Sonoma Country Day School

What Sonoma Country Day School does

Sonoma Country Day School (SCDS) is an independent, nonprofit TK-8 college preparatory school founded in 1983 and located on a single 25-classroom campus in northern Santa Rosa, California. The school serves approximately 300 students across Transitional Kindergarten through 8th grade, delivering a curriculum that integrates English/Language Arts, mathematics, sciences, world languages (Spanish and Mandarin), fine and performing arts, music (Orff-Schulwerk in early grades and instrumental/choral in middle school), athletics, and social-emotional learning. Co-curricular and ancillary programs include an Athletics program competing in the Middle School Sports League (volleyball, basketball, cross country, flag football), Extended Programs ("The Neighborhood") with after-school enrichment (robotics, fencing, taekwondo, chess, dance, private music lessons), SCDS Summer (weeklong academic and creative enrichment courses open to non-SCDS students), and facility rentals of the 770-seat Jackson Theater and campus to nonprofit organizations. SCDS is fully accredited by the California Association of Independent Schools (CAIS) and the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), with reaccreditation cycles completed in 1988, 1994, 2000, 2006, 2012, and 2018.

The school's technology infrastructure is built entirely on standard commercial EdTech platforms: Blackbaud's mySCDS as the school management and student information system, Seesaw as the student/parent learning portal, Canvas as the learning management system, SMART Tuition for billing, and Clarity for tuition assistance applications. SCDS does not offer public APIs, proprietary technology products, or in-house AI/ML capabilities. Operational support partnerships include Epicurean Group (in-house hot lunch service) and outdoor education providers embedded into specific grade levels — Go Adventures/Lifeschool for 7th-8th grade backpacking, Marine Science Institute and Marin Headlands Institute for 5th grade excursions, and Four Winds for 6th grade ropes course experiences.

SCDS's business model is tuition-driven: 2026-27 annual tuition is $35,950 per student for grades TK-8, billed annually and inclusive of field trips, outdoor education, sports fees, books, and supplies. Thirty percent of the student body receives need-based financial aid with awards ranging from 10-85% of tuition, supplemented by a $1,500 new student fee and revenue from extended programs, hot lunch, and summer programs. The go-to-market is direct-to-consumer — prospective families engage the admission office, schedule campus tours, complete online applications with teacher recommendations, and participate in student visit days. Annual fundraising via The SCDS Fund (target budget $551,250) and the Philip C. Nix Faculty Fund endowment bridge the gap between tuition and the school's actual cost of education (a stated ~$5,614 per student shortfall). SCDS is governed by a Board of Trustees as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization with no parent company, subsidiaries, or outside equity ownership, and has no public API, mobile app, or proprietary technology products.

Name

Sonoma Country Day School

Legal name

Sonoma Country Day School

Website

https://scds.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1983

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Sonoma Country Day School is a nonprofit TK-8 college preparatory school in Santa Rosa, California, founded in 1983 and accredited by CAIS and WASC. It enrolls approximately 300 students tuition-based at $35,950 annually, supplemented by financial aid, extended programs, and annual fundraising.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Private K-8 Education

NAICS

Elementary and Secondary Schools (6111), Educational Services (611), Exam Preparation and Tutoring (611691)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Child Day Care Services (8351)

akta.pro primary industry

Nonsectarian Independent Day Schools (EDAJABAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Preschool Programs within Private K–12 Schools (EDACABAM), Extended Day Programs at Preschools & Childcare Centers (EDACAHAB)

Keywords

• Private K-8 education
• College preparatory school
• Independent day school
• Elementary education services
• TK-8 curriculum

Headquarters

HQ city

Santa Rosa

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Tuition: Primary revenue stream from tuition for grades TK-8. 2026-27 tuition is $35,950 per year. Additional revenue from hot lunch program, extended programs, and summer programs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Sonoma Country Day School delivers tuition-funded, in-person college preparatory education for students in Transitional Kindergarten through 8th grade on its Santa Rosa campus. The school enrolls approximately 300 students, offers a project-based TK-8 academic program, and supplements its core curriculum with after-school care, summer programs, and athletic/extracurricular activities.

Product overview

Sonoma Country Day School is an independent TK-8 college preparatory school offering a unified educational program across three divisions: Transitional Kindergarten (ages 4-5), Lower School (TK-4), and Middle School (5-8). The school provides a portfolio of co-curricular and extended programs including Athletics (volleyball, basketball, cross country, flag football), Extended Programs (The Neighborhood), and SCDS Summer. SCDS also operates venue and facility rentals through its Jackson Theater (770 seats) and campus spaces to non-profit organizations. On the financial side, the school offers tuition assistance programs through Clarity and manages fundraising through The SCDS Fund annual giving, the Philip C. Nix Faculty Fund endowment, and a Planned Giving/Legacy Society program for estate gifts. Secondary school counseling is provided for high school placement.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• TK-8 College Preparatory Day School Program Full-time, in-person college preparatory education for students in Transitional Kindergarten through 8th grade, delivered on the Santa Rosa campus to approximately 300 students. Includes a project-based liberal-arts curriculum, 1:1 iPad program, and college-readiness preparation.
• After-School Care Programs On-site after-school supervision and enrichment programming offered to enrolled SCDS students following the academic day. Designed for working families needing extended on-campus coverage.
• Summer at SCDS Programs Seasonal summer programming (Summer at SCDS) offering camps and enrichment to SCDS and outside students during summer break, leveraging campus facilities.
• Campus Facility Rentals Rental of school facilities (gymnasium, fields, classrooms) to third parties for events, athletics, and community use, generating auxiliary revenue for the nonprofit.

