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Gerald R. Ford Elementary

Q: Is Gerald R. Ford Elementary a good school?

Gerald R. Ford Elementary ranks 983 rd of 5857 California elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

Public Grades K-5

983^rd

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 5,857 California Elementary Schools

Better than 83% of California elementary schools

Summary

Gerald R. Ford Elementary is a high-performing public elementary school (grades K-5) serving 598 students in the Desert Sands Unified School District in Indian Wells, CA, where it consistently ranks among the top schools in the state.

The school's greatest strength is its exceptional effectiveness in supporting all students to achieve high academic standards. It significantly outperforms both the district and state averages in English, math, and science, with proficiency rates often 20 to 30 points higher. This is particularly notable given that the school serves a community with a high level of economic need. When compared to a very similar nearby school like James Monroe Elementary, which has comparable demographics and funding, Ford Elementary demonstrates stronger academic results, especially in science. The school has also made impressive strides in improving student attendance, with a chronic absenteeism rate that is now much lower than the district average, which research shows is closely linked to academic success.

Within the wider Desert Sands Unified district, which contains a mix of high-performing schools like George Washington Charter and others that struggle, Ford Elementary stands out as a consistent leader and a model of success. Its track record proves that a school can achieve excellent outcomes for every student. For parents, this means a school environment that is not only academically rigorous but also deeply committed to ensuring every child has the opportunity to thrive.

598

Students ?

23.9

Student/teacher ratio ?

$20,189

Per pupil spending ?

62.9%

Free/discounted lunch ?

44-210 Warner Trail
Indian Wells, CA 92210-7598

(760) 772-4120

District: Desert Sands Unified

Students who attend Gerald R. Ford Elementary usually attend:

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

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

55.5%

White:

29.9%

Asian:

7.2%

See top rated California elementary schools

Compare Gerald R. Ford Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 83rd percentile in 2013 → 83rd in 2025

Strengths

✓Test scores above the California average (62% vs 41% meeting standards)

✓Ranks in the top 17% of California elementary schools

✓Among the top-ranked schools in Desert Sands Unified

Worth a look

!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing

!Large classes — about 24 students per teacher

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school62%

District avg33%

California avg41%

983^rd of 5,857

California public elementary schools ?

Top 17%▼ down 3 pts since 2015

See the entire ranking list of California Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

2^nd of 19Elementary Schools in the Desert Sands Unified

989^th of 1,543Desert Sands Unified among California districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	83.6	983 of 5857	83.2%	★★★★☆
2024	80.5	1136 of 5869	80.6%	★★★★☆
2023	74.9	1374 of 5859	76.5%	★★★★☆
2022	73.4	1475 of 5883	74.9%	★★★★☆
2019	79.7	1186 of 5789	79.5%	★★★★☆
2018	81.7	1040 of 5662	81.6%	★★★★☆
2017	77.8	1212 of 5692	78.7%	★★★★☆
2016	77.3	1222 of 5614	78.2%	★★★★☆
2015	86.8	788 of 5611	86.0%	★★★★☆
2013	82.5	921 of 5530	83.3%	★★★★☆
2012	85.1	724 of 5390	86.6%	★★★★☆
2011	83.1	840 of 5377	84.4%	★★★★☆
2010	81.4	930 of 5314	82.5%	★★★★☆
2009	85.8	721 of 5193	86.1%	★★★★☆
2008	83.8	805 of 5113	84.3%	★★★★☆
2007	85.1	748 of 5113	85.4%	★★★★☆
2006	82.5	855 of 4818	82.3%	★★★★☆
2005	79.4	948 of 4822	80.3%	★★★★☆
2004	82.9	796 of 4809	83.4%	★★★★☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	77.8	329 of 2227	85.2%	★★★★☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2019	91.5	148 of 3275	95.5%	★★★★★
2018	74.9	450 of 3246	86.1%	★★★★☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	87.6	710 of 5597	87.3%	★★★★☆
2024	80.3	1088 of 5612	80.6%	★★★★☆
2023	73.2	1361 of 5609	75.7%	★★★★☆
2022	61.7	1865 of 5635	66.9%	★★★☆☆
2019	80.6	1050 of 5492	80.9%	★★★★☆
2018	79.9	1050 of 5413	80.6%	★★★★☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	87.0	456 of 5107	91.1%	★★★★★
2024	86.4	494 of 5107	90.3%	★★★★★
2023	84.0	574 of 5087	88.7%	★★★★☆
2022	73.1	1012 of 5084	80.1%	★★★★☆
2019	83.5	578 of 4963	88.4%	★★★★☆
2018	86.8	422 of 4830	91.3%	★★★★★

