Amazing program, amazing teachers! So honored to be a part of this Program! Miss Yipsy truly cares…read moreand helps the students so much.

My daughter has been taking Spanish lessons with Miss Yipsy for five years and loves the classes…read more Kiddos Lingua is a great program -- the teachers really strive to meet every child where they are at and help them excel at learning Spanish.

My cousin went to this program, and I have so many complaints. I don't think there is enough time…read moreor space for it all... 1. Do NOT get with their host program. They charge $500/month and make no guarantees about your living arrangements. One kid was given a garage as a room and no AC. Most are told that they have to stay in their bedrooms and are not free to use the house. Some are not allowed to cook, so they have to microwave or eat out. Some hosts take multiple students so they can make a lot of money and cram the kids in. They also limit utilities and all that. Yes, I've heard horror stories. Ew, and one old couple only gets young Asian girls, and the old man is super friendly with them and likes to sit out with them while they are in the pool. 2. They got super nosy and refused to give my dad a letter stating that my cousin was a full-time student at the school on letterhead. Simple, right? nope. They didn't want to give the letter, and my dad had to raise hell for t he simple letter. 3. They give each student a handbook. I went in the day after they gave them to the students and asked for an extra copy for my parents. The lady hands me the book and starts explaining away excuse after excuse about errors and mistakes and misinformation and contradictions contained within. Did she bother to do the same for the students? Nope. Only told me because I speak English fluently. 4. One teacher was super strict. Which is fine. But she was also MEAN. The teacher told one girl that she was stupid and shouldn't even bother to learn English.....and she did so in the middle of class in front of everyone. 5. Another teacher isn't qualified to teach. Why? Because she was marking certain things incorrect. But they were correct. And I helped my cousin find the rules in a grammar book I bought for him since their textbooks don't cover grammar at all (kinda odd for an English academy?). He took the papers in with the rules marked in the book and asked her why she marked them wrong. The teacher just said ok and left. Eh? Did she bother telling the other students that she was teaching them to write run-on sentences instead of proper compound sentences? Nope. Should I go on? Nah, just know that the list continues on and on and on....

Desert Sands Unified School District_La Quinta,CA. Judge…read moreruled not guilty, not guilty Judgement Ignored by administrators Where is the Justice when Court Judgements are ignored. When defendant is Judged not guilty in a court of law. Equal Justice does not exist when dealing with a biased unjust system. As exhibited by Desert Sands Unified School District. A Judgement of not guilty is only something for DSUSD personnel department to blatantly ignore while giving each other another high five of how they do not have to follow any laws set forth by the Judicial System of the State of California when ignoring judgements made by a California Court. Where is the Justice when a Judgement by a court of not guilty is ignored. Equal justice does not exist when dealing with a biased unjust system. How much abuse of power or authority is allowed by people that are obviously corrupt when a District Attorney has to intervene and prosecute school board members and school administrators for their wrong doing after a grand jury makes a decision that something has to be done. That is a little more important than the questions that an electrician is asking that would not be asked if his ability to be allowed to find new employment after a layoff would have been allowed. Electrician had to go through court proceedings at his own expense in first two months after layoff with no income to help pay for any of it. To finally have a ruling of not guilty that should have cleared the way for him to search for another job with no encumbrance from prior employer. Instead even after a not guilty and all claims made by prior employer ruled to be erroneous with no merit. Desert Sands Unified School District personnel department continued their attack while ignoring that judgement. Prospective employers were provided with the same rubbish type information that had been used at that previous hearing where a ruling of not guilty had been issued and once again a year later that same identical set of accusations were once again presented at an informal mediation meeting that electrician had requested foolishly since only heard the same accusations being regurgitated again that had already been ruled upon as being ridiculous rubbish with a ruling of not guilty that should have cleared the way for employment with an organization where a little more honesty would exist where laws are followed by employer. That employment did finally become available with a highly respected electricians union that performs high quality work for school districts where those school districts appreciate their employees. All of this time and money that was wasted when requesting that mediation that could only be requested a year later that was also at my expense to pay for travel and lodging that once again was a considerable expense that is not recognized by people with little or no concept of reality as long as it is all free of charge to them while people providing their same regurgitated rubbish again over a year later had been well compensated while in their luxurious offices with no new allegations to present. That rubbish had already been ruled as nonsense by a California State Judge when a verdict of not guilty had been recorded legally and correctly. A comparison of transcripts can easily confirm these statements to be true and correct so there is no room for argument remaining about it not being the same regurgitated rubbish or nonsense that had already been ruled on with a verdict of not guilty by a California State Judge that Desert Sands Unified School District personnel department had been provided a copy of. So there is no excuse that Desert Sands Unified School District was not informed that their accusations were ruled upon. Since DSUSD had originally requested the court hearing in an attempt to show that their accusations were being made by people representing a school district that were dishonest with their only ability being that of giving each other a high five when harassing employees. Judge did not rule on Desert Sands Unified School District representatives lack of honesty but did rule that their accusations having no merit. With a ruling of defendant being not guilty of all accusations made that should have meant being able to seek employment where a profession requiring electrical skills would be appreciated. When a person does their job so well that they are not allowed vacation time each year as requested for the spring of the year each year for seven years consecutively so the person that is performing his duties so well is not allowed to take a two week break in Yosemite National Park where many law abiding people go to enjoy a little time away from the daily responsibilities that most people find to be necessary. Prisoners of war are treated better in my opinion. Judge ruled not guilty then not guilty judgement ignored by Desert Sands Unified School District to attempt to destroy electricians life due to no accountability.

