International Student Program
You'll Be Supported
In our experience, international students benefit from academic and personal support in their new environment. We have a strong commitment to their success and have the following systems and opportunities in place.
Academic Support
- On-site Director of Student Support trained in working with international students.
- International students receive a special mid-quarter report from teachers that gives them feedback on how they are doing and where they might improve. All students receive in-depth narrative reports and grades every quarter.
- All international students take an English Language Learner course called Context and Culture: Reading, Writing and Critical Thinking in the Humanities. This course focuses on specific areas of Sonoma Academy Humanities and provides opportunities for support, review, and expansion.
- High-level subject tutors and ESL tutors who are available for one-on-one instruction. This is an additional cost for families.
- Our students who excel academically are also available to tutor international students in every subject area, at no cost.
- Our teachers and advisors have a weekly student review meeting where they discuss individual students who might need special attention or need more challenge, including international students.
- In our extensive library, there are specific resources for English language learners, including specialized computer software that international students can use to supplement their learning.
- An after-school supervised study hall can be arranged from 3:45 pm to 5:30 pm at a nominal cost.
Personal & Social Support
- We are in regular communication to talk over any adjustment to classes, social life, or homestay.
- We pair international students with peer mentors who help the transition to an American high school experience.
- Regular host family gatherings with the Learning Strategist and the Counselor.
- On-site staff member who is experienced in international student immigration systems.
- We are proactive about connecting students with other families for social and cultural activities in the Bay Area.
- Our school counselor is available to talk about adjustment and development.
- We have a wide range of extracurricular activities and clubs that fully engage our international students.
- A student diversity chair is a member of the student government, and helps to make sure all student needs and wants are considered in decisions.
College Counseling
- Starting sophomore year, course advising assures that students are choosing courses that will help them meet requirements for particular colleges and majors.
- Student and parent information sessions begin sophomore year, and include the homestay families.
- Individual college counseling begins junior year.
- A college counseling class begins junior year and continues through the college application process senior year.
- 90 college admissions officers visit each year and meet with students on campus.
- We host a panel of admission representatives from top universities. Panelists talk about trends in college admissions and answer questions of audience members, who are SA families and the general public.
- SAT preparation is available on campus, provided by an outside company. There is a cost to families for this course.
- Students can participate in a by-invitation-only Case Studies Program, where college admissions officers analyze applications on the spot.
- Students have access to online college search software program (Naviance).
- Our college counselors have admissions experience working with international students, and will help students navigate aspects of the college admissions process (TOEFL, student visas, etc) that are unique to them.
Sonoma Academy Is...
...the only private, independent, college preparatory high school in Sonoma County. On our beautiful campus nestled at the base of Taylor Mountain in Southeastern Santa Rosa, our students are able to explore their interests and passions in a rigorous and inspiring environment that develops a lifelong love of learning and prepares them for college and beyond.
Sonoma Academy admits students of any race, color, religion, ethnicity or national origin, citizenship, gender or gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, or disability, to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. The school does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, ethnicity or national origin, citizenship, gender or gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, or disability in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and tuition assistance programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs.
