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Santana High School

Santana High School
Location
Map
9915 Magnolia Avenue

,
92071

United States
32°51′27″N 116°58′09″W / 32.85750°N 116.96917°W / 32.85750; -116.96917
Information
TypePublic comprehensive secondary
Motto"Home of Scholars and Champions"
Established1966
School district
Grossmont Union High School District
Principal
Brian Wilbur
Teaching staff
17.65 (FTE)[1]
Grades9-12
Enrollment1,712 (2023-2024)[1]
Student to teacher ratio
97.00[1]
CampusUrban
ColorsPurple, gold and white
     
NicknameSultans
RivalWest Hills High School
AccreditationWestern Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC)
YearbookSultan Memories
WebsiteSantana High School

Santana High School is a public high school in Santee, California. It is part of Grossmont Union High School District.

History

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Establishment:

The school was initially constructed in 1965 in Santee at 9915 Magnolia Avenue with Mr. Robert Spencer as principal.[2]

2001 Shooting

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On March 5, 2001, at Santana High School, 15-year-old Charles Andrew Williams shot and killed two students and injured thirteen other people — eleven students and two staff members.[3] Students and faculty were evacuated to a nearby shopping center, and local businesses and churches helped to handle students and parents. Some students said that they heard him saying, weeks before the shootings, that he was "going to pull a Columbine". Retreating to a bathroom, he was apprehended by police. On June 20, 2002, Williams pleaded guilty to all charges against him in an effort to avoid trial.[4] He was sentenced to 50 years to life in prison. He was eligible for a first youth offender parole in September 2024. Parole was not granted, resulting in a three year waiting period until his next parole hearing.[5]

Robotics program

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Santana High School participates in the *FIRST Robotics Competition, a world-wide robotics program where students will design, build, and program robots from scratch, to compete in competitions in a 3 month period. Sultan Robotics Team 3965 [6] was founded in 2012, has won 9 awards, traveled to the world championship 3 times, and made an appearance to the world championship finals in 2018. This marked the first time a team from San Diego had made it to the championship finals

Notable alumni

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References

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  1. 1 2 3 "Santana High". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved April 27, 2025.
  2. "School History". elcajonhistory.org. Retrieved February 21, 2026.
  3. "TheSanDiegoChannel.com - San Diego Community Stunned by School Shooting". www.thesandiegochannel.com. Archived from the original on March 8, 2001. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  4. Ellingwood, Ken; Perry, Tony (March 9, 2001). "Teen Stands Accused of Murder Charles Williams Arraigned for High School Shooting". The Tech (MIT). Archived from the original on June 3, 2012. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
  5. "CDCR Public Inmate Locator Disclaimer".[permanent dead link]
  6. "Sultan Robotics Team 3965". FRC Team 604. Retrieved June 3, 2025.
  7. O'Neill, Shaun (March 7, 2001). "Gomez feels good after first spring game". North County Times. p. C-4. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  8. "Everest-Drulis", The Central New Jersey Home News, March 24, 2002. Accessed February 10, 2025, via Newspapers.com. "Anne Marie and Guy Everest of Alpine, Calif., have announced the engagement of their daughter, Mitchelle A. Everest of New Brunswick, to Michael K. Drulis, son of Francesca and Steven Drulis of East Brunswick. Ms. Everest is a graduate of Santanna High School in California and Rutgers College, New Brunswick, with a bachelor's degree in political science, and an associate's degree from Eagleton Institute, New Brunswick."
  9. Ross, David (November 23, 2018). "Emmy-award winning filmmaker William Wall is a one-man band with scars to prove it - Escondido Times-Advocate". Escondido Times-Advocate. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
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