George Washington Charter

Located at 45-768 Portola Ave., in Palm Desert, California, George Washington Charter is a sprawling elementary school that works with 746 students (grades K through 5), one of the schools within Desert Sands Unified. Compared to the state average of about 465 students per school, that is 60% larger than typical.

Desert Sands Unified comprises 34 schools with combined enrollment of 25,613 students; George Washington Charter is among them.

Demographically, George Washington Charter shows that the largest single group is White at 50%, but no single group is in the majority. Other groups include 36% Hispanic, 8% multiracial, 5% Asian. By comparison, Riverside County as a whole is about 38% White, so the school skews meaningfully more White than its surroundings.

On the resource side, On paper, George Washington Charter has 29 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 25.7:1. The state averages around 22.3:1, so this campus is higher than the state norm typical. Around 50% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. That share is south of Riverside County's rate of about 74%.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, George Washington Charter is in the OUTPERFORMING tier of the BeatsExpectations model, which fits a per-state line through proficiency and FRL share. Schools with this campus's poverty mix typically land near 49.5%; this one delivers 67.7%, a residual of +18.1 points.

In the surrounding community, community-level numbers for Riverside County indicate median household income runs about $93,074, 26% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and roughly 8% of residents live below the federal poverty line. George Washington Charter is one of 543 public schools in Riverside County (combined enrollment of about 424,872 students).

Nearest neighbor: Palm Desert Charter Middle, around 1.2 miles off. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around George Washington Charter. Among the 8 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), George Washington Charter ranks 1st on composite proficiency, ahead of the local average of 44.0%.

Geographically, the school is in an inner-city area. George Washington Charter is a charter school, which puts it inside the public-school system but outside the standard district-managed model.

Looking at the recent track record. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at George Washington Charter has edged down 10%, going from 832 students in 2018 to 746 in 2025.

Within the allk12 community for this school, the feed for George Washington Charter typically covers science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.