We will be moving to 29 Palms very soon and I am trying to find the best schools for my children. Right now they are in 2nd & 7th grade. Does anyone know what schools are the best? From what I've read so far, there aren't any good ones. I don't care if I have to live on base or out in town, I want my kids to get the best education they can! Thanks for the help! 

I want my kids to get the best education they can

Your kids can still go to school out here and get the best education possible

Just like any other school, the parents help also reflects on the child.

If you feel like your kids aren't getting a good enough education, try buying some extra homeschool materials and teach them in addition to their school work

or your last option is too send them to a private school..

The kids I know out here turn out great...your lil ones will be fine 

As far as public schools go there is only one junior high in 29 for the 7th grader.

For the 2nd grader...even though mine doesn't go there, I would guess that 29 Elementary is probably the highest rated amongst the elementary schools. Just an educated guess from what I know about all the schools. 

Check out the School Accountability Reports, for the elementary schools in 29 Palms: Condor, 29 Palms Elementary, Oasis, Palm Vista. You can see each schools stats, Condor is on base, and 29 Palms Elementary is off base, but if you live on base, depending on where you live, your student could be assigned to either.

MUSD School Accountabilty Reports 

I don't care if we live on base or out in town. Right now I'm looking more at schools to figure out what's best. 

We received the Accountability Letter from Oasis that they DIDN'T make the grade. The letter gave us the option to switch to Morongo Valley Elementary School. As if that made any sense lol. ei yi yi 

Right now I'm looking more at schools to figure out what's best.

What we are trying to tell you is that it is a roll of the dice elementary school wise and when it comes to junior highs and high schools you have no choices except for 29 or YV. 

Ok, thank you! 

We received the Accountability Letter from Oasis that they DIDN'T make the grade. The letter gave us the option to switch to Morongo Valley Elementary School. As if that made any sense lol. ei yi yi 


We got it as well for Palm Vista, I'm definitely NOT driving all that way to a Elementary School. 

So for Palm Vista it gave you the choice to drive to Morongo Valley El?? 

Starusmc, you should definitely contact the School Liaison on base, Marie Hernandez. You can reach her by email at marie.r.hernandez@usmc.mil or by phone at 760-830-1574. She can give you all the scoop on local schools and options for educating your children.

On the topic of the accountability letter, Marie posted some helpful clarifying information on the Combat Center School Liaison Facebook page. I'll copy it below this post for brevity. Welcome to the area! S/F, Capt. Mannweiler (PAO) 

Parents: Many of you have questions about the letters that went home from local schools regarding Program Improvement. I wanted to take a moment to address the content of these letters and what they mean.

First, schools enter program improvement if they have not progressed adequately in ALL of the categories required by the state of California. Failure to meet goals in any category or subcategory for two years will identify a school as needing "Program Improvement".

So, what does Program Improvement mean? Simply-- it means that your school did not meet the expected goals set by the State of California.

It does not mean that your child's school is failing. In fact, many schools that have been identified for Program Improvement have Academic Performance Index (API) scores of 800 and above on a scale that tops out at 1000. Further, many of these schools have shown improvement but not at the levels expected by the state.

However, because there are some schools in Program Improvement with serious systemic issues, the state requires school districts to provide parents of children attending Program Improvement schools with the opportunity to attend a school that is not in program improvement. For MUSD that site is Morongo Valley Elementary. This gives parents the power and opportunity to make decisions about their child’s education.

If you have questions regarding Program Improvement, this letter, or school quality, please feel free to contact the School Liaison office at 760.830.1574

On the topic of school quality, below is an article from the Hi-Desert Star newspaper which compares Morongo Unified School District with other local area school districts.

http://www.hidesertstar.com/news/article_600d54a4-14dd-11e2-bc43-0019bb2963f4.html 

Thank you! 

The reason that you were offered Morongo Valley Elementary is because it is not in program improvement and has available room for additional students. 

Yeah. We got that. It is also not a reasonable and viable option when you are living on the other side of the Morongo Basin. 

Yeah. We got that. It is also not a reasonable and viable option when you are living on the other side of the Morongo Basin. 


I understood it but who in 29 is going to drive all that way? I wonder how many students from 29 are going to go there? 

It is my understanding that the district MIGHT provide transportation. In any case, they would spend a good hour in transit at least. 

they would spend a good hour in transit at least.

One way.

Heck it takes some of the buses 30-45 minutes just to get them to school and home in town one way!