Petaluma · Sonoma County

Schools in Petaluma

Petaluma’s 20 public elementary schools run from the 4th to the 91st percentile among the 5,726 California elementary schools we score (spring 2026 tests). They sit in all four bands, from Strong to Needs Support.

Elementary · 20 schools

from 4th to 91st · among 5,726 California elementary schools we score · spring 2026 tests

Sonoma Mountain Elementary: 91st percentile, Strong
River Montessori Elementary Charter: 87th percentile, Strong
Liberty Elementary: 87th percentile, Strong
Grant Elementary: 85th percentile, Strong
Corona Creek Elementary: 83rd percentile, Strong
Meadow Elementary: 79th percentile, Strong
Mary Collins Charter School at Cherry Valley: 79th percentile, Strong
Dunham Charter: 75th percentile, Strong
McNear Elementary: 73rd percentile, Solid
Wilson Elementary: 68th percentile, Solid
La Tercera Elementary: 65th percentile, Solid
Old Adobe Elementary Charter: 55th percentile, Solid
Heartwood Charter: 54th percentile, Solid
Loma Vista Immersion Academy: 54th percentile, Solid
McKinley Elementary: 51st percentile, Solid
Two Rock Elementary: 46th percentile, Developing
Miwok Valley Elementary Charter: 40th percentile, Developing
Valley Vista Public Waldorf: 30th percentile, Developing
Cinnabar Charter: 21st percentile, Needs Support
McDowell Elementary: 4th percentile, Needs Support

2Needs Support

3Developing

7Solid

8Strong

One dot per school.

Middle school picture

Middle · 6 schools

from 50th to 99th · among 2,529 California middle schools we score · spring 2026 tests

Petaluma Accelerated Charter: 99th percentile, Strong
Heartwood Charter: 73rd percentile, Solid
Mary Collins Charter School at Cherry Valley: 71st percentile, Solid
Kenilworth Junior High: 65th percentile, Solid
Valley Vista Public Waldorf: 52nd percentile, Solid
Petaluma Junior High: 50th percentile, Solid

0Needs Support

0Developing

5Solid

1Strong

One dot per school. Each stage is placed only among California schools at its own level. 3 of the 23 ranked schools teach two levels, so they appear in more than one picture.

23 ranked schools
12 of 23 are charter schools
4 schools not ranked statewide
6 private schools, not scored

Schools around Petaluma

27 listed public schools with mapped locations.

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Percentile among California schools at the same level

Strong75th+
Solid50–74th
Developing25–49th
Needs Supportbelow 25th
Not scored

Elementary schools

Which elementary schools in Petaluma score highest?

Sonoma Mountain Elementary is highest, at the 91st percentile.

That’s higher than 91 in 100 of the 5,726 California elementary schools we score (spring 2026 tests).

Highest in Petaluma

Each percentile compares a school with California schools at its own level. What patterns mean

Sonoma Mountain ElementaryOld Adobe Union · Broad base · Charter school. Check how it admits students.
91stStrongScope Score 67
River Montessori Elementary CharterOld Adobe Union · Charter school. Check how it admits students.
87thStrongScope Score 62
Liberty ElementaryLiberty Elementary · Broad base · Charter school. Check how it admits students.
87thStrongScope Score 62

Show the other 17 elementary schools

Grant ElementaryPetaluma City Elementary
85thStrongScope Score 59
Corona Creek ElementaryWaugh Elementary
83rdStrongScope Score 57
Meadow ElementaryWaugh Elementary
79thStrongScope Score 53
Mary Collins Charter School at Cherry ValleyPetaluma Joint Union High · Charter school. Check how it admits students.
79thStrongScope Score 53
Dunham CharterDunham Elementary · Charter school. Check how it admits students.
75thStrongScope Score 50
McNear ElementaryPetaluma City Elementary
73rdSolidScope Score 48
Wilson ElementaryWilmar Union Elementary
68thSolidScope Score 45
La Tercera ElementaryOld Adobe Union
65thSolidScope Score 43
Old Adobe Elementary CharterOld Adobe Union · Charter school. Check how it admits students.
55thSolidScope Score 38
Heartwood CharterLiberty Elementary · Charter school. Check how it admits students.
54thSolidScope Score 37
Loma Vista Immersion AcademyOld Adobe Union · Charter school. Check how it admits students.
54thSolidScope Score 37
McKinley ElementaryPetaluma City Elementary
51stSolidScope Score 36
Two Rock ElementaryTwo Rock Union
46thDevelopingScope Score 34
Miwok Valley Elementary CharterOld Adobe Union · Charter school. Check how it admits students.
40thDevelopingScope Score 31
Valley Vista Public WaldorfPetaluma City Elementary · Charter school. Check how it admits students.
30thDevelopingScope Score 27
Cinnabar CharterCinnabar Elementary · Charter school. Check how it admits students.
21stNeeds SupportScope Score 24
McDowell ElementaryPetaluma City Elementary
4thNeeds SupportScope Score 14

Context

Middle schools

Which middle schools in Petaluma score highest?

