FAQs

First School Palm Springs and First School Palm Desert enroll children as young as 24 months and teach and care for children through the pre-kindergarten years. First School La Quinta start enrollment of children as young as 18 months and teach and care for children through their pre-kindergarten years.

First School Palm Springs provides flexible schedule part-weekly as well as full time care. At First School Palm Springs you have the flexible schedule 2 day, 3 day, 4 Day or Full time. We open our Palm Springs facility at 7:00 am and close at 5:30 pm. Monday through Friday 12 months out of the year.

First School Cathedral City Provides part-weekly as well as full time care. At First School Cathedral City you have the choice of a two day (Tuesday & Thursday) schedule, three day (Monday, Wednesday & Friday) schedule or five day (Monday through Friday) schedule. We open our Cathedral City facility at 7:00 am and close at 6:00 pm Monday through Friday 12 months out of the year.

First School La Quinta Provides part-weekly as well as full time care. At First School La Quinta you have the choice of a two day (Tuesday & Thursday) schedule, three day (Monday, Wednesday & Friday) schedule or five day (Monday through Friday) schedule. We open our La Quinta facility at 6:30 am and close at 6:00 pm Monday through Friday 12 months out of the year. 18 months must be enrolled fulltime.

First School Palm Desert Provides part-weekly as well as full time care. At First School Palm Desert you have the choice of a two-day (Tuesday & Thursday) schedule, three day (Monday, Wednesday & Friday) schedule or five day (Monday through Friday) schedule. We open our Palm Desert facility at 7:00 am and close at 5:30 pm Monday through Friday 12 months out of the year.

At First School of the Desert, we do not offer a morning/afternoon split day. This decision stems from our thorough investigation into the matter and the conclusions we've drawn about what best serves our students and our program.

Reasons for Not Offering Half-Day Programs

• Educational Focus: As early childhood educators, our primary aim is to administer a comprehensive curriculum designed to achieve realistic developmental, academic, and social skill goals. Offering full days is the most effective way for us to meet these objectives.
• Curriculum Continuity: Half-day programs introduce awkward breaks in the delivery of our daily curriculum. Managing separate morning and afternoon sessions disrupts the teaching flow and compromises educational quality.
• Logistical Challenges:
  • Balancing Sessions: Having a morning group requires having an afternoon group to maintain income flow, which is vital for the sustainability of any private school.
  • Teaching Compromises: We would need to decide whether to halt our educational unit at the end of the morning and repeat it in the afternoon. This redundancy could negatively affect full-time students who would be subjected to the same lessons twice to accommodate part-time students.
• Demand and Pricing Issues: Mornings are generally in higher demand than afternoons. This disparity presents challenges such as potentially charging morning clients more than afternoon clients, which may not be feasible or fair.
• Enrollment and Financial Implications: We must consider how to address potential losses from unfilled afternoon slots, as charging nearly a full day's rate for a half-day does not align with our business model.

To effectively address these challenges without compromising our educational goals, we offer a part-weekly full-day schedule. This approach allows parents to tailor their child's attendance days, maintaining the integrity of our curriculum and avoiding teaching compromises. While we understand that not all clients will be satisfied with the scheduling limitations, we accept this as a necessary trade-off in pursuit of our educational mission.

First School of the Desert maintains a six to one ratio (six children to one teacher) in its toddler classes (18 months). First School maintains a 12 to one ratio (12 children to one teacher) in all preschool classrooms.

With very few exceptions most of our teachers come from right here in the Coachella Valley. College of the Desert has an excellent Early Childhood Development program that routinely produces educated teachers. Although First School rarely hires unseasoned teachers (newly graduated) it is good that our community has a ready supply of Early Childhood specialists entering the labor market. When we conduct a "Teacher Search" we interview extensively and do background checks. We conduct a Justice Department and F.B.I. clearance prior to hiring.

If you do not already know, the state of California governs minimum standards for state-licensed preschools/childcare facilities. Teacher education requirements are among the many areas of compliance centers must adhere to. Teachers in California childcare centers (preschools) must have a minimum of 12 units in early childhood development as recognized by the state of California. First School of the Desert requires teaching experience in a quality facility and places a premium on extended education.

First School of the Desert is a year-round facility. We do not close for any extended period of time. We are first and foremost early childhood education specialists but our program exists to serve your family childcare needs as well. To accomplish both of these important goals our facilities remain open throughout the entire year. We trust you will appreciate First School's commitment to the family as well as our dedication to the child.

We have elected not to provide lunches in our programs. Our experience with this service has been less than successful. Cost constraints coupled with lukewarm client participation has guided us away from this service. Parents are responsible fro packing a nutritious lunch each school day as well as a morning and afternoon snack.

Absolutely! First School requires all of its employees to be fingerprinted. All First School of the Desert employees must receive clearances from the Justice Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigations (F.B.I.) in order to work at our facilities. On a local level, we conduct a careful reference check.

Yes we do! All four First School of the Desert programs have always accepted children 18-35 months that are not yet potty trained. We have a diaper changing policy that has been reviewed and approved by the state of California and consequently it allows us to provide this service to families. It is our belief that toilet training is a delicate process and must be handled with a great deal of sensitivity. The First School staff has been trained to facilitate and promote successful toilet training.

Tuition payments are due on the first of each month. Tuition payments must be made on or prior to the fifth of each month or an administration fee will be charged to each delinquent account. First School will allow for special payment plans if the client’s personal situation requires such a plan. All special payment plans are handled on a discreet basis and are approved by the owners of First School of the Desert. First School of the Desert special payment plan provision applies to all private and subsidized payment programs.

This is an excellent question and I am sorry to inform you that there is not a multiple child discount. Dorothy and I have four children of our own and consequently we can truly appreciate your interest in the request. The reason we do not have a discount for more than one child is because we choose not to inflate our rates to account for subsidies.

We provide a modest once a year vacation credit of 10 percent of one month's tuition for absences of two consecutive weeks or more. This credit is small due to the fact that our tuition rates are low and First School cannot recoup income from a student's absence.