The members of the Palm Desert Charter Middle School Color Guard have returned home to a hero’s welcome Sunday.

They made history at the 2023 Winter Guard International Color Guard World Championships in Dayton, Ohio. The team, which is composed of middle school students, competed against high school and college students and came out on top, earning a place in the record books for the second year in a row.

Parents, families, and friends gathered at the Palm Spring International airport Sunday afternoon to cheer on the team as they arrived home.

Palm Desert Charter Color Guards Return after Competition

“It was so amazing as a parent just to sit back and go, well, my child is making history,” said one proud parent. “It was so awesome. It was an amazing experience. So thank you so much for doing that for my child and for all the other 25 children out there.”

The success of the team is due in no small part to their coach, Coach Pena, who attended Palm Desert Charter Middle School himself.

“He doesn’t just focus on the performance,” said one parent. “He actually makes sure that they are a team. If he sees anything that’s not team-based, he stops it, doesn’t matter if you’re working so hard. He gets them all connected and bonded.”

For the students, the experience was unforgettable. “It was not just the competition, it was the teamwork, the bonding, and the support that they showed for each other.”

Congratulations to the students of Palm Desert Charter Middle School and their coach, Coach Pena, for their outstanding achievement at the Color Guard World Championships. They have made their school and community proud and shown that with hard work, dedication, and teamwork, anything is possible.

Palm Desert Charter Middle School Color Guards make History