The following describes the procedures that Vista Grande High School administrators will use in determining admission to the school:

1. Each year in the spring, the administrators of Vista Grande High School will hold an open enrollment period for a designated number of weeks, during which students may file an application for enrollment for the following school year. This enrollment period will be advertised in local newspapers, local radio, through community organizations, on the school's website and through other appropriate means. In order to attract a student population that mirrors the diversity of Taos County, it is also the intention of Vista Grande High School to notify families of this enrollment period through many meetings in the public schools of Taos, Questa and Penasco.

2. If the number of applications received during this period is fewer than the number specified in the approved charter application, all applicants will be accepted for admission.

3. Pursuant to the 1999 Charter Schools Act, should the number of applications received for enrollment be greater than the number of actual spaces available, a lottery process for admission will be instituted. This lottery will be carried out within two weeks after the closing of the enrollment period.

4. For purposes of the lottery, each applicant will be assigned a number. These numbers will be written on individual note cards and placed into a box. These cards will be drawn at random by an individual not associated with the charter school, and each student will be accepted for enrollment until the number of applications meets the number of spaces available. For example, if the number of spaces available in a grade is 60, then the first 60 applicants whose numbers are drawn will be enrolled in Vista Grande High School. All other applicants will have their numbers drawn and be placed on a waiting list in the order in which their number was drawn. Should space become available, the first person on the waiting list will be eligible to enroll. If that student declines, then the next person on the waiting list will be notified of his/her eligibility for enrollment. The school will proceed through the waiting list until the available spaces are filled.

5. If the number of students enrolled during the formal application period is less than the space available, the administrators of Vista Grande High School may choose to enroll those students and then enact a second enrollment period.

6. If the sum of applications received during the second enrollment period is less than the number of available spaces, all applicants from the second enrollment will be accepted for admission. If the number of applications received during this second period of enrollment, in combination with the earlier enrollees, exceeds the maximum number allowed by the charter application, a lottery will be instituted using the methods described above. This lottery will apply to all students who applied during the second enrollment period.

7. If after both of these open enrollment periods the number of students enrolled in Vista Grande High School remains below the number of spaces available, VGHS will continue to advertise additional open enrollment periods until the maximum number is reached. At that point, all further applicants will be placed on a waiting list. These applicants will be accepted in the order in which they applied. Vista Grande High School may request in writing from the Taos Municipal Schools Board of Education a variance on the maximum number of students able to enroll in the charter school as specified in the approved charter.

8. Students accepted for admission must confirm in writing their date of enrollment. This date will be indicated on the written notification of admission sent to each student. Students who do not confirm their enrollment by the date and time indicated in the written notification will be removed from the admission list and placed at the end of the waiting list.

9. Parents or guardians of potential students are responsible for maintaining up-to-date information on the enrollment application, and are responsible for notifying Vista Grande High School, in writing, of any changes in address, telephone number, or other contact information. Vista Grande High School is not responsible for maintaining contact information with, or continuing a search for, an applicant who cannot be contacted within a reasonable time period and by reasonable effort. If Vista Grande High School is unable to contact an applicant to either confirm enrollment or to notify the applicant that he or she is to be moved from the waiting list to the admissions list, then the applicant may be dropped from both lists.

10. Parents/guardians of students will be required to complete the Vista Grande High School Enrollment application and provide:

• Proof of Age
• Social Security Number
• Waiver and Consent to Disclose Student Information
• Emergency Medical Authorization
• Request for Records Transfer
• Immunization Record
• Internet and Electronic Mail Use Permission Form
• Contract of Mutual Respect

Once admitted to Vista Grande High School, students who remain in attendance and who meet the school’s minimum academic requirements will be automatically accepted for each succeeding school year. Additionally, siblings of currently-enrolled VGHS students will be automatically accepted for admission to the school, and will not be required to participate in a lottery, if one is instituted.
Copies of this policy shall be made available at all locations where enrollment forms are distributed, and on the Vista Grande High School website. Notice of the availability of this policy shall be included in all advertisements for admission in the school.

Vista Grande High School will not discriminate among applicants on the basis age, disability, gender, ethnic or national origin, religion, or academic standing. Vista Grande High School is an accredited New Mexico public school that does not charge tuition or have admission requirements.