Palm Desert High School is a
secondary school
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...
located in
Palm Desert, California
Palm Desert is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, in the Coachella Valley, approximately east of Palm Springs, northeast of San Diego and east of Los Angeles. The population was 48,445 at the 2010 census. The city has bee ...
. The school is a part of the
Desert Sands Unified School District
The Desert Sands Unified School District (DSUSD) is a public school district with main offices located in La Quinta, California. The district was founded in 1964, after the California Department of Education consolidated all Indio public schools. ...
.
Academics
Palm Desert offers numerous Advanced Placement and Honors courses, amongst CP classes.
Clubs
* 21st Century Bike Club
* Academic Decathlon
* Activism Now
* ASB
* Aztec Couture Fashion Club
* Aztec Film Club
* Aztec Impact
* Best Buddies
* BSU (Bold, Strong and United)
* Chamber Singers
* Cheer
* Chess Club
* Choreography Club
* Christian Club
* Class of 2018
* Class of 2019
* Class of 2020
* Class of 2021
* Club Mud
* Color Guard
* Comic Book Club
* Concert Band
* CSF
* Dance Club
* Dance Team
* Debate Club
* Drama Club
* ENLACE
* Ensemble
* Environmental Science
* Equestrian Club
*Ethnic Studies
* FCA (
Fellowship of Christian Athletes
The Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) is an international non-profit Christian sports ministry founded in 1954 and based in Kansas City, Missouri. It has staff offices located throughout the United States and abroad.
History
FCA was found ...
)
* Fight Club
* French Club
* Friday Night Live
* GSA
* Hip Hop Club
* Interact
* Iron Chefs
* Jazz Ensemble
* Jewish Club
* JSA
* Link Crew
* Marching Aztecs
* Martha's Kitchen Club
* Mock Trial
*
Model United Nations
Model United Nations, also known as Model UN or MUN, is an educational simulation in which students can learn about diplomacy, international relations, and the United Nations. At a MUN conference, students work as the representative of a count ...
* Mythology
* Multicultural Club
* NHS
* National Watching JSA Club Club (NWJCC)
* Percussion Ensemble
* Print Media Club
* PTO
* Readers to Leaders
* Robotics Club
* Roller Blading Club
* SAAC (Students Against Animal Cruelty)
* Scribble-Lit Arts Mag
* Slam Club
* Spear
* Spear It Tribe
* Swole Club
* Taco Dogshow
* Taft Club
* Ultimate Frisbee
* Vegetarian Club
* Volleyball Club
* Wind Ensemble
* Yearbook
* Younglife
* Youth & Government
Sports
Palm Desert's mascot is the
Aztec
The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different Indigenous peoples of Mexico, ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those g ...
. The school has tennis, cross country, soccer, track, golf, swimming, baseball, softball, volleyball, basketball, football, wrestling, water polo and equestrian teams. Their main rival in the
Desert Empire League The Desert Empire League is an American high school sports league in the Coachella Valley of Riverside County, California affiliated with the CIF Southern Section. It was formed for the 2019 season.
Teams in the league include:
* La Quinta High ...
is the
La Quinta High School Blackhawks.
Reconstruction
Palm Desert High School was reconstructed as part of the District's $100 million bond used for PDHS, Lincoln, Kennedy, and Eisenhower schools. The new campus has been built to the north of the old campus using the former sports fields for land. The project was completely finished by the beginning of the 2011–12 school year. The new fields opened by the following year. A new gymnasium has been built to seat approximately 2000 students.
Notable alumni
*
D. J. Alexander
Donell James "D. J." Alexander (born Donell James Welch; September 30, 1991) is a former American football linebacker. He was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the fifth round of the 2015 NFL Draft. He played college football for Oregon Stat ...
- class of 2010,
NFL linebacker with the
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...
*
Scott Burcham
Scott Hunter Burcham (born June 17, 1993) is an American-Israeli professional baseball shortstop for the Charleston Dirty Birds of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. He also plays for Team Israel.
In high school, Burcham was named ...
