La Quinta High School is one of six public high schools, grades 9-12, in the Desert Sands Unified School District. It is located in La Quinta, California. The school was a California Distinguished Schools award winner in 1999, 2003 and 2011. History La Quinta High School was built in 1994 but fully completed by 1996. In its first year it had an enrollment of approximately 600 students with only grades 9-10 and in 1998, with grades 9-12, it now exceeds 3,000 students making it the largest high school in the Coachella Valley. The campus is crowded and there used to be portable classrooms which got replaced with new state of the art classrooms for Career Technical Education programs, as well as new buildings for the other academic courses offered at this school. It is the home of the La Quinta Blackhawk Brigade marching band and color guard. In 2010, La Quinta High School's Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps received the Distinguished Unit award, making the unit part of the top 5% of junior ROTC units worldwide. In 2016, the Clinton Foundation brought their Clinton Day of Action to La Quinta High School, and provided them with a new greenhouse, campus cleanup, and a new desert landscape in the front of the school. Academics In 2006, the school was ranked 614th in Newsweek's "The Complete List: 1,200 Top U.S. Schools". In the most recent available API index (2013) the school had the highest growth API score in the Coachella Valley with an 842. Career Technical Education programs and academies La Quinta High School has four academies for students that have a feel of what they want to do once they get older. These academies educates them about the field they would want to get into and prepares them to be able to continue their education after graduation. Medical Health Academy The Medical Health Academy is a California Partnership Academy grant-funded program for students interested in pursuing a career and college in the medical field. This is a Career Technical Program. This program can be taken by any student interested starting their second year. Public Service Academy The Public Service Academy program has grown from 100 students 10 years ago to over 260 students today. After students complete the three-year program, they are able to move into productive jobs in law enforcement, fire fighting, military and related fields. Culinary Arts