Strawberry Point History

Strawberry Point School is a public elementary school in the Strawberry neighborhood of Mill Valley and is part of the Mill Valley School District. The school opened in 1952, serving children in what was then a rapidly growing postwar community along Richardson Bay.

Strawberry Point School opened its doors on November 24, 1952, welcoming 192 students. The school was built during a period of tremendous growth in southern Marin, when post-World War II families were moving into the newly developed Strawberry neighborhood. The Mill Valley School District was rapidly expanding, and Strawberry Point was one of several new schools constructed to serve the baby-boom generation.

The school originally served elementary and intermediate grades. In 1969, sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade students began attending Mill Valley Middle School, leaving Strawberry Point as an elementary school.

Like many California schools, Strawberry Point experienced enrollment shifts as neighborhood demographics changed. The school closed in June 1990 after student numbers declined. When enrollment increased again, it reopened and underwent significant site improvements.

Strawberry Point reopened in August 2000 after extensive renovation and modernization. The project included upgrades to the original campus and the addition of modular classrooms to accommodate growing enrollment.

Today, Strawberry Point remains one of the district's five elementary schools, serving students in grades TK–5 and maintaining strong ties to the Strawberry community and its natural surroundings.

A Unique Environmental Legacy

The school's location beside Richardson Bay wetlands has made environmental stewardship part of its identity. When the school reopened, parents, teachers, and community members partnered on an innovative restoration project that created outdoor learning spaces, restored tidal wetlands, and connected the site to the Bay Trail. Today, the school's unique bayfront setting serves as a living classroom, providing students with rich, hands-on opportunities to explore science, ecology, and the natural world.

The School Behind a Famous Song

Rita Abrams and the Strawberry Point 4th Grade Class
 

One of Strawberry Point's most unusual claims to fame is its connection to the 1970 hit song Mill Valley.  

In 1970, Rita Abrams, a teacher at Strawberry Point School in Mill Valley, wrote a song called Mill Valley for her students to perform. The song was recorded with her third-grade class and unexpectedly became a nationwide hit, reaching the Billboard charts. By the time the record was released, the students had advanced to fourth grade, which inspired the album title, Miss Abrams and the Strawberry Point 4th Grade Class.

Christmas 2020 marked 50 years since Rita Abrams wrote "Mill Valley," a song about the Northern California town which reached the Billboard Top 5. Abrams and several of her students from the original recording were invited to be interviewed on local PBS radio station KQED to talk about the famous song, and remember its breakout success.

Host: Michael Krasny
Guests:

• Rita Abrams, composer, lyricist and writer
• Bruce Bennett, former third grade student featured on the original recording of "Mill Valley"
• Scott Victor, former third grade student featured on the original recording of "Mill Valley"

Fun Fact

A young Huey Lewis attended Strawberry Point School in the 1950s.