Westside Elementary

Westside Elementary sits in Thermal, a small agricultural community in the eastern Coachella Valley where the desert heat is real and the tight-knit community feel is even more so. The school serves families rooted in this working-class corner of Riverside County, and while test scores reflect some of the broader challenges facing the district, there's a grounded, community-oriented spirit here that matters to the families who choose it. For those living in Thermal, this is a neighborhood school in the truest sense — part of the fabric of daily life in a place where neighbors know each other and local roots run deep.