Hamilton TK-8

Hamilton TK-8 is an elementary-level community of mid-tier scale in Novato, California, one of the schools within Novato Unified, educateing 544 students in grades K through 8.

Within Novato Unified, which oversees 14 schools and 7,199 students, Hamilton TK-8 is one campus in the system.

On demographics, Hamilton TK-8 logs that the largest single group is Hispanic, at 76% of enrollment. The remainder reads as 10% White, 6% multiracial, 4% Asian, 4% Black. That is considerably more Hispanic than the county at large, where the share is closer to 20%.

On the income-and-resources front, The school currently runs with 26 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 21.2:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 22.3:1, putting Hamilton TK-8 tighter than the state norm the norm. An estimated 82% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy. Set against Marin County (around 35%), the school's rate is noticeably above typical.

After controlling for student poverty, Hamilton TK-8 sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 30.6%; this one delivers 28.3%.

Across the wider county, Marin County reports that median household earnings sit near $149,091, 61% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 4%. In all, Marin County runs 75 public schools (combined enrollment of about 29,867 students), of which Hamilton TK-8 is one.

The closest other public school is Novato Charter, roughly 0.3 miles away. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Hamilton TK-8. Among the 7 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Hamilton TK-8 ranks 7th on composite proficiency, beneath the local average of 50.3%.

The school occupies a bedroom-community site.

Five-year trend. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Hamilton TK-8 has edged down 11%, going from 613 students in 2018 to 544 in 2025. Over the same period, the White share declined from 21% to 10%.

In the discussion threads here, the feed for Hamilton TK-8 typically covers open house dates, ride-share offers, and field-trip permission slips. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.