Niche Ranks Sonoma Valley's Best Schools

SONOMA, CA— Sonoma Valley High School is the top-ranked school in Sonoma, according to new rankings released Monday by Niche. The company gave Sonoma Valley High an overall grade of B+ and ranked it the 659th-best public high school in the state.

Here is how Niche graded some other schools in Sonoma:

• Prestwood Elementary School, B
• Adele Harrison Middle School, B-
• Woodland Star Charter School, B-
• Altimira Middle School, C+
• Sonoma Charter School, C+
• Sassarini Elementary School, C

In Santa Rosa, Sonoma Academy was the top-ranked school. Niche gave it an overall grade of A+ and ranked it the 84th-best private high school in California.

Here is how Niche graded some other schools in Santa Rosa and greater Sonoma County:

• Maria Carrillo High School, A+, 135th-best public high school in California
• Analy High School, A, 238th-best public high school in California
• Kenwood Elementary School, A, 477th-best public elementary school in California
• Hillcrest Middle School, A, 213th-best public middle school in California
• Austin Creek Elementary, A, 649th best public elementary school in California

Niche looked at more than 94,000 public schools, 4,100 private schools and nearly 11,000 school districts across the country. The rankings are meant to help parents and students find schools that best fit their needs.

“Unlike traditional school rankings, which rely almost exclusively on test scores and academic performance, Niche’s rankings provide a real-life view of what it’s like to attend a given school,” the company said in a news release.

Comments from current students, alumni, and parents are included in the analysis, as well as observations about things like campus life, extracurricular activities, sports options, diversity, and programs for gifted and special needs students.

“Parents and students need more than test-score data,” Luke Skurman, CEO at Niche, said in the news release. “They need to understand what it’s really like to attend a school before they start the application or registration process.”

For the first time, Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, New Hampshire, and Thomas Jefferson High School for Science & Technology in Alexandria, Virginia, were ranked the top private and public high schools, respectively, in the nation.

2020 top public high schools:

1. Thomas Jefferson High School for Science & Technology
2. Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy
3. Walter Payton College Prep
4. Stuyvesant High School
5. Bergen County Academies

2020 top private high schools

1. Phillips Exeter Academy
2. St. Mark’s School of Texas
3. Phillips Academy
4. The College Preparatory School
5. Trinity School

Patch national staffer Dan Hampton contributed to this report.