Who are we?

Welcome! We are the Alternative Education Department for the Marin County Office of Education. We offer alternative programs for the students and families within Marin County. Our programs include: the Marin's Community School (MCS), Phoenix Academy which operates in tandem with MCS, Oracle Independent Study and Loma Alta hosted at the Marin County Juvenile Hall. 

All our programs focus on supporting students in their academics (attendance, credits, learning loss, smaller class size, etc.) as well as focusing on their socio-emotional needs that prevents them from being successful in and out of school.  

To view our Alternative Education Page, please click here

Loma Alta is the school program at the Marin County Juvenile Hall. If you are looking for a copy of transcripts or have questions about an academic record, please contact our office at (415) 491-0581 or you can e-mail the Administrative Secretary Laura Gonzalez at lgonzalez@marinschools.org.

Please note, for any questions in regards to detainment, court date or case information regarding a youth please contact the Probation Officer assigned to them or call (415) 473-3293.

As we challenge the traditional identity of alternative education programs, we encourage referrals earlier for students who would benefit from the program we have here.

To enroll in Marin's Community School

1) Students must first register with a District (in the area you are residing)
2) Then students may be referred to our program through the District

Generally, districts refer students through the Student Attendence Review Board (SARB) or through expulsion. However, we do have students who self-refer, and many who elect to stay with us after the completion of their contracts because they value our programs. In these cases, we would work with the MCOE team as well as the home District to ensure our school is the best placement for the students. 

For the referral document, please click here (PDF) 

If you have any questions, inquiries, or concerns, please contact our office at 415-491-0581 or send us an e-mail at mcsinfo@marinschools.org.

We are excited to offer a viable alternative program for students and families who are seeking a smaller setting with a higher staff-to-student ratio, personalized learning, and increased supports so that students can be prepared for college, career, and life.

School Year: 2023 - 2024
Open Enrollment: CLICK HERE

School Year: 2024 - 2025
Open Enrollment: Will open January 2024  

Our Enrollment process is now open. Families can directly apply to enroll their student(s). If we have more applications than spaces, we will have a lottery, further described on the Intent to Enroll form.

We will open our open enrollment for the following school year 2023-2024 in January 2023. If you have any questions please contact our office at (415) 491-0581 or send an e-mail to mcsinfo@marinschools.org.

Please note:
To enroll or express interest in enrolling for the next following year - please complete the "Intent To Enroll" form that will be posted during the enrollment window in March. If there are more applications than we have room for students, we will conduct a public random drawing on March 31, 2022.