My daughter attended First School for two years, and during her last year she had Ms. Saira as her…read moreteacher. Ms. Saira was absolutely wonderful, my daughter adored her. She was warm, patient, and always took the time to update me about my daughter's day. She also created so many engaging and fun learning activities for the class. Thanks to her, I felt my daughter was very well-prepared for kindergarten! All the teachers at the PD were amazing. I highly recommend this preschool!

First School Palm Desert Attention : Heather…read more October 17, 2025 Regarding : Ms. Sylvia I am writing this letter to let you know, how wonderful it is to have Ms.Sylvia on your staff. She brings with her, nurturing, and guidance to all the children at First School. She knows just the right thing to say to a child that is having a sad day, whatever that might be. She always makes sure that the children have what they need to be secure and have a pleasant day. For myself and my son Bradley, we enjoy talking with her and giving her hugs. Sincerely, Jeanine Matzie Bradley Thaxton-Matzie

Amazing what is happening at Palm Desert Community Academy Presbyterian church! School reopened the…read moredoors with new teachers, new school director, new office staff, new classrooms full of love and bright future. Setting up everything, every goal to succeed. Teaching strong foundation for life starts at the early years, today that is what we do at the Academy raising tomorrow's lions, raising tomorrow's light, with love with are teaching love . Amazing place secured, safe and fun

They gave my 5 yr old a bladder infection because they wouldn't let her use the bathroom often…read moreenough. My daughter told me she was routinely told to 'just hold it' when she asked to go to the bathroom. I spoke with them about this and they said they gave her time to go, yet she still developed another bladder infection. She told me the second time that she *was* asking her teachers to go and they were still telling her to hold it. My older daughter confirmed this was happening. This was really upsetting and we left shortly after this point. Another incident that happened was bullying by one of the teachers Ms. Shama. She was very hard on my daughter who was struggling to learn her numbers in Kindergarten. It got so bad that my daughter started having nightmares about learning numbers. I was concerned enough to write a note to the teacher asking kindly to please understand she was still learning. My daughter later reported to me Ms. Shama refused to let her participate in any numbers or reading activities after that because she said 'your mom said you can't do any activities', which was of course not what I said in my note or in the quick f2f chat we had. I was really disappointed that an adult would treat a 5 year old this way.

We recently moved but prior to leaving, my two year and a half year old attended this school and it…read morewas great! She had a bit of separation anxiety but the teachers there helped to make dropping off an easy transition. The teachers are great, they did educational but fun activities and speciality days. My daughter learned a lot. We particularly loved her learning Star Spangled Banner and that the teachers gave her exposure to different languages. We certainly miss this school!

I recently due to covid needed some help with enrolling my kids into a homeschooling program, i…read morewasn't able to find any good information anywhere until a friend recommended I reach out to Ramina at Discovery of Learning in Palm Desert, at first I was reluctant because I was worried they would try to sell me something or try to talk me into something I did't want, but I reached out to Ramina who not only was so nice, but honestly cared about my needs and made great recommendations based on my needs, and helped me enroll my son in homeschooling, the best part was that the whole process was absolutely free, it's an amazing resource, I highly recommend them!

Ok, where do I start with this nightmare of a school? First of all, In my opinion, this place is a…read morecomplete scam. They lure you in pretending to be a Montessori style school that is interest led and will let your child learn in his or her own way. In my experience that couldn't be further from the truth. This place has very few credentialed teachers and the rest are just there babysitting. The place is run by a woman that employs all of her underqualified children in positions they are in no way qualified for. This place is the poster child for nepotism. The place has an administrator that is a young girl with no experience in the field of administration or education. She has no idea how to handle problems as they arise. They've had a rash of drug problems in the school that they sweep under the rug because this is a for-profit school and they are only interested in having the attendance numbers as high as possible so they can make money. I experienced a bullying problem at the school where kids can pick on each other and not get suspended from school or disciplined. The main administrator is never on campus and that leaves your children to be watched by her kids that act as administrators but actually have no experience in that field or even experience with kids as they are kids themselves. Since we were there, every year all the best teachers leave once they realize the place is a scam and don't want to take part in hurting the student's education any longer. We also learned that the teachers are not allowed (prohibited by the administration) to tell you if your student is falling behind or doing poorly because they need your funding money worse than they need your child to succeed in their education. The place is so troubled that they have had students cutting themselves (self-mutilation) on campus and they never made the parents of other students aware of the situation. when asked about the problems on campus the administrator will make it seem like you have no idea what you're talking about. We were told that their philosophy is "your child will learn when they are ready". You will get a weekly newsletter that will say all the things your kids did in class that week, but what they don't tell you is if your child didn't want to do any work that week or any week they didn't have to, I mean literally they will not be made to complete anything, and if they do assignments wrong they are not corrected. The teachers will actually make fake work to put in your child's folder to send to the charter school to keep their funding rather than have your child do the work themselves. Our experience is your child will learn very little and definitely less than a public school. I have never seen anything like this in all of my years as a parent. This is a scam of the worst kind, the kind of scam that makes money off of ruining your child's education. If you care about your children and their education please do not enroll your child in this school and if you are enrolled take your child to another school. This is a poorly run daycare at best that runs from preschool to high school. by the time you realize your child isn't learning anything, ​it's too late.

