Free Family Portraits

On Sunday, Nov. 29th, DATA Di launched Free Family Portraits in partnership with the Cathedral City Library. The student-lead community service project utilizes the skills that students are learning in the classroom and gives them another unique opportunity to interact with the public and build professional behaviors. The portraits will run in the Children's Reading Room at the library during normal business hours on Saturdays and Sundays through December 20th.

Learn more here!

- Read the article in The Desert Sun -

Now in 51 Stores

The Digital Arts Technology Academy's all-new interactive digital book is now available globally in 51 stores! Download it on your iPad or Mac using the iBooks app to learn more about how DATA is recognized as the only California Partnership Lighthouse Academy / Apple Distinguished Program. 

Champions of Excellence 2015

On Monday, Dec. 15th, DATA Digital Imaging students photographed the 2015 Champions of Excellence for The Foundation of Palm Springs Unified School District.

The event was held to honor school-district and community leaders for mentoring and other contributions to students in PSUSD career and technical education programs.

Not only do awards shows such as this honor individuals in the West Valley, but it also provides valuable event photography experience for DATA students.

View the student images here! 

An Apple Distinguished Program

Learn more about Apple Distinguished programs and schools here

The Digital Arts Technology Academy named Apple Distinguished Program

Cathedral City, California — October, 26, 2015 — The Digital Arts Technology Academy (DATA) at Cathedral City High School, Palm Springs Unified School District is pleased to announce that it has been recognized as an Apple Distinguished Program for 2015–2017 ​for its use of iMac, MacBook, and iOS in a unique Career Technical Education program that challenges students with a range of art, media, and design opportunities.

The Apple Distinguished Program designation is reserved for programs that meet criteria for innovation, leadership, and educational excellence, and demonstrate a clear vision of exemplary learning environments.

Relying heavily on the powerful Mac platform, DATA students produce digital arts projects involving digital photography, graphics, animation, filmmaking, and audio production with a variety of tools that include Final Cut Pro X, iBooks Author, and GarageBand. 

Curriculum is online 24/7 and blends community connections with creativity to heighten learning. DATA students have a higher attendance and graduation rate among their peers and are prepared for college and career pursuits through a rigorous set of project-based experiences. 

“We are honored that DATA is being recognized for their innovative use of Apple technology to provide students an enriched learning experience,” says CCHS Principal Guillermo Chavez. “The selection of DATA as an Apple Distinguished Program highlights our success as an innovative and compelling learning environment that engages students and provides tangible evidence of academic accomplishment.”

With the integration of Apple technology, the cutting-edge studio classrooms inspire students to engage with their community through event photography and videography. Numerous media, multi-age collaborations and podcasts are published globally to iTunes. Students develop award-winning content that earns recognition far beyond the Coachella Valley. The first high school iPhone news app, CCNews, and iBooks projects like “Trashcans & Unicorns” illustrate DATA’s distinction as an educational leader where innovation is infused with technology.

DATA students perfect their CTE skills further in unique ways. They participate in SkillsUSA, a national career technical student organization, where they build technical/leadership skills and professionalism through yearlong competitions. They also participate in Student2student mentoring in which they teach technology skills at local middle schools. Academy students also lead visiting eighth graders in a full day of digital arts workshops during an experimental recruitment activity known as “Create Day.” Here, students are exposed to podcasting, photography, filmmaking, game design, and graphic design.

DATA is a California Partnership Lighthouse Academy with an emphasis in design, arts, and media. Students travel together as a cohort in core academic subjects and CTE electives, receive guidance from community mentors and designated counselor, intern with local industry partners, and produce professional quality content. Learn more at www.DigitalArtsTechAcademy.us 

#DATAcademy Instagram Contest

Submit Your Best, Forget the Rest!
Now through Nov. 30th, DATA Digital Imaging will be hosting a smart phone photography contest for all CCHS students and staff.

The top 100 images will be exhibited at the Cathedral City Library. 1st and 2nd Place winners will receive free printing from Social Print Studio and the 3rd Place winner will recieve a t-shirt from CCHS's very own Gone Apparels!

Submit your best 3 images 

using #DATAcademy on Instagram

Sponsored in part by

Connecting Day of the Dead

DATA Digital Imaging has experienced a rich response to works produced around the cultural celebration of Day of the Dead. This includes the purchasing of student prints, as well as photography exhibited at the Desert Art Center, UC Riverside, and through the Cathedral City Arts Commission.

This Fall we launched things a little differently with our created imagery, both locally and beyond. Through a new partnership with the Cathedral City Library, we hung our first of (hopefully) many student-curated digital arts shows- the first being Dia de los Muertos on display until December 18th. And, as part of our global arts network, The Student Creative, we extended an invitation to other schools from various parts of the U.S. and oversees to explore this cultural event with us. We hope that the collection will inspire others via the upcoming digital book available soon on the iBook Store.

Until then,

check out our web gallery