Rancho Mirage High School ready to open

It took 3 years and nearly $100 million to build the Coachella Valley’s newest high school. Tuesday Rancho Mirage High School will welcome it’s first graduating class.

“It’s amazing it’s a once in a life time opportunity to open a new school,” said Head Football Coach L. D. Mathews.

Everything at the school is brand new. The chairs have never been sat in and the desks have never been written on.

“I feel very lucky to be here and have what we have,” said Biology teacher Sarah Robles.

“It’s like the Taj Mahal here, it’s just beautiful, every program every area they didn’t hold back,” said Mathews.

Mathews said he is excited about what he will be able to teach the incoming freshman and sophomores.

“Everything is top of the line technology,” said Mathews.

Inside the gym, is a weight room that rivals most division one programs with olympic caliber equipment and state of the art training facilities.

“Across the board the kids are really just happy, they are spoiled, they are lucky,” said Mathews.

The “Rattlers” as they are now called, will be made of students who transferred from all over the Palm Springs Unified School District.

“I think they were only expecting like 650 kids and I think we are up to a little over 900, 950 kids,” said Mathews.

Eventually the campus will hold up to 2,300 students. The state-of-the-art school was designed to look like a college campus.

“The facilities are wonderful and all of the students that I met from open houses and meetings that we’ve done, it’s think it just has a really good feeling to it,” said Robles.

Students will have the choice of two unique career pathways: culinary arts and performing arts. The culinary kitchen that students will be using is said to rival most area restaurants.

“It’s university level quality, it’s fantastic,” said Robles.

When students hit the books, teachers say it will be hands on.

“I think one of the big things at this school is going to be the technology and incorporating that into the classroom and the way that we teach our lessons I think that is going to be a really big positive for them for their futures,” said Robles.

“It’s going to be the best school in the valley,” said Mathews.

This will be the fourth high school in the Palm Springs Unified School District. Right now only freshman and sophomores will be attending classes, so they will be the upper classmen, setting traditions for the years to come.