After 57 years as a traditional elementary school within the Palm Springs Unified School District, Cielo Vista Elementary submitted a conversion petition to become a “charter” school. The petition was approved by the PSUSD School Board and the California State Board of Education for the 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 school years. A second petition was accepted by the PSUSD and the State Board of Education for five additional years (the standard period for each petition). In 2020, our petition was updated and accepted once again by the PSUSD and the State Board of Education for five more years. 
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CVC is a “dependent” charter school and is accountable to our authorizer Palm Springs Unified School District. We are also accountable to the students and families we serve, to produce positive academic results and adhere to the charter contract. Students and their families are also obligated to the charter and the agreement signed. 

Our Petition

RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION TO APPROVE PETITION

School of Choice

Cielo Vista Charter is a School of Choice. Students are not required to live within any particular boundaries in order to attend CVC. Each year, all students must re-enroll or be selected through an independent lottery system that chooses students at random from the applications submitted

Enrollment

When Cielo Vista’s charter petition was approved by the State Board of Education, students that were already attending Cielo Vista Elementary had the first opportunity to re-enroll in the school as a charter for the 2010-2011 school year. Every year after that, current students have the first opportunity to re-enroll at CVC. Ample notice is given to families about re-enrollment. “Intent to Return” forms are typically sent home in January and due back to the school office in February.

If an “Intent to Return” form is not turned in by the designated deadline noted on the form, the student will lose his/her place at CVC and will be required to enter the lottery process in order to return the following school year. NO EXCEPTIONS.

Cielo Vista Charter School typically accepts new student applications in February for the following school year. CVC Lottery applications are ONLY available electronically via our school website. A due date will be indicated on the application in order to be included in the upcoming lottery.

Applications for the 2025 - 2026 school year will be available starting in February and will close on March 12, 2025. The lottery will take place in April. Students selected via the lottery will be contacted at a later date. 

Random Lottery

Following the Open Enrollment period each year, applications will be counted to determine whether any grade level has received more applications than availability. In the event this happens, Cielo Vista Charter School will hold a random drawing to determine enrollment for the impacted grade levels, with the exception of existing students that returned the “Intent to Return” form by the indicated deadline. Students added to the waiting list each year must go through the Open Enrollment process, and the previous waiting list is null and void.

The following rules and procedures will be communicated to all interested parties at least ten (10) days prior to holding the lottery.

Priority for admissions shall be assigned in the following order:
  1. Returning or existing students that have re-enrolled by the annual deadline.
  2. Siblings of returning or existing students shall be exempt as long as space is available. Otherwise, they shall be weighted 2 to 1 in the lottery system.
  3. Children of faculty, not to exceed 10 percent of the Cielo Vista Charter School’s total enrollment are weighted 2 to 1.

The lottery is conducted by an independent consultant, Joseph White Associates (JWA).​

Shared Support Agreement 

Charter Contract Families that choose Cielo Vista Charter School make a commitment to live up to CVC’s standards of excellence. All families must sign and are obligated to the Charter Contract each year that their child(ren) are enrolled at CVC.