Palm Desert Charter Middle

Palm Desert Charter Middle operates as a sizable intermediate school in Palm Desert, California, part of Desert Sands Unified. Current enrollment sits at 1,298 students spanning grades 6 through 8. That puts it 97% larger than the typical public school in California, which averages around 659 students.

Palm Desert Charter Middle is one of 34 schools operated by Desert Sands Unified, a district that educates 25,613 students overall.

Looking at the student body, Palm Desert Charter Middle lists that the most-represented group is Hispanic (52%), with the rest of the student body spread across multiple groups. Beyond that, the school records 34% White, 6% multiracial, 6% Asian. That composition is broadly in line with Riverside County as a whole.

On the resource side, Palm Desert Charter Middle lists 47 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 27.6:1. The state averages around 20.7:1, so this campus is higher than the state norm typical. About 61% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy. Set against Riverside County (around 74%), the school's rate is meaningfully below typical.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Palm Desert Charter Middle performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 42.9%, the actual is 47.4%, a residual of +4.4 points.

Zooming out to the county, community-level numbers for Riverside County indicate the typical household earns roughly $93,074 per year, about 26% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and the poverty rate sits near 8%. In all, Riverside County runs 543 public schools (combined enrollment of about 424,872 students), of which Palm Desert Charter Middle is one.

Abraham Lincoln Elementary is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.1 miles from this campus. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Palm Desert Charter Middle. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Palm Desert Charter Middle at 5th of 9; the average score across the group is 46.7%.

The campus sits in an urban setting. Palm Desert Charter Middle operates as a public charter school, meaning it is publicly funded but governed independently of the surrounding district's traditional schools.

Five-year trend. Palm Desert Charter Middle's enrollment has edged down 8% since 2018, when it stood at 1,408 (now 1,298). Over the same period, the White share contracted from 39% to 34%. Class-load math has loosened: from 26.2:1 in 2018 to 27.6:1 in 2025.

On this page, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around fundraisers, lost-and-found posts, and report-card season. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.