Welcome to Santa Rita Elementary School! Santa Rita serves Transitional Kindergarten through 5th grade in the Santa Rita Union School District. Initially just a two room school, Santa Rita Elementary School began providing educational programs to students in Salinas, California in 1871. In 1939, it was replaced with a seven room school to accommodate the needs of a growing population. In 1958, it became a 19-classroom school, and by 1962, all classrooms ran a double session until the opening of La Joya Elementary in 1963. Today the school has an enrollment of approximately 550 students in grades TK-5.