Is George Washington Charter a good school?

George Washington Charter ranks 706 th of 5862 California elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

How many students attend George Washington Charter?

In the 2023-24 school year, 756 students attended George Washington Charter.

What is the racial makeup of George Washington Charter?

Students at George Washington Charter are 50% White, 35% Hispanic, 7% Two or more races, 6% Asian, 1% African American.

What schools do graduates of George Washington Charter attend?

Students who attend George Washington Charter usually go on to attend: Middle : La Quinta Middle Middle : Palm Desert Charter Middle High : Palm Desert High

George Washington Charter

Summary:

George Washington Charter is a public charter elementary school located in Palm Desert, California, serving grades K-5 with a total enrollment of 755 students. This high-performing school is part of the Desert Sands Unified School District, which is ranked 1011 out of 1568 districts in California and has a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger.

George Washington Charter consistently outperforms the Desert Sands Unified School District and the state of California in standardized test scores across all grade levels and subject areas. For example, in the 2023-2024 school year, 69.76% of George Washington Charter students were proficient or better in English Language Arts/Literacy, compared to 39.07% for the district and 47.04% for the state. In Mathematics, 65.61% of George Washington Charter students were proficient or better, compared to 26.17% for the district and 35.54% for the state. The school also excels in the performance of various student subgroups, ranking in the top 5% of California elementary schools for Asian students and in the top 10% for English Language Learners and Low Socioeconomic Status students. Additionally, George Washington Charter has significantly lower chronic absenteeism rates compared to the district and state averages, and maintains a relatively low student-teacher ratio of 25.1 students per teacher.

George Washington Charter's consistent high performance, outperformance of nearby schools like Benjamin Franklin Elementary and Rancho Mirage Elementary, and ability to support diverse student populations suggest that the school's educational model and practices could provide valuable insights and best practices that could be replicated in other schools, both within the Desert Sands Unified School District and beyond.

Detail:

Public, Charter K-5

45-768 Portola Ave.
Palm Desert, CA 92260-4861

(760) 862-4350

District: Desert Sands Unified

SchoolDigger Rank:
706^th of 5,862 California Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $9,712

Students who attend George Washington Charter usually attend:

Middle:	La Quinta Middle
	Palm Desert Charter Middle
High:	Palm Desert High

Student/teacher ratio: 25.2

Number of students: 756

Racial breakdown:

White:

49.6%

Hispanic:

35.2%

Two or more races:

7.3%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 51.1%

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Compare George Washington Charter to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details George Washington Charter ranks better than 88% of elementary schools in California. It also ranks first among 18 ranked elementary schools in the Desert Sands Unified School District! (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 89.88. (See more...)

Chronic absenteeism in a school refers to a situation where students repeatedly miss school, with the threshold often defined as missing 10% or more of school days for any reason, excused or unexcused.

Student Body

Compare Details Racial makeup is: White (49.6%), Hispanic (35.2%), two or more races (7.3%). (See more...)

Compare Details 51.1% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Compare Details (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at George Washington Charter is 25.2. 15 elementary schools in the Desert Sands Unified School District have better student/teacher ratios. (See more...)

Compare George Washington Charter employs 30 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at George Washington Charter is $9,712, which is the highest among 19 elementary schools in the Desert Sands Unified School District!

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

George Washington Charter:

SchoolDigger ranks George Washington Charter 706^th of 5862 California public elementary schools. (See George Washington Charter in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

Special Education students:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Male students:

Asian students:

Hispanic students:

White students:

Desert Sands Unified:

SchoolDigger ranks Desert Sands Unified 1011^th of 1568 California school districts. (See district ranking list.)

Average Parent Rating:

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Rank History for George Washington Charter

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Rank History for all students at George Washington Charter

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2004	83.56	767^th	4809	84.1%
2005	83.36	794^th	4822	83.5%
2006	89.09	529^th	4818	89.0%
2007	86.55	689^th	5113	86.5%
2008	88.28	572^nd	5113	88.8%
2009	92.84	302^nd	5193	94.2%
2010	92.35	311^th	5314	94.1%
2011	88.86	503^rd	5377	90.6%
2012	91.00	362^nd	5390	93.3%
2013	87.82	595^th	5530	89.2%
2015	87.00	781^st	5611	86.1%
2016	90.68	573^rd	5614	89.8%
2017	88.41	739^th	5692	87.0%
2018	90.55	602^nd	5662	89.4%
2019	89.73	655^th	5789	88.7%
2021	82.00	247^th	1417	82.6%
2022	87.26	841^st	5883	85.7%
2023	89.86	719^th	5874	87.8%
2024	89.88	706^th	5862	88.0%

