Desert Sands Unified School District

The Desert Sands Unified School District (DSUSD) is a public school district with main offices located in La Quinta, California. The district was founded in 1964 after the California department of education consolidated all of Indio public schools at the time. DSUSD serves the following communities:

• Indio (The part of the city south of Avenue 48 belongs to Coachella Valley Unified School District).
• La Quinta (The part of the city east of Jefferson Street belongs to CVUSD).
• Palm Desert (The part of the city north of Frank Sinatra Drive belongs to Palm Springs Unified School District).
• Indian Wells (has only one school in city limits).
• Bermuda Dunes (unincorporated, but its zip code has the majority of students' residence).
• Rancho Mirage (The part of the city west of Bob Hope Drive belongs to PSUSD).

The DSUSD administration office based in a former elementary school (1926-1955), was moved from Indio to La Quinta in 1996.

Schools

DSUSD has 21 elementary schools, 8 middle schools, 4 high schools, 2 continuation high schools and one independent studies school.

Elementary

• John Adams Elementary School, La Quinta – opened in 1987/88, originally in facility now occupied by LQMS. Current site slated to close in 2016, and reopen as a special study school. ^[1]
• Carrillo Ranch Center of the Learning Arts, Indio – opened in 2003/04.
• James E. Carter Elementary School, Palm Desert – opened in 1996/97.
• Dr. Reynaldo J. Carreon Jr. Academy, Indio – opened in 2004/05.
• Amelia Earhart Elementary of International Studies, an IB World School, Indio – opened in 2001/02.
• Dwight Eisenhower Elementary School, Indio – opened in 1961/62 renovated.
• Gerald Ford Elementary School, Indian Wells – opened in 1991/92.
• Benjamin Franklin Elementary School, La Quinta – opened in 1997/98.
• Herbert Hoover Elementary School, Indio – opened in 1951/52 renovated.
• Horizon Elementary School of Independent Studies, La Quinta.
• Andrew Jackson (Jackson Street) Elementary School, Indio – opened in 1954/55.
• Lyndon B. Johnson Elementary School, Indio – opened January 2000.
• John F. Kennedy Elementary School, Indio – opened in 1964/65.
• Abraham Lincoln Elementary School, Palm Desert – opened in 1965/66 renovated.
• James Madison Elementary School, Indio – opened in 1988/89.
• James Monroe Elementary School, Bermuda Dunes – opened in 1987/88.
• Ronald Reagan Elementary School, Palm Desert – opened in 2006/07.
• Theodore Roosevelt Elementary School, Indio – opened in 1950/51, oldest elementary school in Indio.
• Sands Scholarship Center – proposed in Indio.^[2]
• Harry S. Truman Elementary School, La Quinta – opened in 1989/90.
• Martin Van Buren Elementary School, Indio – opened in 1958/59 renovated.
• George Washington Charter Elementary School, Palm Desert – opened in 1954/55.
• Washington George, Carver Elementary School, proposed in Bermuda Dunes.^[3]

Middle

• Indio Middle School – opened in 1991/92, was on LQMS site the first year, California Distinguished School.
• John Glenn Middle School of International Studies an IB World School in Indio – opened in 2001/02, California Distinguished School.
• La Quinta Middle School – opened in 1988/89, has expanded in size, California Distinguished School.
• Palm Desert Middle School (charter school) – opened in 1978/79, California Distinguished School.
• Thomas Jefferson Middle School (Indio) – oldest DSUSD school in existence since 1946 (the building was a grade school since 1926). Was a grade 3 to 8 school from 1995 to 2006, California Distinguished School.
• Colonel Mitchell Paige Middle School in La Quinta – opened in 2005/06, California Distinguished School.
• Horizon Middle School of Independent Studies, La Quinta – wants to expand to new sites in Indio.
• Desert Ridge Academy in Indio – opened 2009/10, adjacent to Shadow Hills High School.

High

• La Quinta High School – opened in 1994/95, in the Indio city limits. California Distinguished School.
• Indio High School – opened in 1958/59, first high school – has the Indio Performing Arts Center.
• Palm Desert High School – opened in 1985/86, remodeled 2010/11. California Distinguished School.
• Amistad High School, Indio – continuation opened in 1988/89, will move to a new site in 2011.
• Horizon High School, La Quinta – independent studies opened in 2001/02, will expand services in the area.
• Summit High School, La Quinta – continuation opened in 2004/05, also expected to expand services.
• Shadow Hills High School, Indio – opened 2009/10, second high school in Indio.

Other

• Desert Sands Adult School (Community Education classes have been suspended. Online classes are being offered).
• Esperanza Community Center/School (for pregnant teen/mothers and daycare facility for their babies/children).

Amistad High School (grades 6-12) is a continuation high school facility, on the site of former Woodrow Wilson Middle School, Indio – opened in 1964/65, closed in 2009.

History

In the 1930s and 40s, Indio Public Schools consisted of Washington, Roosevelt, Jackson (the first facility replaced by a newer one), Lincoln and Hoover schools, with the Jefferson school the sole Junior High level facility.

DSUSD (began as the Indio Public School District) closed down 6 schools. The original sites for George Washington and Abraham Lincoln schools were in Indio. The Lincoln site originally on the block of Oasis St. from Bliss to Requa Avenues closed in the 1940s, then became the Indio Community school on the corner of Bliss Ave. and Park St. in the 1960s is now Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic school since the 1990s, but the adjacent race-segregated Indio Colored School later renamed William McKinley School on the corner of Monroe St. and Las Palmas Dr./John Nobles Ave. was closed in the 1960s when Indio Public Schools had to integrate their schools for Hispanic (WWII-era) and later Black/African-American students. Two other colored schools at the time: the Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge schools, on the corner of Jackson St. and Kenner Avenue had to merge with Jackson and Hoover Elementary Schools.

John Adams school of La Quinta relocated to a new facility in 1998/99 after their previous spot was taken over by Harry Truman school.

Woodrow Wilson Middle School closed in 2009, the campus will become the new Amistad Continuation High School in 2011.

Palm Desert High School followed by La Quinta High School and the PSUSD's Cathedral City High School, had the highest 3 test scores of all local high schools, among the top 10 in Riverside County and were above both California and US averages.

References

External links

• Official website

33°42′08″N 116°16′35″W / 33.70222°N 116.27639°W / 33.70222; -116.27639Coordinates: 33°42′08″N 116°16′35″W / 33.70222°N 116.27639°W / 33.70222; -116.27639