A preschool operated by the Sonoma United Methodist Church, the Sunshine School is located in a single-level structure behind the church facilities on Patton street, just south of the Plaza off of 1st Street West. The school boasts an extensive playground, with play houses, a sandbox, a farmers market play-area, a racetrack play-area, a shaded outdoor cafeteria and open field space. Students are required to attend a minimum of two-days per week, and extended-care options are offered for working parents. The curriculum is focused on giving children "hands-on" learning experience to develop social, cognitive and physical skills; therefore, outdoor education is emphasized. The students are divided into Minnows, who are 2-3 years old, Starfish and Angels, who are 3-4 years old, and Dolphins and Whales who are 4-5 years old. Potty-training is not required for enrollment.
Sonoma Valley Christian School is housed in a wing of the First Baptist Church on 1st Street West, just off the plaza. It features a playground with swings, a slide and picnic tables, as well as a full basketball court.
The Montessori School of Sonoma consists of a single-story wooden building on a 3-acre campus. Its curriculum is designed for children ages one to ten, and is based on the methods of Dr. Montessori. In addition to its educational offerings, it provides child care for infants and school-aged children.
Sonoma Leadership Systems offers professional training and education in management techniques. Its mission is to create better leaders of organizations. The seminars take place on weekends. In addition to in-person training, the website offers webinars, leadership articles and a blog. The six-session webinar series covers Sonoma's basic Leadership System curriculum.
The Old Adobe School is a private preschool housed on the grounds of Sonoma's First Congressional Church. This nonprofit secular school, founded by board member John Larson, enrolls children who are between the ages of 2 and 5, and has an after-school child-care program.
The school has a creative, hands-on curriculum, in which children engage in activities to learn concrete skills. As the website states, "You may find children making a number chart out of the fruit they brought for lunch, cutting plants for flower arrangements or creating bubbles to study the properties of water."
The Presentation School is a private school offering a Catholic-values education for students in kindergarten through 8th grade. Located off of Broadway, the school boasts an open campus with large athletic fields and lots of outdoor space. All students engage in community service and outreach programs. The school puts an emphasis on outdoor education, offers seven different sports and has recently built a custom climbing wall. In addition to regular academic requirements, The Presentation School offers music, art,and physical education. All students study Spanish to better relate to their bilingual peers in Sonoma.
The Crescent Montessori School is an elementary school located in the Sonoma Valley Community Center. It is based on a "Montessori style" curriculum, which features hands-on learning and task-driven activities to foster a life-long "love of learning." It offers a wholistic curriculum, including study of language arts, mathematics, history, geography, physical education, health education, science and visual arts. The school does not assign homework, as students learn actively throughout the day, with individualized curriculum and teacher attention.
El Verano Elementary School is located on Riverside Drive in the Valley of the Moon section of Sonoma Valley. With a motto of "committed to our community," the school hosts numerous community events to raise funds. The facility is based around an open plan lot with covered walk-ways between classrooms and student-painted murals depicting the history of California. The grounds feature a large playground and an outdoor eating area as well as large athletic fields. In 2008 El Verano was a part of the pilot program, partnering with the Exploratorium in San Francisco to teach hands-on science concepts. Now all five elementary schools in the Sonoma Valley school district have received a 3 million dollar grant which will continue the program through 2012. The school is heavily focused on literacy training and employs special counselors to instill these concepts. API scores can be viewed online.
Find The Fun Productions creates educational DVD videos for children of all ages, with the intent of providing lessons on American History in a format palatable to juvenile tastes. Each DVD is packed with information on the history of the United States, from the American Colonies to the Civil War, as presented through puppetry, music and live action storytelling. All products are available for sale on the Find The Fun Productions website, and shipping is free for each DVD.
SoloQuest is an alternative independent learning school that allows students to study in a customized setting. Founded more than 12 years ago, SoloQuest also has a branch in Marin County. It offers a full-time fully accredited middle school and high school for students in grades 6 to 12, where students can study language arts, visual arts, social studies, math, science and PE.
Students can use SoloQuest part-time to take online independent study classes, AP classes, enrichment classes, or to get special attention in a personalized setting. It offers a summer school session, and its learning lab offers homework help between 9am and noon. For students in need of extra academic help, it offers cognitive and academic tutoring one-on-one, and standardized test prep for the SAT.
Woodland Star Charter School is a public charter-school that educates using Waldorf methods. It serves students in Kindergarten through eighth grade, with a half day "play-based" Kindergarten class. The school emphasizes sustainable study, and a school garden is incorperated into curriculum. Older grades are taught lessons in immersive blocks of several months, where the students approach a subjects such as math or social studies from multiple angles. It is located on Arnold Drive, just off of the Altimira campus.
Grade by Grade curriculum can be viewed on the Web site.
Kid Scoop creates weekly educational pages and packets which can be used by teachers and parents to provide an enjoyable and accessible learning experience for their kids. Pages include activities such as puzzles, games, stories and recipes, and can also cover topics such as homelessness, cartooning, limericks, kitchen creativity and more. The content created by Kid Scoop is ideal for children from kindergarten to 8th grade, and can also be licensed for publication by newspapers and websites, and is currently included in more than 350 publications nationwide.
Ramekins is not only a culinary school offering cooking classes and private lessons, but also hosts a variety of special events, with beautiful rooms to stay in. Whether you're planning a wedding, birthday party, retirement party or any other reason to celebrate, the staff at Ramekins is dedicated to making your event a unique and wonderful experience for you and your guests. Its decor is European-inspired and features a rustic and charming vineyard room and outdoor patio area, accommodating up to 150 guests.
Altimira Middle School is one of two middle schools serving the Sonoma Valley school district. Its grounds include an outdoor eating area, open fields, trees and benches.
Altimira Middle School offers a comprehensive English as a Second Language (ESL) program. Its student body includes 60 percent Hispanic students, and more than half of Altimira Middle School's students qualify as "socioeconomically disadvantaged." The school offers extensive tutoring and homework help, an honors leadership program, AP and enrichment courses and a variety of programs for students with special needs.
The Sonoma Charter School is a public Montessori-based charter school, located off of the Sonoma Highway in Boyes Hot Springs. Led by Principal Paula Hunter, the school seeks to educate children holistically by focusing both on intellect and moral character. Students study core subjects and learn associated concepts through central knowledge areas. All students study subjects in the "humanities, science, fine and applied arts, drama, technology and physical education." It was founded by a group of parents and citizens in 1994.