Petaluma Accelerated Charter is highest, at the 99th percentile.

That’s higher than 99 in 100 of the 2,529 California middle schools we score (spring 2026 tests).

Highest in Petaluma

Each percentile compares a school with California schools at its own level. What patterns mean

Petaluma Accelerated CharterPetaluma Joint Union High · High ceiling · Broad base · Charter school. Check how it admits students.
99thStrongScope Score 92
Heartwood CharterLiberty Elementary · Charter school. Check how it admits students.
73rdSolidScope Score 49
Mary Collins Charter School at Cherry ValleyPetaluma Joint Union High · Charter school. Check how it admits students.
71stSolidScope Score 48

Show the other 3 middle schools

Kenilworth Junior HighPetaluma Joint Union High
65thSolidScope Score 45
Valley Vista Public WaldorfPetaluma City Elementary · Charter school. Check how it admits students.
52ndSolidScope Score 39
Petaluma Junior HighPetaluma Joint Union High
50thSolidScope Score 38

Context

The average Petaluma middle school had 12 in 100 students chronically absent in 2025–26; the average California middle school we score had 18 in 100.

High schools

Which high schools are in Petaluma?

Petaluma has no public high school in California’s statewide ranking.

High schools in Petaluma

Continuation schools and special education centers enroll students differently from a regular school, so each is compared only with its own kind or not ranked. The others have no statewide percentile this year.

Casa Grande HighNo Scope Score this year
Petaluma HighNo Scope Score this year
San Antonio High (Continuation)Continuation high school: compared only with other continuation schools
South County ConsortiumSpecial education center: students are placed here by an IEP team, not by address and not by lottery, so we don’t rank it

6 private schools have a Petaluma address. They don’t take California’s state tests, so we don’t score them. See them in the private-school directory →

Which places nearby can you look at next?

School districts

More places (6)

ZIP codes

Before kindergarten

Common questions

Which public schools in Petaluma rank highest?

Elementary: Sonoma Mountain Elementary, 91st percentile (Strong). Middle: Petaluma Accelerated Charter, 99th percentile (Strong). Each percentile is among the California schools at the same level we score. A rank doesn’t decide fit or whether a child can enroll.

Does living in Petaluma decide which school my child attends?

No. A city can hold schools from more than one district, and attendance boundaries decide which school serves an address. Confirm the school for your address with the district.

Are the public schools in Petaluma good?

Petaluma’s 20 public elementary schools run from the 4th to the 91st percentile among the 5,726 California elementary schools we score (spring 2026 tests). By band: 8 Strong, 7 Solid, 3 Developing and 2 Needs Support. Petaluma’s 6 public middle schools run from the 50th to the 99th percentile among the 2,529 California middle schools we score (spring 2026 tests). By band: 1 Strong and 5 Solid. A percentile compares a school with California public schools at the same level that we score. How we score schools.

How does chronic absence in Petaluma compare with California?

The average Petaluma elementary school had 10 in 100 students chronically absent (missed 10% or more of school days) in 2025–26; the average California elementary school we score had 17 in 100. Both are averages of school rates, each school counted once. The average Petaluma middle school had 12 in 100 students chronically absent in 2025–26; the average California middle school we score had 18 in 100. These are averages of school rates: each school counts once, whatever its size.

Where do these results come from?

California’s state tests (CAASPP): spring 2026 for elementary and middle schools, spring 2025 for high schools, and chronic-absence rates for 2025–26, published by the California Department of Education. Percentiles, bands and Scope Scores are SchoolScope’s calculations. How we score schools.

Sources and methodology

This page lists the public schools with a Petaluma address, which can belong to more than one school district.

Data source: California Department of Education · CAASPP 2025–26 elementary and middle school; 2024–25 high school

Percentiles, bands and Scope Scores are SchoolScope’s own calculations from these state files.

View CDE data ↗How Scope Scores work →

Download these schools (CSV)Free to use under CC BY 4.0 with attribution.