 Northern California Regional Tournament Champion (154 lbs)[103][104]
The Tam High Mountain Bike Team is one of 35 high school teams in the NorCal High School Mountain Bike Racing League (non-CIF). Tam finished third in Division II in 2007[105] and 8th in 2008.[106]
The Tam High Sailing Team, is a dinghy sailing team based out of the Sausalito Yacht Club. The team competes in the local NorCal regattas, the Bay's series regattas, and the P.C.C's (Pacific coast championships). The team sailsCFJ's,C420's, andlaser dinghy's.
Tamalpais High School'sMock Trial team won the 2005National High School Mock Trial Championship, held inCharlotte, North Carolina.[107][108][109] Tam had defeatedRedlands East Valley High School ofSan Bernardino County to win the state championship. In Charlotte, competing against 44 other schools, Tam won all five rounds of the tournament, beating the previously undefeated team fromKauai High School in the finals. The members of the national championship team were Sandra Allen, Mackenzie Amara, Jason Finkelstein, Jessie Kavanagh, Courtney Khademi, Natalie Robinson, Kelly Stout, and Max Wertheimer. Outstanding Performance Awards went to Allen as attorney, and Finkelstein and Stout as witnesses.[110] Marin County defense attorney David M. Vogelstein, coach of the team since 1997, won the Advocate of the Year Award in 2005 from the Constitutional Rights Foundation.[111]
Tam won the State championship again in 2009, and took second place in 1998 and 2007 and third place in 2008.[108] As of 2014[update], the mock trial team has won the Marin County championship 19 years in a row.[112][113]
On February 7, 2009, Tam won its fourteenth consecutive Marin County Championship, with captainsIndiAna Gowland and Frank Alarcon winning as outstanding prosecution attorney.[114] Tam went on to win its second State Championship on March 22, in Riverside, beating the 2007 champions,Elk Grove High School. At State, Junior Ben Harris won the best constitutional advocate award for his role as pre-trial defense lawyer. At the May 2009 National Mock Trial Competition in Atlanta, Georgia, Tam ranked 6th in the nation.[115] Tam extended its streak to 15 Marin County Championships on February 6, 2010, advancing to the California Mock Trial Tournament, held March 19–21 in San Jose.[116] Tam finished in sixth place, with Junior Amanda Weinberg receiving a Special Commendation as Outstanding Prosecution Witness.[117] On February 5, 2011, Tam won its 16th consecutive Marin County mock trail championship. They competed in the California state finals inRiverside on March 25–27, securing a fourth-place finish. Sophomore Anna Lipman received a Special Commendation as Outstanding Defense Witness.[118][119][120] On February 4, 2012, Tam won its 17th consecutive county title, besting Terra Linda High School—its championship round rival for five years running—by one point. The team will go on to the State Competition in Sacramento on March 23–25.[121] The winning ways continued on February 2, 2013, when Tam High claimed its 18th consecutive Marin County Championship, this time with a victory over a team from Novato High School.[122]
Vogelstein retired from his role as lead coach in 2018. He was honored by the Marin County Board of Education for 20 years of coaching the Mock Trial team. During his tenure, the team extended its winning steak for the county title to 23 consecutive years, and won three state championships and one national championship.[123]
Tam High is the original home of the Conservatory Theatre Ensemble (CTE, formerly Ensemble Theater Company), formed by former student (Tam/Drake Class of 1952) and teacherDaniel Caldwell, notable alumni of which includeKathleen Quinlan,Tupac Shakur,Beth Behrs,Bridgit Mendler, andCourtney Thorne-Smith. ETC expanded its presence to include Redwood High School and Drake High School in the mid-1980s. The Daniel Caldwell Performing Arts Center a new facility features a new 10,000-square-foot (930 m2) multi-use theatre building as well as significant upgrades and renovations to Ruby Scott Auditorium. The center was completed in 2006. The theatre is regionally known for its Fall & SpringOne Act festival where students both act in and direct short plays.[124] The program receives grants to host guest artists to direct and produce shows.[125]
Tam High's Global Studies program has sent students toOrthez, France;Saint-Jean-de-Luz, France;Málaga, Spain; London; Pamplona, Spain; Cuba; Ireland, Italy, Vietnam, and Hungary. In 2000 theTam News received a license from the Treasury Department to travel toHavana, Cuba and produced their first color magazine issue. The following year, 2001, musicians, artists, and dancers from the school visited Havana's art high schools and spent time creating art together with the Cuban students.[citation needed] In 2013, thebaseball andsoftball teams received permission to travel to Havana, Cuba to each play a three-game series against Cuban teams. Throughout the trip, the teams traveled the country and experienced many unique cultural opportunities includingFestival Internacional del Cine Pobre. The boys finished with a 2–1 record and the girls swept with a 3–0 record.[citation needed]
The school's newspaper, theTamalpais News has won awards from theNational Scholastic Press Association and theColumbia Scholastic Press Association.[126]News staff won individual awards for Story of the Year from the NSPA in 1998 (2nd for features); 2009 (3rd Diversity); 2011 (5th News Story); 2013 (2nd Feature, 4th Diversity); and 2014 (1st Editorial/Opinion, 2nd Feature). The 2014 First place was awarded to the Staff for "All Quiet on the District Front"; the Second place was won by Isaac Cohen for "Undocumented: Navigating Life Without Citizenship."[127] The paper introduced a website in 2006, tamnews.org, which was a finalist for the NSPA Online Pacemaker in 2007 and 2014.[128]
In 2006, for the first time since the award was established in 1983, CSPA presented theNews one of 37 Silver Crown Awards.[129]
Tam News staff won ten individual and staff Gold Circle Awards and Certificates of Merit from the CSPA in 2001, with 17 total since 1984. In 2014, CPSA recognized four members of theNews, with Cassie Jeong winning two awards for Hand-drawn Art/Illustration: 1st place for "Startup Weekend Adventures" and 3rd for "Zine Fest." The Staff received the 3rd-place award in Editorial writing for "All Quiet on the District Front"; Isaac Cohen received a Certificate of Merit in the In-depth news/feature story category for "Undocumented."[127] Previous Gold Circle Award winners follow:[130]