Named customers2 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration8 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Epicurean GroupcoreOthersEpicurean Group provides the daily hot lunch program, cooked in the on-campus kitchen. They are dedicated to serving fresh, honest, and local food prepared from scratch, featuring organic produce when possible with seasonal menus.
• Steve and Kate's CampminorOthersSteve and Kate's Camp operates on SCDS campus during summer months (June 8 to August 14, 2026), providing summer camp programs for children ages 4-12 from 8am-6pm.
• Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria TANFminorOthersFederated Indians of Graton Rancheria TANF serves eligible Native American families in Sonoma and Marin County with summer youth programs designed for ages 8-17.
• Go Adventures/LifeschoolcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGo Adventures/Lifeschool is a nonprofit organization that leads backpacking trips for 7th and 8th grade students. They specialize in empowering teens with life skills, healthy values, and environmental ethics through wilderness travel. Core values align with SCDS educational philosophy.
• Marine Science InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMarine Science Institute provides 5th grade students with a day-long excursion to the San Francisco bay and coast environments, helping cultivate curiosity and foster environmental responsibility.
• Marin Headlands InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMarin Headlands Institute hosts 5th grade students for three days and two nights at the Marin Headlands, with team building activities, ocean exploration, and Leave No Trace education.
• Four WindscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFour Winds provides the ropes course experience for 6th grade students located in the coastal hills above Bodega Bay, helping develop individual skills and build teamwork among students and teachers.
• ClaritycoreTechnology or IntegrationClarity is the tuition assistance application platform used by SCDS for need-based financial aid applications.
• SMART TuitioncoreTechnology or IntegrationSMART Tuition is the student billing system used for tuition payments and payment plan management.
• BlackbaudcoreTechnology or IntegrationBlackbaud provides the mySCDS school management platform for the school's student information system.
• SeesawcoreTechnology or IntegrationSeesaw is the student and parent login portal used for classroom communication and student work sharing.
• Canvas LMScoreTechnology or IntegrationCanvas is the Learning Management System used for student, parent, and teacher access to coursework and grades.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• The Athenian School: Independent 6-12 college preparatory school in Danville, CA, with a parallel ethos of experiential and outdoor education; directly competes with SCDS as a destination for graduates seeking selective secondary schooling.
• Marin Academy: Independent 9-12 college preparatory school in San Rafael, California, with a similar progressive, experiential learning philosophy and overlapping recruitment from the same Bay Area feeder pool.
• The Branson School: Independent K-12 college preparatory school in Ross, California (Marin County), serving a similar affluent Bay Area family demographic with comparable tuition and a college-prep mission anchored in community and outdoor programming.
• Mark Day School: Independent K-8 school in San Rafael, California (Marin County), with a comparable college-prep mission, project-based learning emphasis, and similar tuition tier to SCDS.
• Sonoma Academy: Independent 6-12 college preparatory school in Santa Rosa, CA, operating in the same Sonoma County market with overlapping feeder relationships and competing for the same tuition-paying families SCDS feeds into at the high school level.
• Marin Primary School: Independent TK-8 school in Larkspur, California, serving the same Bay Area private-school feeder market with comparable tuition and a similar mission focused on social-emotional and academic development.

Regional players

• Cardinal Newman High School: Catholic 9-12 college preparatory school in Santa Rosa that is a documented destination for SCDS graduates; operates in the same Sonoma County market but as a faith-based high school rather than an independent TK-8.
• Santa Rosa Christian School: PreK-12 Christian school in the Santa Rosa area serving the same local market, providing a faith-based alternative to SCDS at a typically lower tuition point.

Emerging players

• Waldorf School of the Peninsula: Independent K-12 Waldorf school in the Bay Area offering an alternative pedagogy-based private education, competing for the same type of family seeking non-traditional independent schooling.

Broad incumbents

• San Domenico School: Larger independent K-12 Catholic school in San Anselmo, California, offering a similar blend of academics, arts, and outdoor education with broader grade coverage including high school.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/scds
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/textbooky
• Facebookfacebook.com/SonomaCountryDaySchool
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sonoma-country-day-school
• Instagraminstagram.com/sonomacountrydayschool

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sonoma Country Day School