The lottery is a random draw system. A number is assigned to each application. The numbers are printed out from a spreadsheet and placed in a container. No names are used in the draw, only numbers. The numbers are recorded on a sheet as they are drawn and later linked back to the applicant's name. If there are any spaces available in the class, the first numbers drawn are offered the space. All other applicants will be placed on a waiting list in the order they were drawn.

Applications are available on February 1, 2007 for the 2007-08 school year.

Applications are due March 23, 2007. The lottery will be held April 13, 2007 at 9:00am in the TCS library.

YES! Siblings of currently enrolled students do carry a sibling priority and are placed in their own lottery.

YES! You must fill out an enrollment application for your applying sibling and indicate the name of your enrolled child. Applications for the sibling lottery carry the same deadline as all the other applications. Please be aware that having an enrolled sibling does not automatically guarantee enrollment .

The TCS definition of a sibling for the sibling lottery is outlined in the enrollment application. You may be asked to provide proof of guardianship, etc.

NO. The waiting list is valid through the 120th day of school. The lottery is held every spring. We don't send out new applications to children on the waiting list. It is your responsibility to apply every year.

TCS currently has 203 students enrolled. We have one class per grade. The number of students per class is as follows: Kindergarten (15), 1st Grade (20), 2nd grade (24), 3rd grade (24), 4th grade (24), 5th grade (24), 6th grade (24), 7th grade (24), 8th grade (24).

We have PE Kinder-3rd grade take PE class 4x a week and 4th-8th grade have PE every day. We also have Spanish teachers come in to the classroom everday for Spanish lessons with all students. Our music teacher begins a half year music program in January as well and we have an art coordinator to work with the students on various projects.

No. We do not offer any after school programs at this time.

YES, we are a free public charter school! There are no entry costs and no tuition fees. We are a part of  the Taos Municipal School District.

YES! We use the districts buses. Students may catch the morning bus from their neighborhood. The buses will then deliver students to other district schools and continue on to TCS. Afternoon buses are a bit trickier. A bus will pick the children up in the afternoon and take them to other district schools where they will have to change buses to the appropriate route to take them where they need to go.

Unfortuantely, no. Upon enrollement, you must fill out a Free and Reduced Lunch application. The school nutritional program determines eligibility based on income.

YES! We have several middle school students participating on sports teams at the Middle and High school.

Students in district schools with Title I that are not meeting AYP (Average Yearly Progress) may apply to the lottery and receive two numbers for the lottery drawing. This complies with the federal mandate that students in inadequate schools may transfer to schools that meet AYP. Taos Charter cannot violate its charter by adding students to its class size caps.

No. We enforce a "common sense" dress code. No uniforms are required.

No. Our charter is written for 203 students and we are capped at that number.

No. The Vista Grande Charter High School is not connected to TCS. For information regarding the High School and their lottery, contact Todd Wynword at Roots and Wings Charter School.

No. If one child is drawn in the lottery and accepts enrollment, the siblings of the enrolled child will be given sibling priority. The siblings will be moved be moved up on the waiting list to a top spot behind any other siblings that may have participated in the sibling lottery. THERE IS NO GUARANTEE ANY OF THE SIBLINGS OF AN ENROLLED CHILD WILL BE OFFERED A SPOT AT TCS DURING THE SCHOOL YEAR. Available spots only occur in the event that a currently enrolled student decides to leave our school.

No. Once a student is enrolled at TCS, they are automatically enrolled for the following year unless we are notified, in writing, that they will not be returning the following year.