Palm Valley School
Private school in the United States
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Palm Valley School was a private college-preparatory, secular and co-educational school located in Rancho Mirage, California, United States. It was founded in 1952 in Palm Springs, CA. The school moved to Rancho Mirage in 1992.[2] In June 2026, Palm Valley School’s Board of Trustees officially announced the school’s indefinite closure.
| Palm Valley School | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
 | |
35525 Da Vall Drive Rancho Mirage, California 33°47′28″N 116°26′30″W | |
| Information | |
| Type | Private |
| Motto | Paratus Vitae (Prepared for Life) |
| Established | 1952 |
| Closed | 2026 |
NCES School ID | 00082006[1] |
| Faculty | 60.0 (on FTE basis)[1] |
| Grades | Preschool–12 |
| Enrollment | 350 [1] (2024-2025) |
Student to teacher ratio | 10.3:1[1] |
| Mascot | Firebird |
| Website | www |
The school served all grades from Preschool through Grade 12 on 34 acres of campus in Rancho Mirage, CA. The campus features separate campuses and buildings for each division with a total enrollment of 270 students as of 2017.[3]
- Preschool (6 weeks – 4 years)
- Lower School (Grades K – 5th)
- Middle School (Grades 6 – 8)
- Upper School (Grades 9 – 12)
The average class size is under 20 with a student to teacher ratio of approx. 1:12. The College Counseling program graduates 100% of the senior class and 100% get accepted to college and university. The motto is "Paratus Vitae" ("Prepared for Life").
History
The Palm Valley School was founded in 1952 on a property four miles outside the city of Palm Springs by Mr. and Mrs. J. Blake Field, with students coming from across the Coachella Valley. In 1992, the school moved to a new 34-acre campus in the heart of Rancho Mirage, near the center of the valley, within reach of Palm Springs, Palm Desert, and La Quinta. The curriculum was college-preparatory, non-denominational and co-educational, and taught children from three to eighteen. All of the school's graduates were qualified to go on to four-year colleges.[2]
Marywood Country Day School (1979–2005) was founded in 1979 by Dr. Mary O’Neill in La Quinta. Grades were added each year, and by 1983 it was an independent, co-educational, non-sectarian school going up to Grade 5, with 35 children, and Dr. O’Neill incorporated it as a non-profit charitable organization. By 1985, it had outgrown its two-acre campus, and in the summer of 1986 moved to 19 acres at Clancy Lane, Rancho Mirage, soon adding early childhood and middle school programs, taking it to a preschool through eighth-grade independent school. In 2005, Marywood Country Day School merged with Palm Valley and the result was a new Marywood-Palm Valley School on the Palm Valley School campus. The Phoenix or Firebird was chosen as the new school's symbol, referring to a rebirth.[2]
In July 2013, the Board of Trustees changed the school’s name from Marywood-Palm Valley to the Palm Valley School, but to honor the Marywood name the Lower School became the Marywood Lower School. In 2014, a new Upper School campus was opened.[2]
In May 2026, the school filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, citing a decline in student enrollment and a possible cease of operations entirely. [4] On May 6, 2026, the school had announced that an anonymous donor was in the process of donating enough money to get the school through the 2026-2027 school year.
In June 2026, the school’s Board of Trustees announced that the donation had ‘fell through’ and that Palm Valley School’s 74-year legacy would officially end on June 30, 2026. [5]
Notable alumni
- Alia Shawkat (did not graduate)[6]
- Bobbie Gentry[7]
- Paris Hilton (did not graduate)[8]
