Future Seawolves start here: Petaluma eighth-graders explore college life at Sonoma State
Before they’ve even started high school, Petaluma City Schools eighth-graders are learning what it takes to get to college — and how Sonoma State University can be part of their future.
Petaluma City Schools and Sonoma State are two years into a partnership designed to create a clear path to higher education, offering guaranteed admission to Sonoma State for students who complete California’s A-G requirements and maintain a 2.5 grade-point average in high school.
Known as the Petaluma Promise, the program provides eligible students with pre-admission counseling, financial aid and scholarship workshops, campus visits, and priority consideration for Sonoma State’s on-campus housing. Students also receive priority consideration for any of Sonoma State’s first-year tuition scholarship programs.
The program extends beyond admission guarantees. High school seniors who want to get an early start on college coursework have access to dual enrollment and other pathway programs that expose them to the Sonoma State campus during their senior year, and provide opportunities to connect in person with SSU students, faculty and alumni.
Paul Edwards, Sonoma State’s interim vice president for strategic enrollment management, said building relationships with students and families early helps students see that college is not only achievable, but that they belong there.
“When students step onto Sonoma State’s campus and begin to imagine themselves here, it opens up a sense of possibility,” Edwards said. “Through the Petaluma Promise, we want students and families across Sonoma County to know that higher education is within reach and that Sonoma State will be there to support them at every step.”
Petaluma City Schools Superintendent Matthew Harris said the Petaluma Promise is inspired in part by a similar initiative in his hometown of Kalamazoo, Michigan.
As part of the program, Harris and his team accompanied several groups of Petaluma City Schools eighth-graders on visits to their future Petaluma high school campuses and on tours of Sonoma State over three days in January.
During a Jan. 22 presentation in Warren Auditorium in Ives Hall, Harris spoke to students from Mary Collins at Cherry Valley, Petaluma Accelerated Charter School at McKinley, Dual Language Immersion Academy at McDowell, and Valley Vista Public Waldorf middle schools.
“College opens doors — to careers, to independence, to becoming who you want to be,” Harris told the students.
When Harris asked what students envisioned after high school, most raised their hands to indicate a four-year college education. Smaller numbers raised their hands to indicate they saw community college, military service, or trade school as part of their future.
Harris and his team also walked students through California’s A-G requirements, emphasizing that earning a C or better in each course would guarantee admission to Sonoma State.
In addition to Harris’ presentation and a tour of the campus, the eighth-graders participated in an interactive session led by Sonoma State's pre-admissions counselors. The counselors explained differences between California State University campuses, which emphasize teaching, and University of California campuses, which focus more heavily on research, as well as the role of community colleges.
The presentation highlighted Sonoma State’s 17-to-1 student-to-faculty ratio, popular majors and programs, and campus life opportunities available to Seawolves. It concluded with a trivia challenge, where the prospective students won Seawolf spirit gear for correctly answering questions with knowledge gained during the presentation.
Dan Ostermann, coordinator of Petaluma City Schools’ college and career pathways initiative, said the partnership aligns with the district’s motto: “Start here, go anywhere.”
“We want our students to have the maximum opportunity to open any door,” Ostermann said. He added that the district has also established a similar partnership with the University of California, Merced.
Sonoma State’s proximity to Petaluma allows students to spend time on the Rohnert Park campus and build connections well before the college application process begins. District leaders and Sonoma State’s strategic enrollment team plan to continue expanding the program, adding new opportunities to help Petaluma City Schools students stay connected to Sonoma State throughout high school.