Petaluma and Casa Grande high schools ranked among the regionally

Petaluma High School is rated No. 3 among all high schools in the Santa Rosa Metro Area according to rankings recently released by U.S. News and World Report.

The report ranks more than 17,800 public high schools nationwide and 2,598 schools in California. Petaluma ranked 1,989 nationally and 292 statewide.

Casa Grande also fared well in the rating, ranking No. 5 in Sonoma County, No. 478 in the state and 3,133 in the nation.

Based on criteria such as advance placement examination scores, math and reading proficiency and graduation rate Petaluma achieved a mark of 88.86 on its scorecard and Casa Grande a score of 82.45 overall.

Petaluma had 61% of its students take at least one advanced placement exam, 49% pass at least one AP exam, 43% of its students proficient in mathematics, 43% proficient in reading and a 95% graduation rate.

Casa Grande had 42% of its students take at least one advanced placement exam, 29% pass at least one AP exam, 43% proficient in mathematics, 77% proficient in reading and a 93% graduation rate.

Petaluma High Principal Justin Mori said the ranking was the result of dedication from all involved.

“For us to reach that level of success speaks to the level of commitment from and teachers and students,” he said. “This is a real honor and an acknowledgement of the dedication of our students, staff and the community that supports us. It is impressive to have both Petaluma and Casa Grande ranked so high.”

Rankings were for the 2018-19 school year and were not affected by the coronavirus school shutdown.

The top 10 schools in the Santa Rosa Metro Area area were Technology High of Rohnert Park (35 state, 263 nation), Maria Carrillo (265 state, 1,787 national), Petaluma, Roseland Charter School (400 state, 2,606 national), Casa Grande, Sonoma Valley (591 state, 3,853 national), Analy (628 state, 4,150 national), El Molino (643 state, 4,277 national), Santa Rosa (842 state, 6,012 national), Healdsburg (889 state, 6,328 national).

Ranked No. 1 in the state was Oxford Academy in Cypress in Orange County. No. 1 nationally was Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, Va.