Skip To Main Content

Fixed Header

Landing Nav

Joining McAuliffe

How to Join

McAuliffe is a TK-8 alternative school in the CUSD district. Families must live within the CUSD district boundaries and must open enroll via the CUSD open enrollment lottery in order to be eligible to attend. For more information, visit the Registration page of the CUSD website, or click here.

Benefits for Your Family

McAuliffe values your regular participation in your child's classroom because we think it benefits children to share their daily life with their parents and caregivers. In addition, we believe that your participation benefits YOU! We attract parents who always want to be improving their parenting skills and who want to be an active part of a community of fellow parents; we offer the McAuliffe Aide Training (MAT) course to all new parents to facilitate both. In addition, our Parent Faculty Group often offers additional parent education opportunities during a school year. As a participating parent, you will watch and learn how kids learn, talk with other parents about their parenting experiences, talk more often with your child's teacher, and create a closer bond with your own child. 

Step 1: Register your child with the Student Assignment Office

  • For new students, registration must be completed to receive a Perm ID#
  • For students already in a CUSD school, your student has a Perm ID# and that can be retrieved through ParentVue or through the office at their current school.
  • Please visit: Student Assignment for registration information or contact your attendance area/neighborhood school.
  • Registration will be opened from January 5, 2026 through February 13, 2026

Step 2: Take a tour

Tours of McAuliffe are scheduled primarily in the late fall and winter months. Attendance at a tour is a requirement for enrolling at McAuliffe. To register for a tour, click here.

Upcoming tours:
Thursday, November 13, 2025
Tuesday, December 16, 2025
Thursday, January 15, 2026
Wednesday, February 11, 2026

Step 3: Apply via the Open Enrollment link

  • The link will be on the CUSD website and will be live at 8:00 am February 2, 2026 and will close at 4:00 pm on February 13, 2026
  • Absolutely no exceptions will be made for these Deadlines.
  • The Priority Open Enrollment Lottery will be run on or before February 27th, 2026. Waitlist will be posted no later than March 13th, 2026. Waitlist numbers will be reset at the beginning of each year. If you wish to continue to be considered for enrollment at McAuliffe, you MUST join a meeting and apply for Open Enrollment each year.