See the entire list of California Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for Multi-racial students at George Washington Charter

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2022	71.81	180^th	610	70.5%
2023	77.64	132^nd	669	80.3%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Multi-racial Students!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at George Washington Charter

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	87.12	227^th	3246	93.0%
2019	88.08	195^th	3275	94.0%
2021	80.98	55^th	602	90.9%
2022	73.24	424^th	3311	87.2%
2023	96.41	62^nd	3250	98.1%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for English Language Learner Students!

Rank History for Special Education students at George Washington Charter

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2024	69.68	502^nd	2634	80.9%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at George Washington Charter

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	75.13	910^th	5084	82.1%
2019	86.38	436^th	5173	91.6%
2021	78.70	150^th	1110	86.5%
2022	90.55	328^th	5264	93.8%
2023	88.36	448^th	5374	91.7%
2024	88.93	485^th	5511	91.2%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Female students at George Washington Charter

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	87.86	676^th	5413	87.5%
2019	84.39	852^nd	5492	84.5%
2021	78.92	249^th	1267	80.3%
2022	81.98	1016^th	5635	82.0%
2023	84.59	908^th	5617	83.8%
2024	86.53	803^rd	5605	85.7%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Disabled students at George Washington Charter

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2019	64.62	611^th	2585	76.4%
2021	67.62	59^th	293	79.9%
2022	82.58	261^st	2227	88.3%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Disabled Students!

Rank History for Male students at George Washington Charter

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	90.12	569^th	5431	89.5%
2019	91.99	448^th	5510	91.9%
2021	82.31	226^th	1272	82.2%
2022	89.31	666^th	5663	88.2%
2023	92.32	475^th	5650	91.6%
2024	90.41	574^th	5636	89.8%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for Asian students at George Washington Charter

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2024	87.78	23^rd	1203	98.1%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Asian Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at George Washington Charter

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	86.81	423^rd	4830	91.2%
2019	83.97	554^th	4963	88.8%
2022	72.77	1030^th	5084	79.7%
2023	75.91	926^th	5098	81.8%
2024	80.72	692^nd	5102	86.4%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Hispanic Students!

Rank History for White students at George Washington Charter

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	82.28	372^nd	2737	86.4%
2019	83.43	323^rd	2834	88.6%
2022	75.94	591^st	2726	78.3%
2023	79.03	473^rd	2662	82.2%
2024	74.63	643^rd	2647	75.7%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for White Students!

Data source: test scores: California Department of Education, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

As you review the school rankings data, please be aware that some of the information from certain demographics is missing. The reason for this omission is that the data has been redacted from the source data itself due to low population samples in these specific demographic groups.

Redacting data from low population samples is a necessary step to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the results, as small sample sizes may not be representative of the broader population. Additionally, this measure helps protect the privacy of individuals belonging to these demographic groups.

Data source: California Department of Education

Review counts

All ratings (Avg rating: 5)

100%

Reviews:
No reviews have been submitted!

