Carlton Oaks Elementary in Santee serves 877 students in grades K through 8 within the Santee School District on Wethersfield Road in the Carlton Hills corridor near Carlton Oaks Country Club. Annual vision screening requirements connect campus families to pediatric eye care providers such as Santee Family Optometry on Mission Gorge Road for comprehensive follow-up exams. The K-8 structure eliminates the middle school transition, keeping students on one campus from kindergarten through eighth grade before they enter Grossmont Union High School District secondary schools. A Gifted and Talented program provides differentiated instruction for identified students across both the elementary and middle school divisions. The campus sits within the Carlton Hills enrollment zone alongside neighborhood anchors including Carlton Oaks Baptist Church on Carlton Oaks Drive. State assessment data shows 51 percent math proficiency and 60 percent reading proficiency at a 22-to-1 student-teacher ratio across 39 full-time-equivalent teaching positions.