It is my pleasure welcome students, parents, and community members to our school district.  Petaluma City Schools serves 2370 students in grades K-6 and 5366 students in grades 7-12 from the City of Petaluma and surrounding areas. Elementary schools in the district are Grant, McDowell, McKinley, McNear, Penngrove, and Valley Vista schools. Students from those schools are joined in seventh grade in Petaluma with other elementary district schools from 16 additional elementary schools.

The secondary district contains two comprehensive high schools at Casa Grande and Petaluma High (9th -12th grades: ADA 1,913, 1484), two comprehensive junior highs at Kenilworth and Petaluma Junior High (7th – 8th grades; ADA 1,006, 612), and four alternative secondary schools at Carpe Diem, Sonoma Mountain, San Antonio, and Crossroads schools (ADA 30, 31, 112, 23). In addition, the district operates an independent study center at Valley Oaks School and a K-8 charter school, Mary Collins Charter School at Cherry Valley.

Board Mission, Vision and Goals and Parent and Community Involvement

The District Mission is to provide opportunities for all students to be challenged and motivated in school so that upon graduation, they will be successful in their future educational endeavors, careers, and community (see District Mission, Vision, and Goals).  This mission was developed with widespread community involvement and reflects the desire of the Petaluma community. There are many ways that parents/guardians, and community members are involved to help make our shared vision a reality.  Below please find a description of some of the ways that you can become involved to support our students.

Parents/guardians play a critical role in supporting school success.  We welcome and encourage parents and guardians to be involved in our schools.  Parents and community members are active participants on School Site Councils, Gifted and Talented Education Advisory Committees, English Language Learner Advisory Committees, PTAs, the Superintendent’s Lay Advisory Committee, Band and Athletic Booster Clubs, and Friends of the Library.

The District is a member of the Petaluma Youth Success Network, joining with other agencies and local service providers to ensure all youth in Petaluma are successful, and that they fulfill their potential as caring, responsible, productive citizens.  The Network embraces the District vision that all students will graduate with the motivation and skills to be successful in both post-secondary education and their career.  As a network, the group collaborates to bring resources to schools and other youth-serving agencies and to involve parents and other community members in supporting youth.  Among the founding members are the City of Petaluma, Petaluma City Schools, Healthy Community Consortium, Petaluma People Services Center, and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Petaluma.

The Healthy Community Consortium (HCC) works with the District to promote youth engagement and development.  Please call Pat Landrum at 778-4951 to find out how you can be involved.

A group of community members is working together to provide adult mentors for our elementary students.  The program is called Mentor Me (formerly McNear Mentoring).  If you are interested in getting involved in this program, please call Valerie Richman at 778-4798.

Taking action to counteract childhood obesity and improve student health through physical activity and nutrition, parents are finding ways to “SHAKE” up the health of elementary students by raising funds to provide physical education specialists and teaching gardens in each of our elementary schools. SHAKE, Support Healthy Active Kids in Education, is supported by parents/guardians, the Petaluma Health Care District, Kaiser Permanente, Clover Stornetta Farms, St. Joseph Health Care System, the Petaluma Argus Courier, Petaluma Bounty Project, local physicians and business owners, and other community members.  If you would like to join this effort, please call Debbie Prusinovski at 795-8701.

As a result of the successful passage of Measure D, the elementary Art Docent Program has been reinstated.  Through this program, trained volunteers teach prepared art lessons in elementary classrooms.  If you would like to be involved with this program, please contact Alyse Breece at 778-4745. 

The Petaluma Educational Foundation (PEF) secures and distributes contributions from the private sector to benefit educational programs in Petaluma area schools.  PEF provides grants to teachers and offers scholarships to graduating seniors.  Contact Janet Ramatici at 778-4632 or go to www.pefinfo.com.

Excellence in Education

Petaluma City Schools has a statewide reputation for excellence in education. Its students, staff, and programs have received local, state, and national recognition.  Over the past few years, members of our certificated staff have been awarded National Board Certification, the California School Employees Association has recognized classified employees, and school programs have been awarded the Sonoma State Jack London Award, the Sonoma County Office of Education Program Excellence Award, the Petaluma Chamber Excellence in Education Award, the California Distinguished Elementary School Award, and the National Blue Ribbon School Award.

In addition to the regular education program, the district provides support services for gifted students, English learners, special education students, and Title I students.  Many special programs are offered at our comprehensive high schools that are not available elsewhere in the County such as a Fish Hatchery at Casa Grande High School and a Wildlife Museum at Petaluma High School. 

The K-12 Curriculum Council worked to implement Power Standards which are a subset of the complete list of standards for each grade and for each subject.  They represent the “safety net” of standards that that we believe every student should learn prior to leaving the current grade.   This work took into account the State Standards and the Petaluma City Schools Core Curriculum that was developed prior to the adoption of the State Standards.  Thus the Power Standards have brought the core curriculum and the State Standards together into one document that identifies the Power Standards that all students will learn.  The Power Standards are posted on the District web site at www.petalumacityschools.org.

