Schools & Education
The city motto of Santa Ana is “Education First” and it tends to show in the quality of the schools, especially by comparison to many other educational systems in Southern California. There are ten public high schools in Santa Ana, most of them with student populations numbering between 2500 and three thousand.
The city is also home to the largest Catholic high school west of Chicago. Mater Dei High School, established 1950, has about 2400 students, and boasts the sixth highest ranked high school athletic program in the nation. The school is remarkably well-funded by its alumni, with academic and athletic facilities far superior to most private colleges of comparable size. Mater Dei alumni include two Heisman trophy winners.
Another remarkable high school in Santa Ana is the Orange County High School of the Arts. Located downtown, this public charter school is divided into eleven conservatories for arts education: Ballet Folklorico, Classical Dance, Commercial Dance, Creative Writing, Film and Television, Integrated Arts, Instrumental Music, Music and Theatre, Opera, Production and Design, and the Visual Arts.
Santa Ana College, part of the Rancho Santiago Community College District, and the private, post-secondary Art Institution of California are located within the city limits of Santa Ana. Other colleges and universities located within a twenty mile radius of downtown include Bethesda Christian University, Biola University, California State University – Fullerton, California State University – Long Beach, Cerritos College, Chapman University, Coastline Community College, Concordia University – Irvine, Cypress College, Fullerton College, Golden West College, Hope International University, Irvine Valley College, Laguna College of Art and Design, Long Beach City College, Orange Coast College, Rio Hondo College, Saddleback College, South Baylo University, Southern California College of Optometry, Southern California University of Health Sciences, the University of California –Irvine, Vanguard University of Southern California, and Whittier College.