Two Bunch Palms Elementary, Desert Hot Springs CA

Original Research by School Decision on Two Bunch Palms Elementary

Two Bunch Palms Elementary sits in Desert Hot Springs, a small desert city in the Coachella Valley known for its natural hot springs and a wellness-tourism economy. The school serves kindergarten through fifth grade and draws from an enrollment of roughly mid-size for its grade span, with a student body that is predominantly Hispanic and experiencing very substantial economic hardship. A very large majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

The school's academic performance is below the midpoint among districts in Riverside County. On the most recent state assessments, proficiency rates in English language arts averaged in the low twenties across grades three through five, with a notably higher result in fifth grade and lower ones in third and fourth. Mathematics proficiency was lower, in the high teens, with fifth grade showing the smallest result. Science proficiency in fifth grade, the only grade tested, was in the low teens. These results suggest that the school is serving students with significant unmet academic needs across both core subjects. A parent may want to look into further with the school how it is approaching literacy and numeracy and what support systems exist for struggling learners.

The Desert Hot Springs area is characterized as car-oriented, with residents driving alone to work and owning roughly two vehicles per household on average. The local economy centers on health care, hospitality, and retail, with tourism and wellness services providing a major share of jobs. Housing values are modest for the region, and the city positions itself as an affordable community with land available for development and expansion. The district recently passed a school facilities bond approved by voters in November, which will fund modernization of aging classrooms and schools across the system, including work on facilities that are decades old. This bond extends the existing property-tax rate for school support rather than raising it.

Two Bunch Palms Elementary is a regular public school with no charter or magnet designation. State testing data was available for the school's tested grades and subjects; data on chronic absenteeism, special education enrollment, and English learner status were not available in the records reviewed. The school appears to serve a high-need student population in a community where affordability and economic opportunity are central to the local picture. Families considering this school should understand that academic proficiency is substantially below county medians and may want to engage directly with school leadership about instructional priorities and how the school is positioned to support students who are beginning from behind.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 320%

School 20% · District 32% · ▼ 12 pts below district

▼ 23 pts below state median · ▼ 17 pts below county median

Grade 419%

School 19% · District 25% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▼ 19 pts below state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

Grade 514%

School 14% · District 21% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▼ 16 pts below state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 322%

School 22% · District 34% · ▼ 12 pts below district

▼ 18 pts below state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

Grade 416%

School 16% · District 29% · ▼ 13 pts below district

▼ 26 pts below state median · ▼ 21 pts below county median

Grade 524%

School 24% · District 36% · ▼ 12 pts below district

▼ 21 pts below state median · ▼ 17 pts below county median

Science

Grade 512%

School 12% · District 21% · ▼ 9 pts below district

▼ 16 pts below state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

This schoolPalm Springs Unified, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.