Tamalpais High school was awarded the Gold Ribbon award by the California Department of Education (CDE) on April 18. “The [award] seeks to recognize outstanding educational programs and practices,” according to the CDE.

According to Principal JC Farr, Tam received this award because of its core Program, which pairs students with the same English and History teachers for their freshmen and sophomore years.

Marin County Superintendent Mary Jane Burke sent out a letter congratulating the Tam community on the award. Among listing other achievements Burke wrote, “While many in education today talk about the “achievement gap” that exists among students for a variety of reasons, at Tamalpais High School there is a CORE Program through which your has committed to close the achievement gap between many students of color, special education students and the general population.”

Farr hopes to further individualize the core Program, which he believes will help continue to close the achievement gap.  According to Farr, teachers will review their student’s understanding of the subject matter so that if a student isn’t testing proficiently on a topic, teachers will be able to re-teach it. “If we are doing this work correctly… then students who are not reaching the standard… get additional support,” Farr said.