Indio High School

Our goal in this project is to expand our inventory to meet the growing needs for these specialty instruments. Our middle school band program has been supporting more students on these instruments in the last few years and many of those students will be joining the high school program in the near future. Acquiring additional instruments will also us to support these students in continuing the music performance life with sufficient and quality instruments.

Excel is a class at Indio High School that teaches workplace skills. Students in this program are Special Needs Students that will require additional support transitioning from high school into the work force. The class offers hands-on real world experiences that support the whole student. In the program students will learn how to become young entrepreneurs through Rajah Works which is a printing business. They will be part of an innovative team that will be completing project based assignments that gives them an in-depth real-world view of what it is to use your creativity, business and computer skills to run their own business. They will assemble and create all of the documents that a “real” business would need to open its doors and they will produce all of the goods for the program. Students experience life as a business owner. This program will be student led and operated to promote confidence and student success.

In the Excel program students will be required to complete a Supervised On-Campus Project (SOP) each semester. Each student will spend the semester developing different aspects of their business. The end result will be their final semester project. Instructors will guide students through a series of lessons that teaches all of the different aspects of being a business owner such as developing business plans, sales, HR, marketing, and community relations. Students will have the opportunity to sell their project to support their own senior expenses. Each student’s project will be designed to meet their individual educational needs. By learning how to run a business, students will develop skills to be productive citizens in their own community. It will erase barriers that they previously had due to their disabilities.

The Indio High School Band Program is comprehensive, consisting of a Wind Symphony, Concert Band, Jazz Band, Percussion Ensemble, Marching Band, Drum Line, and Color Guard. In recent years, many students have wanted to join the IHS Band Program, but could not be accommodated due to lack of quality instruments. Thanks to this program, Indio High School can purchase new brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments: all essential components to the band’s musical foundation. 

Many Indio High students come from impoverished homes; 88% of them qualify for a free or reduced lunch. Despite their challenges, however, band members at IHS are extremely hard-working, goal-oriented, and involved in their school community. They spend over 15 hours on band-related activities each week, and many hope to continue their musical studies in college after graduation. Receiving new instruments gives these students a greater sense of pride and accomplishment and enables them to fulfill their dreams.

This project will kickstart the process of revitalizing the Indio High School Library. As the school continues construction through 2017, the library will transition from a building with books and computers to an interactive and collaborative learning commons. Students, many of whom do not have computer access at home, will use the library's technology to work on assignments. 

Instead of the current desktop computers with Windows XP, students will be able to use laptops and iPads. This will allow students to make use of the ebooks and database subscriptions which the library already pays for. Modular furniture will provide collaborative work stations where they can work in small groups. The result will be a true learning hub that will maximize creativity and student output.