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	89.8	378 of 5460	93.1%	★★★★★
2024	86.8	561 of 5517	89.8%	★★★★☆
2023	82.3	688 of 5363	87.2%	★★★★☆
2022	73.7	1006 of 5264	80.9%	★★★★☆
2019	85.0	489 of 5173	90.5%	★★★★★
2018	79.3	712 of 5084	86.0%	★★★★☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	74.6	1303 of 5628	76.8%	★★★★☆
2024	76.5	1212 of 5643	78.5%	★★★★☆
2023	72.8	1380 of 5638	75.5%	★★★★☆
2022	79.3	1130 of 5663	80.0%	★★★★☆
2019	75.5	1282 of 5510	76.7%	★★★★☆
2018	80.7	1031 of 5431	81.0%	★★★★☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	44.7	1260 of 2847	55.7%	★★★☆☆
2024	55.0	828 of 2635	68.6%	★★★☆☆
2023	39.3	1241 of 2420	48.7%	★★☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	69.5	801 of 2598	69.2%	★★★☆☆
2024	64.9	964 of 2651	63.6%	★★★☆☆
2023	52.9	1340 of 2661	49.6%	★★☆☆☆
2022	61.2	1115 of 2726	59.1%	★★★☆☆
2019	67.4	928 of 2834	67.3%	★★★☆☆
2018	70.6	806 of 2737	70.6%	★★★★☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

English Language Learner (2019)95th percentile+16 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)93rd percentile+10 vs school

Hispanic (2025)91st percentile+8 vs school

Female (2025)87th percentile+4 vs school

Disabled (2022)85th percentile+10 vs school

Male (2025)77th percentile-6 vs school

White (2025)69th percentile-14 vs school

Special Education (2025)56th percentile-27 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy64%+15 vs state

Mathematics60%+23 vs state

Science59%+27 vs state

★

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Schools Near Gerald R. Ford Elementary