Smaller Learning Communities

Casa Grande and Petaluma High School were awarded a federal Smaller Learning Communities grant to focus on the community and school staff’s identified goals of  (1) Family & School Connections, (2) Personalization, and (3) Authentic Curriculum.  Both schools are implementing five-year plans to address these priorities in an effort to increase the number of students who are prepared for success, in work or advanced study, after they graduate from high school. 

Casa Grande High School is organizing into small learning communities (SLCs) called “houses”, with ninth and tenth graders in houses of 120-200 students sharing common teachers.  Eleventh and twelfth graders will choose one of six SLCs including academic and elective courses of a common theme.  Among the choices are: Culinary Arts, Tourism, and Event Planning Resources; Health Careers Pathway; Technology and Industrial Applications; Political and Social Justice Academy; Sustainable Society Academy, and Visual and Performing Arts.

Petaluma High School will also place ninth and tenth graders in interdisciplinary teams with the goal of providing a more personalized learning experience.  For eleventh and twelfth graders, Petaluma High School is offering five career clusters tied to student interests and post-secondary goals.  The initial clusters will be Agricultural Mechanics; Agri-Science and Natural Resources; Business; Communications and Information Technology; Engineering, Design and Apprenticeship Trades; Fine Arts, Media and Entertainment, and Health and Human Services.

More information about these smaller learning communities can be found on the District web site at www.petalumacityschools.org.  You can become involved in this effort by volunteering to be a mentor, guest speaker, or by providing learning opportunities for students in your business such as job shadowing, apprenticeships or internships.  Please call either your principal or Ellen Lewis, Community Entrepreneur, 778-4702, for more information.

Technology Education

The Petaluma City Schools Board of Education has adopted a District Technology Plan that establishes technology literacy goals for all students from kindergarten to their senior year of high school.   Technology is viewed as a valuable tool that is used to enhance learning, teaching, communication, operations, and for administrative support. 

Using local parcel tax dollars, computer labs have been upgraded across the District.  Each classroom is connected to the Internet.  This connectivity supports the use computers as educational tools and increases teachers’ ability to organize and deliver information to many audiences.

The District web site links to each school’s web site and serves as a communication tool for the entire school community.  With many high-tech companies in Petaluma, technology education has excellent potential for expanded school and community partnerships.  For information about how you can get involved and support the further development of technology education in Petaluma City Schools, please call Eileen Rohan, Director, Educational services at 778-4619.

Measure C and D

In May 2007, the voters approved the elementary and secondary districts’ parcel tax measures with a resounding voice of 75% approval.  This solid support is indicative of the strong interest and support that the Petaluma Community has for the education of our young people.  We are all very fortunate to live and work in a community that values and supports youth and education.

As a result of voter-approved Measure C, reduced class size, libraries, visual and performing arts programs, and technology are funded in our secondary schools.  The passage of Measure D has maintained primary and intermediate music, reading specialists, the art docent program, and reduced class size in our elementary schools.  Measure D also provides funding for technology education programs at each of our elementary schools. 

We are thankful to our voters for supporting both Measure C and Measure D.  Because of their support, we are providing an enriched learning experience for our students. 

Facilities Improvements Funded by $75 Million in Bond Funds

In 1991, the voters approved a $30 million General Obligation Bond for the Petaluma City Elementary District, and in 1992, the voters approved a $45 million General Obligation Bond for the Petaluma Joint Union High School District.  These Bond funds have been used to match State Bonds to add needed facilities and complete modernization projects on campuses.  These projects include health, safety, and efficiency projects such as changing out the District’s communication system, energy retrofit, lighting, and bleacher repairs.  Bond funds have also been used as the match for State Deferred Maintenance Funds in order to repair building systems such as roofs, plumbing, heating, air conditioning, floors, and painting.  School Site-specific bond projects are described in the Funding Support brochure that is available on the District web site at www.petalumacityschools.org

We are very thankful to the voters for their support of the General Obligation Bonds that have provided the District with the necessary funding to improve and maintain our school sites and provide quality-learning environments for our students.

Collaborative Projects

Petaluma City Schools is known for its collaborative projects with the City of Petaluma and with community-based organizations.  For example, the School Board authorized Petaluma High School’s Construction Arts Program to enter into an agreement with the City of Petaluma for the drafting, metal and woodshop programs to manufacture street fixtures for the Downtown Project.  The project is in the production mode with the first metal benches installed downtown in April, 2005.  Next time you are downtown, take a moment to relax on one of the benches constructed and installed by Petaluma High School students.  You will find them quite comfortable and a tribute to our student’s knowledge and skills. 

At Casa Grande High School, students in Clinical Biology and Anatomy and Physiology courses participate in job shadows in the health community.  Advanced students in the ROP Health Careers Co-op meet on campus with their teacher once a week and spend the rest of their class hours in paid jobs or internships in health-related positions. 

These are but a few of the excellent programs offered in Petaluma City Schools.  We invite you to come visit our schools and learn how you can get involved.  For more information about our schools, call us at (707) 778-4813.

Sincerely,

Greta Viguie, Ed.D.
Superintendent