Enrollment information for George Washington Charter

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1988	514	5	16	157	2	n/a	n/a	0	694
1989	532	5	13	163	2	n/a	n/a	0	715
1990	514	5	15	181	7	n/a	n/a	0	722
1991	513	6	15	177	6	n/a	n/a	0	717
1992	431	5	17	182	10	n/a	n/a	0	645
1993	441	9	21	229	6	n/a	n/a	0	706
1994	416	12	22	214	10	n/a	n/a	0	674
1995	525	12	23	183	10	n/a	n/a	0	753
1996	525	12	23	183	10	n/a	n/a	0	753
1997	505	19	26	145	11	n/a	n/a	0	706
1998	490	9	28	159	10	n/a	n/a	0	696
1999	496	9	23	161	8	n/a	n/a	0	697
2000	487	11	19	165	6	n/a	n/a	0	688
2001	497	13	26	165	4	n/a	n/a	0	705
2002	503	7	23	134	8	n/a	n/a	28	703
2003	503	7	23	134	8	n/a	n/a	28	703
2004	438	7	16	132	5	n/a	n/a	107	705
2005	422	8	18	143	6	n/a	n/a	105	702
2006	423	8	20	162	6	n/a	n/a	96	715
2007	428	7	22	180	9	n/a	n/a	67	713
2008	423	5	18	185	4	n/a	n/a	0	635
2009	425	4	28	181	2	1	77	0	718
2010	484	7	29	189	4	0	28	0	741
2011	499	5	29	196	1	2	34	0	766
2012	480	5	24	223	0	0	36	0	768
2013	490	2	42	256	0	0	45	0	835
2014	468	3	49	277	0	0	38	0	835
2015	472	6	52	311	0	0	36	0	877
2016	432	9	52	306	0	0	41	0	840
2017	431	9	51	308	0	0	39	0	838
2018	442	16	54	282	0	0	38	0	832
2019	457	13	50	272	0	1	43	0	836
2020	450	10	47	249	3	0	41	1	801
2021	395	11	46	220	1	0	48	0	721
2022	396	13	47	223	2	0	60	0	741
2023	382	14	58	239	2	0	60	0	755
2024	375	11	47	266	2	0	55	0	756

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at George Washington Charter

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	694	24.0	28.9	n/a
1989	715	26.5	26.9	n/a
1990	722	26.0	27.7	n/a
1991	717	26.0	27.5	n/a
1992	645	26.4	24.4	25.4
1993	706	24.0	29.4	30.6
1994	674	21.8	30.9	38.7
1995	753	29.0	26.0	34.7
1996	753	29.0	26.0	34.7
1997	706	31.0	22.8	37
1998	696	32.0	21.8	34.5
1999	697	32.0	21.8	24.7
2000	688	33.0	20.8	23.1
2001	705	33.0	21.4	21.6
2002	703	32.0	22.0	19.3
2003	703	32.0	22.0	19.3
2004	705	32.0	22.0	21.7
2005	702	34.0	20.6	25.6
2006	715	36.0	19.9	25.5
2007	713	34.0	21.0	25.9
2008	635	36.0	17.6	29.9
2009	718	33.7	19.6	27.4
2010	741	32.0	23.1	26
2011	766	n/a	n/a	27.8
2012	768	28.8	26.6	n/a
2013	835	30.2	27.6	31.4
2014	835	28.4	29.4	29.1
2015	877	30.0	29.2	31.6
2016	840	32.0	26.2	35.2
2017	838	33.2	25.2	34
2018	832	32.2	25.8	36.7
2019	836	31.6	26.4	36.1
2020	801	n/a	n/a	36
2021	721	30.0	24.0	37.2
2022	741	30.0	24.7	47.4
2023	755	30.0	25.1	49
2024	756	30.0	25.2	51.1

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio George Washington Charter

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	694	24.0	28.9	n/a
1989	715	26.5	26.9	n/a
1990	722	26.0	27.7	n/a
1991	717	26.0	27.5	n/a
1992	645	26.4	24.4	25.4
1993	706	24.0	29.4	30.6
1994	674	21.8	30.9	38.7
1995	753	29.0	26.0	34.7
1996	753	29.0	26.0	34.7
1997	706	31.0	22.8	37
1998	696	32.0	21.8	34.5
1999	697	32.0	21.8	24.7
2000	688	33.0	20.8	23.1
2001	705	33.0	21.4	21.6
2002	703	32.0	22.0	19.3
2003	703	32.0	22.0	19.3
2004	705	32.0	22.0	21.7
2005	702	34.0	20.6	25.6
2006	715	36.0	19.9	25.5
2007	713	34.0	21.0	25.9
2008	635	36.0	17.6	29.9
2009	718	33.7	19.6	27.4
2010	741	32.0	23.1	26
2011	766	n/a	n/a	27.8
2012	768	28.8	26.6	n/a
2013	835	30.2	27.6	31.4
2014	835	28.4	29.4	29.1
2015	877	30.0	29.2	31.6
2016	840	32.0	26.2	35.2
2017	838	33.2	25.2	34
2018	832	32.2	25.8	36.7
2019	836	31.6	26.4	36.1
2020	801	n/a	n/a	36
2021	721	30.0	24.0	37.2
2022	741	30.0	24.7	47.4
2023	755	30.0	25.1	49
2024	756	30.0	25.2	51.1

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.

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