DSUSD High School Teacher Dies of COVID-19 Complications

The staff and students in the Shadow Hills Knights community are mourning the death of Christopher Trujillo, who worked as an English teacher at the high school and died of COVID-19 complications. Trujillo was apart of the Knights family for the past five years. In a message sent out by school administrators, Trujillo was described as a teacher that "touched the lives of so many of our Knights… building their ability to express themselves through writing and helping them develop a deep love of literature." Trujillo passed Saturday, September 11, 2021. Desert Sands Unified School District released the following statement Monday night: "The past few days have brought great loss to Shadow Hills High School and to Desert Sands Unified School District. A student, a teacher, and a young alumni all passed away during this time, said Mary Perry DSUSD spokesperson. The District is referring to the deaths of 23-year-old Isaiah Ortega-Dade, a former SHHS football star who died after a hit and run Saturday morning in Desert Hot Springs. And the death of Oscar Juarez Barrios who was a senior at SHHS and died in a car accident Sunday morning in Palm Desert. "All three of these young men will be missed but remembered," Perry said in the release. The school will provide grief counselors on site to all students and staff. At this time there is no information about funeral arrangements.