Athletics at San Tan Charter School
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 20, 2020
Contact: Marlene K. Armstrong, M.Ed.
Principal, Power Campus
San Tan Charter School
480-222-0811
Athletics Teams at San Tan Charter School in Gilbert Outweigh Competition
The Young School Proves Worthy of Statewide Sports Acclaim and Doesn’t Make “Cuts”
GILBERT, Arizona—The East Valley is known for championship high school athletics but an uncut gem is hiding at Power and Elliot roads in Gilbert.
Since 2016 San Tan Charter School has won 10 Canyon Athletics Association (CAA) State Championships while moving up in enrollment and now moves to the Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA) in 2020-21 as an early favorite to compete for championships at the 2A level.
“We are looking forward to continuing to grow and develop our programs with the new competition level in the AIA,” said Athletic Director Nicole Tatum, who was recently named the CAA Athletic Director of the Year for 2019-2020.
At the foundation of the program is a philosophy that believes kids should play multiple sports and should not be “cut” from its teams. Instead, San Tan Charter just creates more teams.
Propping up the program is a varsity boys basketball team with a combined 92-10 overall school record including three CAA State Championships in just four years. The 2019-2020 campaign ended with a CAA Division 3 State Championship and perhaps more impressively an Arizona Maxpreps overall No. 5 ranking which includes all schools in the state no matter their size or playing division. This year’s team participated in the 2019-20 Tarkanian Basketball Classic in Las Vegas, a national basketball invitation-only tournament for college and NBA scouts.
“A tenet of our success is our resources, facilities and overall leadership of the school now and in the past,” said STCS basketball program coach Derek Freeman. In grades 5-12 San Tan Charter runs six boys basketball teams and has a history of winning at each level.
The varsity football program won its second CAA State Championship in three years and a has a combined 23-7 school record. The school’s inaugural season resulted in a CAA Division 1 State Championship and this fall won its second title with a CAA Division 3 State Championship. The program has three teams in grades 5-12 and next season will offer a junior varsity tackle team.
“The greatest factor to our success is our family environment,” said STCS volleyball program coach Nicole Revling. The varsity girls team has a combined 36-10 school record since 2017 and a 2018 CAA Division 1 State Championship and a CAA Division 2 Runner-Up finish in 2019. The program includes multiple junior high and high school teams, a varsity boys team and girls sand volleyball.
In addition to the three major programs in football, basketball and volleyball, San Tan Charter School has CAA State Championships in Cheer (2017), Junior High Baseball (2017) and Junior High Boys Swimming (2017).
The school is proud to offer a variety of extracurricular programs for students in fifth through twelfth grade at the intramural, junior high and high school levels, Tatum said, and offers swimming, flag football, tackle football, volleyball, cheer, color guard, basketball, soccer, baseball, softball, golf and swimming.
***ADDITIONAL PHOTOS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST***For more information about San Tan Charter School’s athletics program, please contact Athletic Director Nicole Tatum at 480-222-0811.
About San Tan Charter School:
San Tan Charter School is a Kinder-12th grade public non-profit tuition free charter school with three campuses in the East Valley with a private preschool at the Recker campus. The school uses a Love and Logic® approach to classroom management that is focused on building relationships and communicating with respect. The school focuses on “Education with a Purpose,” which means the teachers encourage their students’ love of learning, which enables them to face challenges and develop critical thinking skills. San Tan Charter School also offers individualized learning plans, and as a college and career ready school, they are focused on maximizing each student’s intellectual development through Honors/AP classes, Concurrent/Dual Enrollment classes and robust elective choices. For more information, please visit https://santancharterschool.com/
