- Tamalpais High School (nicknamed Tam) is a public secondary school located in Mill Valley, California. It is named after nearby Mount Tamalpais, which rises more than 2500 feet above Mill Valley.
- Tamalpais High School is a part of the Tamalpais Union High School District. The school serves the cities of Mill Valley and Sausalito, the nearby unincorporated areas of Marin City, Strawberry and Tamalpais-Homestead Valley, and the West Marin communities of Muir Beach, Bolinas and Stinson Beach. Mill Valley School District is the largest feeder for Tam, followed by the Sausalito Marin City School District and the Bolinas-Stinson Union School District.
- History: Tamalpais High School was founded in 1908 by Mr. E. E. Wood. 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 has greatly expanded over the years, but has seen its share of wear and tear. Thanks to a recently-passed bond measure, the campus is undergoing renovations that will allow maintenance to be performed on some of its nearly century-old buildings. The oldest building, Wood Hall, reopened in late August 2005.
- In 1975, someone put a pipe bomb in the toilet of a boys' restroom at Keyser Hall. The bomb exploded and the toilet was destroyed, but no-one was hurt. The vandal was never caught.
- Tam High is the original home of the Ensemble Theater Company (ETC), formed by former student (class of 1952) and teacher Dan Caldwell. Former notable members of which include Tupac Shakur and Courtney Thorne-Smith. ETC expanded its presence to include Redwood High School and Drake High School in the mid 1980’s. The Daniel Caldwell Performing Arts Center a new facility features a new 10,000 square foot multi-use theatre building as well as significant upgrades and renovations to Ruby Scott Auditorium. The Center is being built and is sceduled to be finished 2006. Ensemble Theater Company (ETC) is currently named the Conservatory Theatre Ensemble (CTE).
- The school was the subject of local controversy during the 2004-2005 school year when several anti-gay hate crimes were discovered, as reported in the Associated Press and the Marin Independent Journal. The local sheriff's department determined that the believed victim of the crimes had staged the incidents; when they confronted her with their evidence, the student confessed.
- The 2005-2006 academic year was supposed to begin on August 17, but an unhealthy amount of mold was discovered in the walls of Keyser Hall, and the first day of class was postponed until the 22nd. Keyser Hall was closed, and portable classrooms were used instead of Keyser's 17 classrooms. The mold grew due to runoff from the hillside the building was situated on. Keyser Hall will be demolished this summer, after which its site will remain empty for about a year before construction on the replacement building begins there.
- 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 the many of the campus' most well-known architectural features. An elevator of some sort is necessary to comply with laws that mandate handicapped accessibility. Administrators have formed a committee to look into alternative ways to provide that accessibility.
- Tam also updated its website to a new design in the early 2005-2006 year, modernizing it along with the rest of the campus.
- In 1991, the school mascot was changed from the Indian to the Red-Tailed Hawk, at the urging of Native American activists led by Sacheen Littlefeather.
- On Tuesday, January 4, 2006, former ASB president Nima Shaterian took his own life. A city-wide memorial was held in Mill Valley.
- Awards: Tamalpais was a recipient of the California Distinguished School Award in 1999 and 2005.
- The school's newspaper, the Tamalpais News (briefly called THAT Magazine for two years), has won frequent awards from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association and the National Scholastic Press Association and is widely admired by the school community. CSPA awarded them the Silver Crown Award last spring, which they won for the first time in at least ten years. The publication was one of 37 others nationwide to win the Silver Crown, the second highest ranking from CSPA behind the Gold Crown. They also won a gold medal from the CSPA. Additionally, they have a new website, Tamnews.org, which came up short in the National Scholastic Press Association's Online Pacemaker contest in the spring of 2006. Awards for the contest were presented at the NSPA's Spring National High School Journalism Convention in San Francisco. Next year, the publication plans to develop a more extensive online presence and make another run for the award. Beginning with the 2006-2007 school year, their staff adviser of 11 years, Austin Bah, is relinquishing the position to teach solely junior English. He will be succeeded by English teacher Jonah Steinhart.
- The school's mock trial team won the National High School Mock Trial Championship, held in Charlotte, North Carolina, in 2005.
- Notable Alumni: William L. Patterson Tam 1911 - Attorney & Civil Rights Pioneer.
