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Accelerated, Honors, Advanced Placement

McKinley Accelerated/Explorer Program (MAEP): Grades 4-6

MAEP was founded in 2012 and evolved to its current form in 2020. Our mission is to engage all students in a dynamic, rigorous, and personalized 4th-6th grade learning experience with the end goal of preparing them to become global citizens, problem solvers, and leaders. For more information about this program, visit McKinley's website. You can also call the McKinley office at (707) 778-4750.

Petaluma Accelerated Charter School (PACS) at McKinley: Grades 7-8

PACS is made up of two 7th and 8th grade classrooms taught by a team of four teachers. Students who attend PACS can look forward to STEAM-focused electives, honors-level English classes, interactive history classes, a competitive science program, and a compacted math program that will prepare them to begin high school in 10th-grade math, putting them a year ahead of their peers. For more information visit the Petaluma Accelerated Charter School website.

Accelerated Junior High English and Math

7th and 8th-grade students in Petaluma City Schools have the option to participate in accelerated English and math coursework. For more information, contact our Junior High Schools directly.

High School Advanced Placement (AP) and Honors Classes

Examples of Advanced Placement Classes Offered:

  • AP Calculus AB
  • AP Calculus BC
  • AP Computer Science
  • AP Environmental Science
  • AP French
  • AP Government and Economics
  • AP Physics
  • AP Psychology
  • AP Spanish
  • AP Statistics
  • AP US History
  • AP World History

For updated information, visit the Petaluma High AP Course Description Page or the Casa Grande Honors and AP Course Information website.

Student Access to Accelerated, Honors, and Advanced Courses


The process begins both at school and at home. At home, students and parents must determine if accelerated/honors/advanced coursework is the desired pathway, understanding that the commitment and coursework are demanding, rigorous, and time-intensive. Students who are interested in taking accelerated/honors/advanced coursework will have the opportunity to initially register for these courses during the annual registration period.

At school, when students register for these courses, the school gives students course-specific objective assessments (which may include standardized test scores, prerequisite course grades, local assessments, other objective measures, and total student course load), to determine readiness for accelerated/honors/advanced coursework. These assessments will help identify some, but not all, students who may be ready for more rigorous coursework. Based on the results of these assessments, the school will notify the parents and student of their recommended placement.

Because no school measurement exists to determine a student’s career aspirations, motivations, work ethic, and/or other significant variables, both parent/student and school input are used to make placement decisions. For students who are not recommended for an accelerated/honors/advanced course, the student and parents may still opt for entry into the course.

Every effort/attempt will be made to accommodate all interested students, provided that there is space in the class(es). Should space availability become an issue, students will be placed in priority order based on the variety of assessment measures, mentioned above.

Students placed in accelerated/honors/advanced courses must maintain a minimum “C” grade for every grading period. Failure to maintain a “C” will result in the student being placed on academic probation for the next grading period. Consecutive grading periods with below a “C” may result in removal from the course, provided there is space in the class that the student would be moved to. It should be noted that removing a student from a course mid-year may also require movement of other classes in the student’s schedule.

NOTE: For students who opt into accelerated/honors/advanced math courses, as indicated in State Bill (SB) 359, California Ed Code 51224.7, and Board Policy (BP) 6152.1, “within the first month of the school year… students shall be reevaluated to ensure that they are appropriately placed… Any student found to be misplaced shall be promptly placed in the appropriate mathematics course.”

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