Education

The Desert Sun

The new California State University, San Bernardino-Palm Desert campus and the University of California, Riverside's Richard J. Heckmann International Center for Entrepreneurial Management campus, as well as the College of the Desert, provide advanced learning plus workforce skills in varied disciplines.

These institutions provide opportunities for bachelor and masters degrees in business, education and other disciplines.

Chapman University and Phoenix University also offer campus-oriented and online courses in the Coachella Valley.

The Desert Sun

The Coachella Valley has three K-12 school districts - Palm Springs Unified, Desert Sands Unified and Coachella Unified - and all are expanding with new and remodeled schools to meet the growing population. Palm Desert High School was named 2005 California Distinguished High School - one of only 192 schools out of the state's 2,300 public high schools and middle schools to garner the honor. There are also several private schools such as Marywood Country Day-Palm Valley and Christian School of the Desert and Palm Springs Christian School, St. Margaret's Episcopal School and Indio Christian Academy. A new Catholic School, Xavier College Prep, expected to open in fall 2006.

Commute To Work and Play

The Desert Sun

Coachella Valley residents enjoy numerous commute routes to work, shopping and medical facilities with little congestion compared to urban areas such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose or Orange County. Highway 111 connects all the cities of the Coachella Valley from Palm Springs to Coachella and Highway 86 to Mexico. Interstate 10 is parallel to Highway 111 with numerous major connecting arteries. Interstate 10 connects the Coachella Valley to Los Angeles to the west and Florida to the east.

A 2004 study by the Coachella Valley Association of Governments shows a working household spends an average trip length of 21.68 minutes daily. The survey showed the same group completing 2.85 trips daily.