- Eve Arden (Eunice Quedens) Tam 1926 - Actress (Our Miss Brooks, Grease).
- Sam Chapman Tam 1934 - Athlete (California Golden Bears, Philadelphia Athletics & Cleveland Indians).
- Art Schallock Tam 1943 - MLB Pitcher: Yankees (1953 World Series), Orioles.
- Pat Paulsen Tam 1945 - Comic, Statesman, Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.
- Joe DeMaestri Tam 1946 - MLB Shortstop: A's, Browns, Sox, Yankees, 1957 All Star, 1960 World Series.
- Anton Szandor LaVey (Howard Stanton Levey) Tam ~1947 - Founder, Church of Satan.
- Karl Olson Tam 1948 MLB Outfielder: Red Sox, Senators, Tigers.
- Matt Hazeltine Tam 1951 - Athlete (Linebacker, NFL San Francisco 49ers).
- Dan Caldwell Tam 1952 - Actor, Drama Teacher (Daniel Caldwell Performing Arts Center, just finished being built at Tam High).
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Willie Hector Tam 1957 - Athlete (University of the Pacific Hall of Fame, NFL Los Angeles Rams).
- Rob Nilsson Tam 1957 - Director.
- George Duke Tam 1963 - Legend of Jazz.
- Charlie Kelly Tam 1963 - Roadie (Sons of Champlin); Mountain Bike Hall of Fame).
- Rob Moitoza Tam 1963 - Musician (The Opposite Six).
- John Cipollina Tam 1964 - Musician (Quicksilver Messenger Service).
- Bill Champlin Tam 1965 - Musician (Sons of Champlin, Chicago).
- Alex Call Tam 1966 - Musician (Clover), songwriter.
- Honor Jackson Tam 1966 - Athlete (University of the Pacific Hall of Fame, NFL Dallas Cowboys).
- Jeffrey Stott Tam 1967 - Asst/Exec Producer (Seinfeld, Alex and Emma, The American President).
- Bill Gibson Tam 1968 - Musician (Huey Lewis and the News).
- Larry Lee Holman Tam 1970 - Musician (Old Gray Zipper).
- Sean Hopper Tam 1971 - Musician - (Clover, Huey Lewis and the News).
- Tom Killion Tam 1971 - Artist, Woodcut Prints.
- Ben "King" Perkoff Tam ~1971 - Musician (Mike Bloomfield, The Novator Frank Band).
- Mario Cipollina Tam 1972 - Musician (Copperhead, Soundhole, Huey Lewis and the News, Terry and the Pirates, The Novato Frank Band).
- Kathleen Quinlan Tam 1972 - Actress (American Graffiti, Apollo 13, Oliver Stone's The Doors).
- Karlene Crockett Tam 1976 - Actress (Dallas).
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Merritt Butrick Tam 1977 - Actor (Square Pegs; Kirk's son, David Marcus (Star Trek)).
- Signy Coleman Tam 1979 - Model, Actress (The Young and the Restless, Guiding Light).
- Ann Killion Tam 1979 - Sports Columnist, San Jose Mercury News.
- Bryan Price Tam 1980 - Pitcher (California Angels), Pitching Coach (Arizona Diamondbacks).
- Brian Murphy Tam 1985 - Radio Personality, KNBR San Francisco.
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Courtney Thorne-Smith Tam ~1985 - Actress (Melrose Place, Ally McBeal, According to Jim).
- Chris Chaney Tam 1988 - Musician (Jane's Addiction, The Panic Channel).
- Tupac Shakur Tam ~1989 - Actor, Rapper.
- One of the scenes from American Graffiti was filmed in the Gymnasium of the school.
- The Tamalpais Marching Band appeared in the Woody Allen film Take The Money and Run, while Tam teachers Dan Caldwell and Don Michaelion had small roles as a prison guard and a prisoner.
- David Crosby's song, Tamalpais High, refers to the school just after classes end for the day. It was recorded in February 1971. David Crosby - guitar, vocals; Jerry Garcia - guitar; Jorma Kaukonen - guitar; Phil Lesh - bass; Bill Kreutzmann - drums.
- The school hosted many live music concerts during springtime lunch breaks, at least during the early 1980's, including at least one surprise appearance by The Jefferson Starship.
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