1997 Single Spot News Photograph (Tabloid), 2nd, Shannon McGuire, "Mill Valley fire fighters..."
2001 Feature Photo (Single), 2nd, Sarah Wagner, "Bring Elian Home-Salremos A Alian"
Overall Design, 2nd, Sarah Wagner, Noah Flower, And the staff, "Tam News From Havana"
Title & Content Page, 2nd, Noah Flower, Sarah Wagner, "Inside"
Personality Profile, 3rd, Melissa Simon, "Into The Unknown"
TheNews has experimented with different formats, including a news magazine calledTHAT Magazine from 2003 to 2005.[131] The staff adviser since 2006, Jonah Steinhart, was a partner in two Silicon Valley startups and was Editor-in-Chief of theCampanile when he was atPalo Alto High School.[132][133]
In 2019, former tennis coach Normandie Burgos was convicted on 60 counts ofchild molestation, including forciblesodomy andlewd conduct upon minors, after a victim recorded him admitting to sexual acts with minors.The specific accusations against him included inappropriate touching of students during body fat tests, giving unsolicited and inappropriate massages, andsexually assaulting students in his office and the school's locker room. He is currently serving a 255-year prison sentence. His conviction followed a mistrial in 2010 due to a deadlocked jury. The case gained further notoriety when aMarin County jury found theTamalpais Union High School District liable for failing to protect students from Burgos, leading to a settlement of $17.5 million to four former students who alleged abuse during their time at the school.[134][135][136]
The settlement included $11.5 million awarded to Alexander Harrison, who reported the abuse in 2006 but faced disbelief from peers and a mistrial in an earlier lawsuit against the district. His experience, along with those of other victims, highlighted systemic failures within the school district, where administrators allegedly ignored clear signs of misconduct. One victim testified that an administrator witnessed an assault but chose to make a joke instead of intervening.[135][137][138]
Tamalpais High School was a recipient of theCalifornia Distinguished School Award in 1999, 2005, and 2009.[139] The school has been ranked in the top five percent of American high schools since 2005, based on a system devised by Dave Matthews of theWashington Post and reported byNewsweek. Tam ranked the highest of all Marin County high schools each year, at 428 in 2005, 425 in 2006, 410 in 2007, and 979 in 2008.[140]
The people listed here graduated from or attended Tam. The year shown is the year of graduation for the class that they entered with, unless they are known to have graduated with or identify with a different class.
Adam Steltzner 1981‡ – NASA engineer at JPL; phase lead and development manager for EDL (Entry, Descent and Landing) ofCuriosity rover lander, which successfully landed on Mars on August 5, 2012[159][160]
* Alumni listed in the 2002 Alumni Directory, address unconfirmed † Alumni listed as "reported deceased" in the 2002 Alumni Directory ‡ Alumni listed in the Biographical Section of the 2002 Alumni Directory
David Crosby's song, "Tamalpais High (At About 3)", refers to when Tam classes end for the day, and was conceived while the musician passed the school on the way to recording sessions in neighboringSausalito, reportedly atThe Plant Studios. It was recorded in February 1971 (though The Plant Studios is said to have opened in 1972). David Crosby – guitar, vocals;Jerry Garcia – guitar;Jorma Kaukonen – guitar;Phil Lesh – bass;Bill Kreutzmann – drums[170]
The cover photograph for the 1986 albumFore! byHuey Lewis and the News was taken at Tam High.[171] Three members of the band - Bill Gibson, Sean Hopper, and Mario Cipollina - had previously attended the school
A Time for Dancing, (Davida Wills Hurwin, 1995, Little Brown & Co,ISBN0-316-38351-1) is set partly in Mill Valley and at Tam, which Julianna and Samantha, the main characters, attend; the movie based on the book was shot in 2000, with limited distribution in Europe, and was released in the United States in 2004[172][173]
^Zugnoni, John; Spalding, John."NCS Team Champions, Baseball".NCS Baseball. North Coast Section, CIF. Archived fromthe original on June 1, 2009. RetrievedNovember 30, 2010.
^"NSPA contests & critiques".studentpress.org/nspa. National Scholastic Press Association. Archived fromthe original on February 21, 2015. RetrievedFebruary 17, 2015.
^Carla Ehat & Anne Kent, "Interview with Roger Kent", February 15, 1978, Marin County Free Library, accessed June 8, 2008; Kent had a low opinion of Tam, saying "... I went from there to the Friends School, which was a Quaker School and a very good school. I was in the seventh grade there when the family moved out here [in 1919] and I went right from here to first year in Tamalpais High School, which was a very poor high school at that time.... I guess it was probably symptomatic of public education throughout California at that time. The standards were very, very low."
^Although the hawk mascot is most commonly referred to as theRed-tailed Hawk orred-tailed hawk, with a hyphen, the mascot is styled asRed Tailed Hawk, using three capitalized words with no hyphen, by both the student newspaper and the alumni association.