- American-Israeli baseball shortstop in the
Colorado Rockies
The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...
organization, and for Team Israel
*
Nicole Castrale
Nicole Castrale (pronounced "cass-TRAHL-ee", née Dalkas, born March 24, 1979) is an American professional golfer on the LPGA Tour.
Castrale was born in Glendale, California, and started playing golf at the age of 10. She graduated from Palm ...
– class of 1997, professional golfer on
LPGA Tour
The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) is an American organization for female golfers. The organization is headquartered at the LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Florida, and is best known for running the LPGA Tour, a series of weekl ...
*
Chris Clapinski - class of 1989, former
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
player
*
James Dockery – class of 2006, NFL cornerback with the
Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...
*
Thomas DeMarco
Thomas DeMarco (born January 16, 1989) is a former professional Canadian football quarterback. He played for the BC Lions, Ottawa Redblacks and the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League (CFL).
College career College of the Desert
De ...
- class of 2007,
CFL
The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...
quarterback with the
Ottawa Redblacks
The Ottawa Redblacks (officially stylized as REDBLACKS) ( French: Le Rouge et Noir d'Ottawa) are a professional Canadian football team based in Ottawa, Ontario. The team plays in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL).
Startin ...
*
Josh Homme
Joshua Michael Homme ( ; born May 17, 1973) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the founder, primary songwriter, and only continuous member of the rock band Queens of the Stone Age, which he form ...
– class of 1991,
Queens of the Stone Age
Queens of the Stone Age (commonly abbreviated QOTSA) is an American rock band formed in 1996 in Palm Desert, California. The band was founded by vocalist and guitarist Josh Homme, who has been the only constant member throughout multiple line- ...
,
Eagles of Death Metal
Eagles of Death Metal is an American rock band from Palm Desert, California, formed in 1998. Founded by Jesse Hughes (vocals, guitar) and Josh Homme (drums), the band also includes a wide range of other musicians who perform both on the band's ...
,
Kyuss
Kyuss ( ) was an American rock band, formed in Palm Desert, California, in 1987. The band disbanded in 1995, and since then, members of Kyuss have gone on to form or play in several notable bands including Queens of the Stone Age, Fu Manchu, D ...
, and
Them Crooked Vultures
Them Crooked Vultures is an English-American alternative rock supergroup formed in Los Angeles in 2009 by Josh Homme (of Queens of the Stone Age and Kyuss) on lead vocals and guitar, John Paul Jones (of Led Zeppelin) on bass and keyboards, and D ...
*
Jesse Hughes – class of 1990, singer and guitarist of rock band
Eagles of Death Metal
Eagles of Death Metal is an American rock band from Palm Desert, California, formed in 1998. Founded by Jesse Hughes (vocals, guitar) and Josh Homme (drums), the band also includes a wide range of other musicians who perform both on the band's ...
*
Brooks Kriske - class of 2012, Major League Baseball pitcher for the
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...
and
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...
*
Desirae Krawczyk
Desirae Marie Krawczyk (; born January 11, 1994) is an American professional tennis player who specialises in doubles.
Krawczyk has a career-high doubles ranking of world No. 10, achieved in July 2022, and has won seven titles on the WTA Tour, ...
- class of 2012, professional tennis player, mixed doubles winner of the
French Open
The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ven ...
,
US Open, and
Wimbledon
Wimbledon most often refers to:
* Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London
* Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships
Wimbledon may also refer to:
Places London
* ...
*
Alison Lohman
Alison Marion Lohman (born September 18, 1979) is an American former actress. Born in Palm Springs, California, she began her career with small roles in short and independent films. Lohman headlined the drama film '' White Oleander'' (2002), wh ...
– class of 1997, actress
*
Brian Serven
Brian Nicholas Serven (born May 5, 1995) is an American professional baseball catcher for the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball (MLB). Serven was drafted by the Rockies in the fifth round of the 2016 MLB draft. He made his MLB debut in 2 ...
- class of 2013, Major League Baseball catcher for the
Colorado Rockies
The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...
References
External links
PDHS Home Page*
Palm Desert High School Foundation - Supporting Excellence in Academics at PDHS
{{authority control
Educational institutions established in 1986
High schools in Riverside County, California
Public high schools in California
1986 establishments in California