Sierra Sands high school students return to classrooms in Ridgecrest Ridgecrest Daily Independent April is not the typical month for a back to school event, but nothing during the COVID-19 pandemic is typical. Some 555 Sierra Sands Unified School District students returned to school Thursday, making for a total of 2,118 students returning this week according to the SSUD Facebook page. SSUSD high school students who elected to continue in-classroom learning returned to classrooms Thursday April 8. Nearly half of Mesquite students chose to return according to Principal JoAnne McClelland, as quoted on Facebook. Superintendent Dave Ostash reported earlier in the week that about half of BHS students in grades 9 through 12 had elected to return to in-person instruction as well.