Desert Junior/Senior High School

The school has really gone downhill in the past four years. Of course you have the students who excel in any environment and who contribute to the high test scores this school receives, but many of the students are out-of-control. Many of the students cheat on tests, do drugs, destroy school property and bully other students. Athletes and ROTC members who misbehave are not disciplined. Students who report bad behavior are labeled snitches and are ostracized. This is especially true for the athletes who misbehave. The expectation is for athletes to stick together no matter what kind of trouble their teammates get into. At a recent Academic Awards Ceremony, I listened to the Principal praise the athletic abilities of a particular young man when the focus of the ceremony was supposed to be on academics. It appeared that being a football player was more important than excelling academically. If you have the option, send your child to a different school.
--Submitted by a parent

I have enjoyed my time as a student at Desert High School immensely. The school is just small enough that all students are called and remembered by name, by both the staff and their peers. Most of the teachers and staff are good people with good intentions, but every school is home to a few misfit teachers. As a graduate from this campus, I pray for improvements in the following things. The Arts programs, they are far too basic and do not teach much to the students at all. Offer more Language, give the students more choices than just "spanish" like Mandarin, or French. The sports programs / facilities, this school is home to the most unsafe bleachers known to man as well as an unlevel track. Then there is campus quality / cleanliness, clean up the trash that is constantly blowing round in the wind, and throw on a coat of fresh paint. The best thing about Desert is the rich social aspect. I'm going to miss the crowded football games and even the "lame" pep rallies. Go Scorpions!

This school has helped me excel exponentially, since graduating in, 2009 I have enjoyed being accepted to Berkely, Harvard, and Georgia tech. the counciling staff was very hepLful in my endeviours

To add to the comments below concerning Desert Jr. High School, the students doing the bullying are still in school and still continuing to bully others. Just because they are good athletes or their parents have said they've changed, does not mean they should be allowed to continue to attend school. After going to the superintendent and still getting no resolution to the situation, we removed our student from the school. It's very unfortunate that bullies are allowed to dictate who attends school and who doesn't. Once again, if you have a student attending the Jr. High, I would seriously consider not sending them to Desert Jr. High School.
--Submitted by a parent

This school offers a great academic curriculum. The students are smart and should all be proud. The school environment is very safe. My child can walk to and from school, which is rare in our times. The teachers do truly care about their students. Kudos.
--Submitted by a parent

I am proud to be a Desert Jr/Sr High School parent. This year's parent involvement was an amazing movement all year round throughout the whole school. Just a little over 100 senior students will be graduation this year and many of our graduates students were awarded with Scholarships over total $600,000 for a very small school. Thank you teachers, staffs and parents for your team work. Goooo Scorpion!
--Submitted by a parent

Academically, Desert Junior/Senior High School school is mediocre at providing a basic high school education and below average at providing a college-prep education. Many students struggle with basic reading and writing due to the quality of the education offered here. Due to size and funding, course variety, extracurriculars, and AP classes are paltry. Like most schools, an exceptional child can thrive anywhere and go on to excell in post-secondary education. However, an average child will struggle to obtain an adequate college -prep education here. On the positive side, the biology department is exceptional academically. Furthermore, in an area where most of the public schools rank below average, this school does perform better than most of the surrounding low-performing schools.
--Submitted by a parent

Desert provides my child with a safe school environment, high student achievement and courses that prepare her for college! The size of the school allows everyone to get involved. Teachers, administrators and staff are very helpful in making sure my student is successful. We have the best students in the country. Desert is a California Distinguished school. Keep up the good work Desert!
--Submitted by a parent

My child switch high schools in her Junior year, this school is much better academicaly than her off base school. My child stated I feel like I'm finally getting an education.
--Submitted by a parent

The administration leadership is lacking allowing teenage drama, bullying and drugs to affect students personally and academically. Lacking in extracurricular activities. Not the ideal HS experience I was hoping for my daughter.
--Submitted by a parent