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Elito Macapagal Santarina was elected into the
Carson City Council on March 4, 2003, to serve a four-year term
and was re-elected in March, 2007 to another four-year term. Long
before being elected into public office, he has been an active
member of the City family and the Carson community through his
service on many of the City’s commissions and boards, and as a
volunteer for various city projects. Santarina is a retired
educator, whose teaching career spanned nearly four decades.
Santarina was born and raised in the Philippines where he
obtained his Bachelors and Post Baccalaureate degrees in Education,
Linguistics and School Administration. The colleges and
universities that are responsible for his successful educational
career are the College of the Immaculate Concepcion, St. Louis
University, Philippine Normal College and the Ateneo De Manila
University. He began his teaching career in 1967 and became a school
principal from 1969 to 1973, before migrating to the United States
in the early-70s.
While working as a school teacher in Southern California, he
pursued graduate studies in such interests as Administration,
Educational leadership, and Advanced Studies on Teaching English as
a Second Language. In 1980, he completed his Master of Arts Degree
in Special Education from the California State University Dominguez
Hills and immediately built a strong solid career as an educator in
various schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District, teaching
middle and high school English, Bilingual Math and multicultural
studies, and coordinating ESL program in adult education. He taught
Spanish and History at the Andrew Carnegie Middle School in Carson
and still serves on the LAUSD’s Professional Bilingual Competency
Test Committee. On June 28, 2005, he officially retired from LAUSD
after completing his 30 years of service in the U.S. Currently, he
is teaching at Lynwood Unified School District where he provides
Direct Instruction on Reading and Language Arts and as a Resource
Teacher on call, providing services to all levels: elementary,
middle grade and high school as a substitute.
Santarina’s community involvement began in the late 1980s when he
decided to use his achievements as a successful educator to help
make a difference in the Carson community. Over the last 10
years, he has served on the City of Carson’s Planning, Parks and
Recreation, Senior Citizens Advisory Commission, Citywide Advisory
commissions and briefly on the Economic Development Commission. He
also served as co-chair of the City of Carson’s 30th anniversary
celebrations, and assisted in the City’s summer youth jobs selection
process. He has either held leadership positions or has been
supportive of many local organizations such as the Carson-Gardena
YMCA, Carson Sister Cities Association, Kiwanis International,
Martin Luther King, Jr. Democratic Club, Carson Women’s Club and
PTSA at 232rd Place School.
As a councilmember (2003-2011) and Mayor Pro Tem (2007-2008),
Santarina has outstandingly completed the Leadership Training
Institute Programs in the subject areas of Leadership, Diverse
Community and Creating Sustainable Communities. He is again serving
as the Mayor Pro-Tem for 2010-2011.
He is a recipient of numerous recognitions as an outstanding
educator and a community leader. These include the Mayor Tom
Bradley Cultural Award, the California Department of Education
Exceptional Leadership PTSA in Public Schools Awards, the LAUSD
Asian Pacific Educators Commission Leadership Award, the Asian
Pacific Islander Educators Association “Torch of Service” award, the
Lions Club International’s Outstanding Educator Award, and the
Kiwanis Club’s Outstanding Educator Award and Outstanding Awards
from the Community Interethnic Associations.
Santarina has been married to Anita Cruz-Aves for 39 years. They
have two daughters Ann Mairah and Ann Rea, and a son Francis Camilus,
two sons-in-law Joseph and Glenn, daughter-in-law Jennifer, and six
grandchildren Neil Anthony, Frankie, Geoffrey, Joseph Elijah, Chloe,
and Capri.
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Last Update: May 4, 2010 ~
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