Expanded learning programs give students chances to practice classroom lessons in professional settings, alongside working artists and curators.
These programs are sometimes called “afterschool programs”—which doesn’t quite capture the cachet of students taking part in signature events like Desert X and Fashion Week El Paseo.
Aubrey Garibay-Morreo and Christina Reyna are elated after their first trip to Fashion Week. Their fashion club at Desert Hot Springs High School caught the attention of the show’s producers, who asked them to create a garment to display at the event. Working with their fashion teacher—the school offers fashion courses that transfer for college credit—the budding designers made two outfits for the show and attended as special guests.
“It felt, definitely, like a huge accomplishment,” Garibay-Morreo said. “Especially since we’ve had our fashion shows at school, and it’s really just the students who come, or just the teachers. But being able to take our project out and letting people who don’t go to our school—people we don’t even know yet—see it was really … I don’t know how to explain it. It was exciting.”
Reyna said the high fashion crowd at El Paseo was very encouraging. “They were really impressed,” she said. “They seemed so happy to know that kids our age are already starting with the love of fashion.”
Michael Hill’s art students at DHSHS were able to work with sculptor Alison Saar on her piece for Desert X. The student artists are among more than 100 people listed as collaborators on Saar’s “Soul Service Station.”
Through a partnership between Desert X, the artist and the Palm Springs Unified School District, Saar taught classes at DHSHS, located within a mile of “Soul Service Station” and two other Desert X 2025 pieces. Under her direction, students created large-scale milagros out of heavyweight foil and then attached the traditional good-luck tokens to the sculpture.
Giselle Ramirez Vasquez, a junior at DHSHS, designed one of the milagros. She’s a “star art student,” according to art and fashion teacher Rosa Esposito—as well as a long-distance runner.
Ramirez Vasquez said she was training the week Desert X opened and decided: Why wait for a future school tour? “I’m part of the long distance runners for track. We’ll run outside of school, and on our way on one of the long runs, we ran to the installation,” she said.
It took a while to realize she and her classmates were participating in one of the biggest arts events in the country. “Honestly, it didn’t really hit me at first, but, as the time went on, you feel more involved,” she said.
Expanded learning is not new, but these two highly immersive experiences are part of an intensifying effort to get students involved in the booming arts culture here.
Max Finneran runs the education unit at Desert X, which delivers arts training in more than 80 area schools through the Desert X Art Club. In the eight years since the inaugural Desert X in 2017, the education program has spread to all three local school districts. Students participate in a range of projects, from studio art to photography, arts journalism and documentary filmmaking. They go on arts field trips, get visits from guest artists and, of course, do class assignments.
Michael Hill’s art students at DHSHS were able to work with sculptor Alison Saar on her piece for Desert X. The student artists are among more than 100 people listed as collaborators on Saar’s “Soul Service Station.”
The inter-district arts club created enough art to fill an entire showroom. Their diligent work culminated in an exhibition at Melissa Morgan Fine Art in the El Paseo Arts District.
Film students shot almost every aspect of Desert X 2025, from press day to opening ceremonies, student field trips and glimpses of the artists at work.
During the closing weekend of Desert X 2025, the programming included a screening of student films at the Palm Springs Art Museum. Finneran introduced the screening inside the Annenberg Theater and talked about the value of giving students these experiences.
“There’s (the) opportunity, obviously, for students to explore behind the scenes of Desert X, and (learn) how you document the making and creation and reception of an installation,” he said. “There’s also an amazing kind of professional development opportunity for students. The films capture the students’ interactions with the art and are, in large part, about articulating how students are connecting to Desert X and then responding to it with their own creative statements and visions.”
Think Together is California’s largest provider of expanded learning programs. As the site manager at DHSHS, Fiona Burns was already working with the fashion club when the opportunity came for students to attend Fashion Week.
“Think Together was the (benefiting) charity for the fashion show,” Burns said.
Fashion Week producers asked her what the fashion club students could contribute. She worked with fashion and art teacher Esposito and got students on board.
“It was really good to see how they learn,” Burns said. “They put it on paper and, all of a sudden, you get this creation, and then you get to get dressed up, and now you get to be in the spotlight and show your creativity.”
Esposito said she made sure the students got the most out of the professional exposure.
“We learn a lot that would help if they wanted to go further,” said Esposito. “(My classes) are based on principles of design. We do patterns; we do color theory; and we do the history. We learned (about) Coco Chanel, and we did a whole big Met Gala unit—things that are going on in the fashion world now, you know? I actually had a whole lecture prepared after El Paseo, because I wanted them to really pay attention to what we saw that night. It wasn’t just the models. … (I told them), ‘Look at the hundreds and hundreds of people who put on that one night we saw.’ And Fashion Week was a whole week.”
Next year, Garibay-Morreo and Reyna will be seniors. They are set to chair the fashion club as president and vice-president. They’ve completed the two courses offered at their school, but they plan to continue studying fashion through programs within the club.
Esposito said leading the club will put the students in pivotal roles for next year’s fashion shows—and with fashion becoming more popular on campus, Esposito could perhaps expand the curriculum to a third course. Hers is the only fashion curriculum offered in the district, she said.
Meanwhile, Burns started a barbering club at the high school. She hopes it will engage students in the same way fashion has by providing a creative outlet and a path to employment or entrepreneurship.
“It’s a new program that’s a club, which, hopefully—I’m speaking this into existence—will do the same thing that fashion does. It will (become) a class for them,” said Burns.
Christina Reyna knows she wants to continue with fashion beyond high school. “I absolutely want to explore that, because I’m into almost every single (fashion) job,” she said. “I need to stick to just one, so I think I’m going to continue exploring.”
Aubrey Garibay-Morreo said she’s managing her obsession.
“For the past year, I’ve definitely had my mindset on working in the medical field,” she said. “But I would be interested in fashion, because right now, as a high school student, it’s very much all I care about.”
On the art side, Giselle Ramirez Vasquez said she’ll sign up for more art classes next year. Working with Desert X on the Saar project was a lot of fun, and she thinks art will be a hobby that she can pursue for years to come. Desert X made art seem more “accessible,” she said.
“When you think about art, it sometimes seems intimidating, like, ‘Oh, they’re professionals, and oh, they’re just on this other level.’ But when you get to work with them on their project, it’s kind of like: Anyone could really make their vision come true.”
Haleemon, your spotlight on the outstanding achievements of Desert Hot Springs High School students is absolutely uplifting!
Thank you! I was truly inspired by your students and their story.