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Immunizations Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				CAST Science (2025)		Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy (2025)				Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics (2025)				% Completely Immunized (2022)	% Polio (2022)	% Hepatitis B (2022)	% Varicella (2022)	% DTP (2022)	% MMR (2022)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	CAST Science 5th Grade	CAST Science All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 3rd Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 4th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 5th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 3rd Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 4th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 5th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics All Grades	% Completely Immunized KG	% Polio KG	% Hepatitis B KG	% Varicella KG	% DTP KG	% MMR KG	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Gerald R. Ford Elementary	Public	K-5	44-210 Warner Trail	Indian Wells	92210	Riverside County	Desert Sands Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 772-4120	598	25	23.9	62.9%	179 (29.9%)	8 (1.3%)	332 (55.5%)	43 (7.2%)	6 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	30 (5.0%)	83.6	983^rd of 5857 public elementary schools	83.2%		80.5	1136^th of 5869 public elementary schools	80.6%	153	59.3	59.3	60.9	68.2	63.7	64.2	59.8	63.5	57.5	60.0	93.6	96.3	97.3		96.3	98.2	$20,189	$3,104	$17,085
James Monroe Elementary	Public	K-5	42-100 Yucca Ln.	Bermuda Dunes	92203	Riverside County	Desert Sands Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 772-4130	562	22	25.5	69.0%	113 (20.1%)	4 (0.7%)	386 (68.7%)	17 (3.0%)	6 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	36 (6.4%)	69.3	1635^th of 5857 public elementary schools	72.1%		73.6	1425^th of 5869 public elementary schools	75.7%	210	35.8	35.8	47.9	63.5	63.2	58.4	41.5	55.8	61.1	52.9	96.1	98.0	98.0		96.1	98.0	$20,257	$3,229	$17,028
Amelia Earhart Elementary School of International Studies	Public	K-5	45-250 Dune Palms Rd.	Indio	92201	Riverside County	Desert Sands Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 200-3720	748	30	24.9	65.1%	169 (22.6%)	5 (0.7%)	492 (65.8%)	30 (4.0%)	4 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	48 (6.4%)	48.1	2691^st of 5857 public elementary schools	54.1%		43.6	2954^th of 5869 public elementary schools	49.7%	263	37.5	37.5	40.9	47.2	48.4	45.5	43.3	36.8	26.8	35.6	96.8			98.1	97.5	98.1	$19,984	$3,063	$16,921
Ronald Reagan Elementary	Public	K-5	39-800 Liberty Dr.	Palm Desert	92211	Riverside County	Desert Sands Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 772-0456	808	35	23.4	59.0%	123 (15.2%)	10 (1.2%)	598 (74.0%)	16 (2.0%)	5 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	56 (6.9%)	51.2	2544^th of 5857 public elementary schools	56.6%		57.2	2182^nd of 5869 public elementary schools	62.8%	362	32.0	32.0	51.2	47.6	49.2	49.3	50.4	31.0	31.3	37.4	95.1			97.9	96.5		$19,531	$3,122	$16,409
Harry S. Truman Elementary	Public	K-5	78-870 Avenue 50	La Quinta	92253	Riverside County	Desert Sands Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 777-4230	635	25	25.4	80.2%	71 (11.2%)	11 (1.7%)	488 (76.9%)	10 (1.6%)	4 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	51 (8.0%)	47	2759^th of 5857 public elementary schools	52.9%		42	3071^st of 5869 public elementary schools	47.7%	312	29.4	29.4	43.2	52.3	39.5	45.0	32.4	54.2	27.5	37.9							$20,659	$3,121	$17,538
Benjamin Franklin Elementary	Public	K-5	77-800 Calle Tampico	La Quinta	92253	Riverside County	Desert Sands Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 238-9424	627	29	21.6	82.1%	85 (13.6%)	10 (1.6%)	503 (80.2%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.3%)	25 (4.0%)	34.8	3601^st of 5857 public elementary schools	38.5%		32.8	3710^th of 5869 public elementary schools	36.8%	109	29.1	29.1	25.7	37.6	51.5	38.0	26.6	33.7	25.2	28.4	97.3		98.2		98.2		$20,603	$3,090	$17,513
Carrillo Ranch Elementary	Public	K-5	43-775 Madison St.	Indio	92201	Riverside County	Desert Sands Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 238-9700	459	21	22.3	89.1%	15 (3.3%)	6 (1.3%)	419 (91.3%)	11 (2.4%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (1.3%)	36.1	3474^th of 5857 public elementary schools	40.7%		29.9	3932^nd of 5869 public elementary schools	33.0%	458	28.2	28.2	37.5	43.0	42.2	40.9	23.2	33.3	26.5	27.6							$21,142	$3,517	$17,625
James Madison Elementary	Public	K-5	80-845 Avenue 46	Indio	92201	Riverside County	Desert Sands Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 775-3850	403	17	23.7	93.5%	8 (2.0%)	2 (0.5%)	359 (89.1%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	33 (8.2%)	10.5	5603^rd of 5857 public elementary schools	4.3%		15.5	5261^st of 5869 public elementary schools	10.4%	342	7.6	7.6	14.6	28.6	14.0	20.0	6.3	15.7	7.6	10.3							$22,309	$3,505	$18,804
Abraham Lincoln Elementary	Public	K-5	74-100 Rutledge Way	Palm Desert	92260	Riverside County	Desert Sands Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 862-4340	607	24	25.2	86.7%	76 (12.5%)	7 (1.2%)	482 (79.4%)	18 (3.0%)	5 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (3.1%)	30.8	3894^th of 5857 public elementary schools	33.5%		23.6	4515^th of 5869 public elementary schools	23.1%	621	24.7	24.7	32.7	44.1	40.0	39.1	18.8	31.5	16.5	22.9	93.3		98.1	98.1	96.2		$20,048	$3,300	$16,748
George Washington Charter	Public, Charter	K-5	45-768 Portola Ave.	Palm Desert	92260	Riverside County	Desert Sands Unified	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 862-4350	746	29	25.7	50.3%	372 (49.9%)	6 (0.8%)	268 (35.9%)	38 (5.1%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	60 (8.0%)	89.7	681^st of 5857 public elementary schools	88.4%		89.9	707^th of 5869 public elementary schools	88.0%	26	64.7	64.7	65.6	71.9	70.6	69.4	69.6	70.3	62.2	67.5	94.5	98.4		98.4	95.3	98.4	$13,402	$335	$13,067

Frequently Asked Questions about Gerald R. Ford Elementary

What is the racial makeup of Gerald R. Ford Elementary?

Students at Gerald R. Ford Elementary are 56% Hispanic, 30% White, 7% Asian, 5% Two or more races, 1% African American, 1% American Indian.

Is Gerald R. Ford Elementary a good school?

Gerald R. Ford Elementary ranks 983^rd of 5857 California elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

What schools do graduates of Gerald R. Ford Elementary attend?

Students who attend Gerald R. Ford Elementary usually go on to attend:

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

What district is Gerald R. Ford Elementary in?

Desert Sands Unified

How many students attend Gerald R. Ford Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 598 students attended Gerald R. Ford Elementary.

Rate Gerald R. Ford Elementary!

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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the California Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.