Enrollment
1,875
California · 2024-25 NCES data
High school (grades 9-12) · Thermal, CA
Desert Mirage High
Federal NCES profile for Desert Mirage High, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 33/100.
2024-25 NCES dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 060907011175
👥 S:T ratio 22
📚 AP courses 40
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Desert Mirage High earns 33/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the California median. It is also one of the largest schools in California.
- #2 of 3
- high schools in Thermal · Resource Index
- 33
- Resource Index · Typical
- 19.5:1
- students per teacher
- 91.7%
- free-lunch eligible
Desert Mirage High has class sizes near the California median. Computed live against every California school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Desert Mirage High ranks #2 of 3 high schools in Thermal, CA.
School address
District: Coachella Valley Unified · California
NCES ID 060907011175 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
96.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
19.5:1
vs 21.5:1 California avg
-9% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
91.7%
vs 55.5% California avg
+65% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Desert Mirage High compares with California and U.S. medians
What stands out at Desert Mirage High
Desert Mirage High is a high-poverty, large high school in Thermal, California, enrolling 1,875 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 19.5:1 puts it in the smaller third of California schools by student-teacher ratio.
Economic need is high: 91.7% of students qualify for free meals, 65% above the California average, a Title I-weighted population that federal funding formulas prioritise.
By headcount it is one of the larger campuses in California, bigger than 96% of state schools at 1,875 students.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 9,998 scored California schools.
Against 100 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #60.
Its student body is predominantly Hispanic or Latino (99% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 3/100).
On the academic-pipeline side it reports 8 Advanced Placement courses.
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 625 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
Its district draws 15.5% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Among Thermal's high schools, it stands alongside Coachella Valley High (2,300 students): Desert Mirage High is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs heavier classes (19.5:1 vs 18.3:1).
Coachella Valley Unified also operates Coachella Valley High (2,300 students) and Toro Canyon Middle (989 students) alongside Desert Mirage High.
Sourced from NCES CCD, CRDC, and F-33 (federal records, not a quality verdict). How we source and compute this.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Desert Mirage High compares
Desert Mirage High on the metrics families compare, against California and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs California | California avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 19.5:1 | ▼ 9% | 21.5:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 91.7% | ▲ 65% | 55.5% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 1,875 | top 4% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
19.5:1
Leaner classes than 18% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
1,875
Bigger than 98% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
91.7%
free-lunch eligible
- 65% above the California average of 55.5%
Well above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold, among the highest-need profiles in the state; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
19.5:1
students per teacher
- 9% below state mean
Top 31% in California - lower ratio than 69% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Funding equity
$18,466
per pupil, district-wide
- above California avg of $16,509
Somewhat above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors3.0 FTE
Per 625 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
17
in-school suspensions + 116 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.9 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 7.1 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
- Common Core of Data (June 2026): enrollment, staffing, and the student-teacher ratio above.
- Civil Rights Data Collection: discipline counts and program access (AP, gifted, special education).
- F-33 School District Finance Survey: the district-wide per-pupil spending figures below.
Three separate federal collections, each on its own reporting cadence - which is why this school's numbers line up on a consistent basis against every other school and state on this site, rather than mixing figures pulled from different survey years.
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 98.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.7%
White 0.2%
African American 0.2%
Two or More 0.2%
Asian 0.1%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.1%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 98.6% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 2.8/100
Simpson diversity index - at 2.8, Desert Mirage High is less mixed than the California school average of 46.0.
Programs
AP courses offered 8
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Coachella Valley Unified, which includes Desert Mirage High.
$18,466
Per student
+12%
vs California
Avg $16,509
+11%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 22.5%
State 62.1%
Federal 15.5%
Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2021-22 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.
How Desert Mirage High Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coachella Valley High | Similar size | Lower economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Toro Canyon Middle | Smaller | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Saul Martinez Elementary | Smaller | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Coral Mountain Academy | Smaller | Lower economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Sea View Elementary | Smaller | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Desert Mirage High's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 2,300
- Students per teacher
- 18.3:1
- Resource Index
- 35/100
- Enrollment
- 989
- Students per teacher
- 22:1
- Resource Index
- 21/100
- Enrollment
- 961
- Students per teacher
- 23.4:1
- Resource Index
- 12/100
- Enrollment
- 815
- Students per teacher
- 20.4:1
- Resource Index
- 16/100
- Enrollment
- 682
- Students per teacher
- 23.5:1
- Resource Index
- 12/100
Similar high schools in Thermal
2 comparable high schools (grades 9-12) serving the same city.
Similar high schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of California, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~1,875 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~19.5:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Desert Mirage High's federal record.
- Compare Desert Mirage High against another school. Compare schools
- Coachella Valley Unified's spending and staffing shape this school. District profile
- Confirm current enrollment and boundaries with the school. Choosing guide
Federal record (CCD 2024-25, CRDC 2021-22) - PlainSchools assigns no subjective rating; the composite quality score is a transparent, reproducible index computed from this cited federal data.
Frequently asked questions about Desert Mirage High
How many students attend Desert Mirage High?
Desert Mirage High has 1,875 students enrolled. It is a high school in Thermal, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Desert Mirage High?
The student-teacher ratio at Desert Mirage High is 19.5:1, which is 9% lower than the California average of 21.5:1 and 24% higher than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Desert Mirage High?
91.7% of students at Desert Mirage High are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Desert Mirage High?
The largest demographic group at Desert Mirage High is Hispanic or Latino at 98.6% of enrollment, in Thermal, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Desert Mirage High?
Desert Mirage High has a Resource Investment Index of 33/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
How does Desert Mirage High rank among high schools in Thermal?
By Resource Investment Index, Desert Mirage High ranks #2 of 3 high schools in Thermal, CA. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all high schools in Thermal on the city page.
Is Desert Mirage High a good school?
Desert Mirage High earns 33/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the California median. It is also one of the largest schools in California. This is a resource snapshot, not an academic rating; see the Resource Investment Index question above for what the number does and doesn't measure.
What other schools are in Coachella Valley Unified?
Besides Desert Mirage High, Coachella Valley Unified also operates Coachella Valley High (2,300 students), Toro Canyon Middle (989 students), and Saul Martinez Elementary (961 students). See the Coachella Valley Unified district page for the complete list.
Related tools
Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal records, no number is typed in by an editor. Each school's figures reflect its most recent NCES/CRDC submission on file. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.