This was my first time with a sitter service and I can't say enough of how great it was. We had…read morePeggy both nights and she was just a dream - one of the best sitters we've ever had. We felt 100% at ease and fully trusting. That says a lot. I could tell that my son (14mo) was excited to see her the second night because he was smiling, very happy when she walked in, and had his mouth open in excitement looking at the suitcase of toys he remembered from the day before. Peggy was put together, professional, super sweet, you could tell she loves kids, and she cared more about his needs than her own which was just so sweet. She was more genuinely excited to play with him than most babysitters I've had over at home. I wish she lived in my area because I would use her ALL THE TIME. So glad we booked!

We required a sitter for a much needed dinner night out. We requested our O.G. Elisa and she was…read moreavailable. Her demeanor, experience and preparedness had us comfortable from the start. My wife communicated via text and everything went smooth as silk. When we came back home there were many crafts and the kids were dressed for bed. They were happy & energized as well. Elisa is our ace in the hole from now on.

Being a stay-at-home for the first 2.5 years with my firstborn, I was reluctant to trust my son's…read morecare with someone else, and "let go." However from our very first tour of the school and meeting with the Cathy, we knew he would be in excellent hands. This is not a typical daycare environment; it's academically structured and follows a curriculum in which I know exactly what my child is learning every week and it shows! My son was showing signs of a speech delay at the start of his enrollment, and Cathy referred us to an excellent program with private therapy and notified his teachers of a plan to aid his speech development. We saw results quickly - his vocabulary grew exponentially and now the kid doesn't stop talking! haha Special things to note: the classrooms are sanitized and cleaned nightly by a professional crew, and at the start of every drop-off each child is physically examined for any signs of contagious rash or illness. They take this very seriously, and it works to ward off any potential viruses spreading among the children. The staff is also highly communicative; the director knows every child and parent by name, and the teachers provide daily logs of your child's activities. There are so many great enrichment programs that the kids look forward to - snow day, mobile petting zoo visits, holiday activities, ice cream day, etc. My son LOVES going to school, and we're so thrilled we found this gem. THANK YOU CATHY :)

My son recently moved on to Kinder after attending here for two years. You have the option of half…read moreor full day programs. The daycare does a GREAT job of preparing the kids for the next wrung. I hear they use more of an academic philosophy. The teachers tend to rotate so we have met many and all have been way above par. My daughter is now in a Pre-K class and she enjoys herself immensely. She will follow big brother to Carter Elementary in two years and we are confident that the segue will be painless. I highly recommend this place for your young ones.

Overall not a terrible school but a minority of the staff favor wealthy/donor student's parents…read moreopinions and are not fair with the way they treat the children. I feel that the new principal isn't fair in the way she disciplines...:a mixed bag she will treat some harsher than others for the same or for lesser offenses. The school needs help mainstreaming their disciplinary actions. Some of the teachers need help controlling their anger/poor emotional choices. But overall the majority staff really works hard and practices the Catholic faith and is wonderful.

The teachers and the program is Top Notch!! I highly recommend the school and the teachers. My 6th…read moregrade son Matthew really loves the school and is constantly learning and being challenged every day. The academic program is the Best that I've seen anywhere and the Staff, like Mrs. Rojas, Mrs. Araiza, School Director Mr. Brezzio, Mr Stutz, Mrs Berone, Mrs Bazua, Mr. Franco & Mrs. Menke are all Top Notch professionals at this Premier Junior High School. I give them 10 Stars out of 5 Stars! Their Pre-school is also the Best! My 4 year old daughter loves her school and teachers and is learning a lot every day. Best School in the Coachella Valley!!

My son was 4 when he started, it's been the best for him. He's been doing great since starting…read moreMontessori. Miss Elaine has really stuck to the traditional Montessori way. Words can not express how great of an experience we have had there and so grateful for the outcome. Can't wait for the kindergarten class!

Montessori School of the Valley is a hidden gem in the desert. With a small school setting, it…read moreallows the students to thrive. My daughter started when she was almost three, and had such an easy transition from an in home daycare. She has thrived in an environment that provides a caring environment that also sets boundaries for the kids. Ms. Elaine has been in early education with the montessori system for many years. I know several middle and high school students who went through her program and have thrived because of it. My daughter loves this school, and I know how sad she will be to leave it for kindergarten. I'm a third grade teacher in DSUSD, and I can see the great foundation this school is laying for her. The outside doesn't look like much, but this is a school where your child can excel!