Here's How Santee Schools Rank: Niche

SANTEE, CA — Santee has multiple top-ranked schools, according to new grades and rankings released by Niche. The ranking and review site gave one school in the city an overall grade of A and the remaining schools B grades.

Here's how Niche graded and ranked Santee schools:

• Rio Seco Elementary School: A-, ranked 524th best public elementary school in California
• Chet F. Harritt Elementary School: B+, ranked 720th best public elementary school in California
• Sycamore Canyon Elementary School: B+, ranked 205th best best public elementary schoolin San Diego area
• Carlton Oaks Elementary School: B+, ranked 837th best public elementary school in California
• Pepper Drive Elementary School: B, ranked 880th best public elementary school in California
• Pride Academy at Prospect Avenue: B, ranked 890th best public elementary school in California
• Cajon Park Elementary School: B, ranked 898th best public elementary school in California
• Carlton Hills Elementary School: B, ranked 922nd best public elementary school in California
• Hill Creek Elementary School: B, ranked 984th best public elementary school in California
• Santee Alternative School: B+, did not receive a ranking

Related: Santee School Calendar 2019-2020

Niche looked at more than 94,000 public schools, 4,100 private schools and nearly 11,000 school districts across the country. The rankings are meant to help parents and students find schools that best fit their needs.

"Unlike traditional school rankings, which rely almost exclusively on test scores and academic performance, Niche's rankings provide a real-life view of what it's like to attend a given school," the company said in a news release.

Comments from current students, alumni, and parents are included in the analysis, as well as observations about things like campus life, extracurricular activities, sports options, diversity, and programs for gifted and special needs students.

"Parents and students need more than test-score data," Luke Skurman, CEO at Niche, said in the news release. "They need to understand what it's really like to attend a school before they start the application or registration process."

For the first time, Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, New Hampshire, and Thomas Jefferson High School for Science & Technology in Alexandria, Virginia, were ranked the top private and public high schools, respectively, in the nation.

2020 top public high schools:

1. Thomas Jefferson High School for Science & Technology
2. Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy
3. Walter Payton College Prep
4. Stuyvesant High School
5. Bergen County Academies

2020 top private high schools:

1. Phillips Exeter Academy
2. St. Mark's School of Texas
3. Phillips Academy
4. The College Preparatory School
5. Trinity School

Patch national staffer Dan Hampton contributed to this report.