Some Petaluma School Districts Ranked Among Best In Sonoma County By Niche.com

PETALUMA, CA -- As the 2017-18 school year kicks off, parents and students heading to their first day of school can see how their Petaluma-area school districts stack up against others in Sonoma County as Niche.com has released its annual rankings of best schools and school districts in the country.

The 2018 rankings released this month rank elementary, middle and high schools as well as school districts.

According to Niche, the best school district in Sonoma County is the Liberty Elementary School District in Petaluma. With an overall Niche grade of A-, the district received a grade of B+ in academics, A+ in teachers, B- in clubs and activities, C+ in college prep and an A in health and safety. In the category of diversity, Niche awarded the school district an A. Statewide, Niche ranked Liberty Elementary School District No. 61.

The Petaluma Joint Union High School District came in at No. 4-best in the county and No. 121 in the state, assigned an overall grade of B by Niche.

Waugh Elementary School District received an overall grade of B+ from Niche, while the Petaluma City Elementary School District earned a B- from Niche.

Both Dunham Elementary School District and Old Adobe Union School District were given an overall grade of C+ by Niche.

To arrive at these rankings, Niche looked at data from the U.S. Department of Education as well as test scores, college data and ratings collected from Niche users. The methodology for each category of ranking varied. (Click here for more information on how Niche calculates its rankings.)

Niche assigns a standardized score for each factor, which is then weighted before an overall score is calculated for each school district. The overall scores are again standardized and some districts are disqualified from receiving a final letter grade if there isn’t enough data. School districts are then ranked numerically and assigned grades.

According to Niche, these are the four best school districts in Sonoma County:

1. Liberty Elementary School District, Petaluma (Overall Niche grade of A-)
2. West Sonoma County Union High School District, Sebastopol (Overall Niche grade of A-)
3. Santa Rosa High School, Santa Rosa (Overall Niche grade of B)
4. Petaluma Joint Union High School District, Petaluma (Overall Niche grade of B)

Niche’s data for its K-12 school district rankings comes from various sources including the U.S. Department of Education, the National Center for Education Statistics and the Civil Rights Data Collection. The rankings also rely on data that is self-reported by Niche users and schools. (Click here to learn more about where Niche’s data comes from.)

ALSO SEE:

• Old Adobe School Calendar For 2017-18; First Day Of School, Vacations, Conference
  
• Petaluma Schools Calendar 2017-18: First Day Of School, Vacations, Conferences

What do you think of the rankings? Let us know in the comments below.

Image via Shutterstock