James Earl Carter Elementary

James Earl Carter Elementary, a medium-sized primary school in Palm Desert, California, one of the schools within Desert Sands Unified, serves 487 students, covering grades K through 5.

Desert Sands Unified comprises 34 schools with combined enrollment of 25,613 students; James Earl Carter Elementary is among them.

In terms of who attends, James Earl Carter Elementary shows that 52% of students identify as Hispanic, with the remaining enrollment distributed across several groups. Beyond that, the school lists 26% White, 10% Asian, 9% multiracial, 2% Black. That composition is broadly in line with Riverside County as a whole.

On the resource side, The school reports having 22 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 22.1:1. That tracks the state average closely. Around 63% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. By comparison, Riverside County runs at roughly 74%, so the school's eligibility rate is meaningfully below the surrounding baseline.

With demographic context factored in, James Earl Carter Elementary ranks in the top 10% of California public schools. The BeatsExpectations model, a per-state regression of composite proficiency on FRL share, predicts schools with this student profile to land around 41.8%; James Earl Carter Elementary posts 56.9%, +15.0 points above that line.

Zooming out to the county, the surrounding county (Riverside County) shows that median household income runs about $93,074, roughly 26% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 8% of residents live below the federal poverty line. James Earl Carter Elementary is one of 543 public schools in Riverside County (combined enrollment of about 424,872 students).

The closest other public school is Abraham Lincoln Elementary, roughly 0.8 miles away. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. On composite proficiency, James Earl Carter Elementary comes 3rd of 9 in the immediate cluster, ahead of the nearby-schools average of 45.5%.

The school occupies a downtown site.

Five-year trend. Over the past 7-year window, the student count decreased 27%: 663 students in 2018 compared to 487 in 2025. The White share of enrollment declined from 37% to 26% over that span.

On the community side, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around open house dates, ride-share offers, and field-trip permission slips. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.