Two of the high schools that Lagunitas feeds into are Marin School of the Arts (MSA/Novato high) and Archie Williams. We interviewed students from each school to hear about their experiences. We wanted to better understand what the differences between the two schools were. Most who have chosen one over the other have been very satisfied with their decision.
Most people think Novato High and MSA are two different schools but they are not, MSA is a program inside of Novato high school. MSA is known for their art programs. They have many different kinds, such as painting and drawing, digital art, movie making, dance, theater, ceramics and many more. MSA is a charter school, they have an admissions process that is specific to each program. For example, for theater you have to do an audition of 2 16-bar cuts and a monologue of your choosing, for photography you have to share a portfolio of your work including a portrait and pictures of shadows, reflections, and lines. Students are admitted in the Spring, the timing depends on the individual program.
Archie Williams is our local public high school. You do not have to apply to get in, you just register. While Archie Wiliiams does not have the intensive art programs MSA has, they do offer art electives. Archie students seem to especially enjoy the ceramics elective and drama program. The ceramics elective is leveled and students can even take AP ceramics. In ceramics, students learn to advance their skills and how to write explanations of their pieces. Valley local, Jasper Thelin is the head of the theater program. The program hosts several public performances to display the abilities the students obtain throughout the year. Many Lagunitas alumni have featured in past programs. Last year, Indigo Herrera-Meade was Odysseus in the Odyssey, and Huda, Karim, and Amin Al-Jamal helped make the sets unforgettable.
Novato High has lots of AP classes that students can take along with their MSA classes. We interviewed Lorelei Browman, a sophomore at MSA. “I think that the art at MSA is something that is definitely worth it, if you are trying to pursue a career in art. It’s definitely worth doing it instead of Archie.” Lorelei said.
A typical day at MSA consists of regular classes at Novato High, and then MSA electives. There are a few MSA classes that count for P.E. such as musical theater and dance. A typical day at Archie consists of a seven period day and twice a week they have electives. A typical day at MSA is
“I think that in the first year of MSA there is lots of wiggle room to try out different types of art. All over the 4 years thing it’s not like a commitment if you do one track you have to do that for the rest of your high school career you can try out a lot, to be said though I haven’t gone to Archie I guess there might be art options that are a little less high stress you know like in the freshman year it is really easy at MSA and its open to all levels. “ Lorelei said
Depending on what classes you take will determine your experience at school. Some electives at MSA are much more strict than others, but at MSA you will get a different experience and meet an entirely different community of students that care about a topic just as much as you.
“If they feel like they want to be in a community where they are valued for their art and their social ability and stuff like that, I think MSA is a great place to go. From what I’ve heard Archie might be a better place to go if you feel like you really want to be held by the community, it’s not art focused but you can be socially held by teachers and stuff. At MSA you’re definitely held by their art teachers I can’t say that much about the Novato teachers because there is novato high and then there is MSA, but the art teachers will definitely bring you in.”- Lorelei
MSA is located in Novato which is about a 35-40 minute drive from the valley and Archie is in San Anselmo which is about 15-20 minutes away from the valley.
“Location wise there is not much to do if you don’t have a car. If your really interested in art you can stay and just do art all day but then you can’t really go anywhere but the mall. At Archie there is the hub and you can go to Fairfax, you can also go to San Anselmo or San Rafael a lot easier.”- Lorelei The location of MSA makes it more difficult to go somewhere outside of the school if you don’t have a car to drive, but at Archie it is much easier to get around.
Another person we interviewed was Harper, a Senior who goes to Archie and always has. We asked her what her opinion on her school was and if she ever thought about going to MSA. “I think that that’s probably the best part, I’m going to school with all the people that I’ve ever gone to school with. And I always have someone I know in my class.” She said after we asked her if she was happy staying at Archie. We also asked Harper about what she thought of the people who went to MSA and then came back, “I know a lot of people who went to MSA then came back, and they’re happy they came back, so I’m glad I just stayed at Archie” was her answer.
