School Profile
San Rafael High School, located eighteen miles north of San Francisco is one of two comprehensive ninth through twelfth grade high schools in San Rafael. The high school, established in 1888, is now in its 129th year. The school serves the most economically, ethnically and culturally diverse population in Marin County. The school campus in its current location since 1925, occupies thirty-three acres in central San Rafael. Just north of San Francisco, San Rafael serves as the economic and cultural center of Marin County and offers both a small-town atmosphere and a lively urban environment. The city of almost 58,000 people boasts a hub of high-tech corporations including Autodesk, Fair Isaac, and a variety of financial, service oriented, light industrial and entertainment businesses.
The majority of students enter San Rafael in the ninth grade matriculating from Davidson Middle School, the largest sixth through eighth grade middle school in San Rafael. We also receive students from Venetia Valley K-8 School and from local private schools. This is due to an open enrollment policy in the San Rafael High School District that allows students from anywhere to choose either of the two high schools in the district. Our students represent the surrounding community, which reflects a dichotomy between affluent highly educated professionals and a significant number of recent immigrants from Latin America.
We are a culturally diverse student body. Our students speak over 20 languages with Spanish as the most common language spoken other than English. Our cosmopolitan environment greatly enriches the life experience of all our students and school pride is strong. The 2010 United States Census reported that the City of San Rafael had a population of 57,713. The racial makeup of the City is predominantly White (40,734 or 70.5%) and Hispanic (17,302 or 30%). Other racial groups include: 1,154 African Americans, 709 Native Americans, 3,513 Asians, 126 Pacific Islanders, and 8,513 from other races, and 2,964 from two or more races. In comparison to the City, San Rafael High School’s ethnic population is predominantly Latino (66%) in relation to the White community (27%) and has continued to grow over the past decade.
