Desert Sands Unified School District welcomes students back to school
Gavin Nguyen
INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) – It’s that time of the year! Students at DSUSD returned to school Wednesday morning for the start of the 2025-26 school year.
Desert Sands has 34 total schools, which includes eighteen elementary schools, one charter elementary school, six middle schools, one charter middle school, four comprehensive high schools, two continuation high schools, one alternative education school, and preschool.
Nearly 26,000 students are enrolled in the district for the 2025-26 school year.
The district gave News Channel 3 exclusive access to Indio Middle School as faculty and students welcomed back their peers for another academic year.
The school played music as a long line of students and teachers greeted everyone walking into school for their first day back. The school’s mascot – a tiger – joined in on the celebrations, too. It was an energetic welcome, which students said was important to make new students feel more welcome as they start their next chapter of schooling.
Andrew Ruiz, an eighth-grade student, said, “I feel like we have to help the 6th graders because they were just in elementary school and it was, like, their first [school transition]. So, you know, you got to help them.”
Ruby Flores, another eighth-grader, added, “I feel like everybody needs a good start for 6th grade. Like, that’s where you really start, and if you have any issues, it’s going to, like, have … spread out through [their] whole middle school experience.”
Angel Reyes brought his daughter, Allison, to her first day of middle school.
“We’re excited. She’s my only child. So, you know, it’s a first for us,” Reyes said. “It’s probably nerve-racking for [students] today, and they’re scared a little bit. But I remember my first days of school, they were the same and then a couple of more days, you know, all that goes away.”
Students, faculty, and parents all shared that they were excited for a successful start to the school year, and school staff reassured everyone that they’re there to guide students on the path to success.
“This is the first step in a longer journey and we just are glad to be a part of it. We’re going to do everything we can to support our students here,” said Robert “Cully” Cullinan, the principal of Indio Middle School.
With a beaming smile, he added, “Let’s have a great year.”