From the owner: Desert Sands became unified in June 1966read more

This school is full of fabulous teachers, a strong community, and has the most beautiful campus in…read morethe valley. It is a college prep school, but they don't just focus on academics (though they are incredibly strong there). They incorporate public speaking and social emotional learning at all grade levels, plus project based learning as the kids get older.

Moving to Palm Springs in 2020 as an LGBTQ family was both exciting and honestly terrifying as…read moreparents. Like every parent, we simply wanted our son to feel safe, supported, challenged academically, and excited about his future. Unfortunately, our early experiences within the public school system in this area were deeply disappointing. There was bullying, a lack of meaningful support, and moments where we truly felt our child was not being protected or seen in the ways he deserved. Finding Palm Valley School changed everything for our family. From the moment we arrived, we felt warmth, professionalism, inclusion, and genuine care not just from the faculty and administration, but from the other families and students as well. Palm Valley doesn't just educate children. They help them thrive academically, socially, emotionally, and creatively. The teachers here are exceptional. The electives and extracurricular programs are incredibly impressive and genuinely future-focused. Whether your child is interested in the arts, leadership, academics, athletics, technology, or community involvement, there are opportunities everywhere. The school creates pathways that truly prepare students for universities, scholarships, and successful futures while still allowing kids to actually enjoy learning. One of the biggest differences we noticed was that learning here feels alive. Our son comes home excited about projects, field trips, discussions, and experiences almost daily. There's a practical, hands-on approach that has helped him grow in confidence and maturity in ways that honestly continue to amaze us. Since enrolling at Palm Valley, our son has absolutely thrived through grades 7, 8, and now 9, and we genuinely look forward to continuing his educational journey here all the way through graduation. No school is perfect, and like every school navigating today's world, Palm Valley has faced challenges. What impressed us most was how professionally and compassionately the board and faculty handled difficult moments. You can genuinely feel that they care deeply about these students and families. Their response during challenging times did not weaken the school community. If anything, it strengthened it. There is resilience, accountability, kindness, and heart here, and it is obvious the students are benefiting from being part of a community that chooses growth and compassion over division. As LGBTQ parents, we cannot overstate what this school has meant to our family. Feeling safe matters. Feeling represented matters. Feeling protected matters. And feeling welcomed without explanation or judgment matters more than people realize. If you are an LGBTQ family considering schools in this area, our advice is simple: do not waste time second-guessing this decision. Learn from our experience. If Palm Valley is a feasible option for your family, enroll your child. And truthfully, this recommendation is not only for LGBTQ families. It is for any family looking for a school that genuinely sees children, supports them, challenges them, protects them, and helps them become excited about who they are and who they are capable of becoming. Palm Valley has been life-changing for our family, and we will always be grateful for that.

My child started with Ms. Cathy in July 2025 the same week we moved to the desert. It was a rough…read moreyear as we had lost our home in LA earlier that year and because we were hopping around to different Airbnbs, I had to pull my child out of kindergarten. My child was very sad and would often cry they couldn't read. They knew all their letter sounds but wanted to be able to read "big kid words and books". Just 9 months later my child, now in 1st grade, is not only reading but reading books and testing at a 3rd grade reading level. My child is so proud of themself and we are so grateful for Ms. Cathy. She was not only an incredible reading tutor and mentor but she was a warm and strong constant in our child's life while things were wildly shifting and changing. She runs and engaging and motivating reading program they any child could benefit from. So grateful for discovering Tutoring by Cathy Bray and the time we've gotten to spend with her. If you're seeking academic support for your child in the desert whether long term, summer or reading groups this is absolutely the place to go!

We brought our son Alan here to help him pass the ASVAB to join the Marines. He always struggled…read morewith math but after bringing him here he was able to successfully pass the Marine Corps Entrance Exam. He will be going to Bootcamp in September. I want to highlight that after a very few visits he achieved his goal. I want to thank Cathy and Romiro for all their efforts and help. Sincerely, A very proud parent.