Reporting by Jennifer Cortez, Palm Springs Desert Sun
Basketball, best friends and hopes of building a rocket ship were among the things that students at Cathedral City Elementary School in the Palm Springs Unified School District looked forward to as they rang in the 2026-27 school year.
They and nearly 20,000 other students returned to Palm Springs Unified campuses Wednesday, Aug. 5, the earliest start date in the Coachella Valley.
The valley’s other K-12 districts, Coachella Valley Unified and Desert Sands Unified, will start two weeks later, on Wednesday, Aug. 19. (Fall classes begin Aug. 24 at Cal State San Bernardino’s Palm Desert Campus and Aug. 31 at College of the Desert.)
With one year left as Cubs before middle school, Nathaniel Garcia and Wilmer Ramirez were already sizing up the challenges and possibilities of fifth grade. More homework may be on the horizon, especially in math and reading, said Nathaniel, who is also a pianist.
But he’s also looking forward to more ambitious STEAM experiments, like building a rocket ship from classroom supplies, and more field trips.
“I hope it’ll be definitely more fun and more creative,” he said.
Wilmer, standing beside his shy third grade sister, Gisele, has his sights on conquering the ELPAC, a state assessment that would let the bilingual fifth grader cross one big goal off his list: demonstrating his proficiency in the English language.
Looking for friends in Palm Springs Unified
The new year brought a different set of questions for fourth graders Israel Jimenez and Adeline Esparza: Would their friends be in their class, and who would their teachers be?
A good school year, they suggested, was about both the people in the classroom and where their education could take them — to “a better job in life,” Israel said. Perhaps even as a veterinarian, second grader Eleanora McGloin added.
Nathaniel translated the stakes into terms any kid could understand: Miss too much school or stop putting in the effort, he warned, and students could fall so far behind that they might end up 12 years old in a transitional kindergarten classroom.
“You’ve got to be ready for school because it is going to be hard,” he said, “but fun and easy.”
For anyone feeling back-to-school butterflies, they also had some hard-earned advice for a successful new year: Study hard, make new friends and have some fun along the way.
Israel, who will soon turn 10, had one rule for younger students hoping to avoid an early trip to the principal’s office.
“Don’t be bad to your teachers,” he said.
Teachers would probably agree.
Jennifer Cortez covers education and breaking news in the Coachella Valley. Reach her at jennifer.cortez@desertsun.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun.
Related: 700 Flock cameras watch Coachella Valley drivers, fuel privacy debate
