Cielo Vista Charter School

Community Service exposes students to new situations. They learn about patience and empathy. This helps students develop a sense of civic responsibility and encourages them to assume meaningful roles in their community.

Cielo Vista Charter School students (and teachers, too!) experienced some ways to perform community service and volunteer through our GIVING BACK program in 2023/24. These activities also made for truly insightful classroom discussion. We’ll be continuing with these projects and field trips, because we've seen how this makes our students happy and brings them together.

Some examples include: a beach or Joshua Tree clean-up activity; visits to The Galilee Center and the Palm Springs Navigation Center; a musical performance at Mizell Senior Center; a tour of the Palm Springs Animal Shelter; a sports day with soccer and Little League volunteer coaches; experiencing the McCallum Theatre and the Palm Springs Film Festival and learning how volunteers play a key role; and making cards for patients at Loma Linda Children’s Hospital and sponsoring meals for families.

The goal is simple: Cielo Vista Charter School wants our students to be inspired, to get together with their friends, to make a difference and to change the world!

Children can feel distanced from society and from their schoolwork. Volunteering and Community Service helps counter that. It prepares students to participate in society with dignity, sensitivity and wisdom, and enables better communication and teamwork.

Community Service exposes students to new situations, where they learn about patience and empathy. It helps in developing a sense of civic responsibility and encourages students to assume meaningful roles in their community.

Students say volunteering strengthens their confidence and gives them a sense of purpose. It helps reduce the feelings of a negative self-image. They feel empowered, proud and self-assured.

We’ve developed a program called GIVING BACK: Sowing the Seeds of Community Service and Volunteering. Here are just some of the activities we have planned:

A beach clean-up on Earth Day; visits to a homeless shelter, a food bank, and a senior center; a tour of an animal shelter; a sports day with soccer and Little League volunteer coaches; making cards for children in hospitals & sponsoring meals for their families; and a voter registration and blood drive event for parents.

Our teachers will lead classroom discussions that incorporate the lessons learned from the field trips and volunteer activities. We will assess the specific needs of our community and learn about issues that are critical in Coachella Valley. And, most importantly, the students, teachers, administrators AND parents will open the dialogue that allows students to begin selecting their own, preferred volunteer activities.

At Cielo Vista Charter School, we teach our students that the differences among us make the world a better place. But teaching students from many cultural backgrounds is often a daunting task, as differences may emerge as sources of potential conflict that can sometimes leave them feeling vulnerable.

Literature and the Arts are instrumental in developing a sense of belonging, inner power, freedom of expression, and enjoyment. They are an essential part of fostering an appreciation for diverse populations. The “Embracing the Arts” project will consist of (1) performances by artists and groups that reflect various cultures and diverse populations, and enhancing our audio-visual capabilities for virtual performances; (2) acquiring children’s literature and other resource materials that emphasize unique backgrounds and customs, and sharing our new library with other schools in the area; (3) showcasing of a new multicultural mural in our school garden.

We want our students to see their experiences as part of the entire human quilt and give them the ability to interact with people from different settings in exceptional ways. The universal language of engagement that the performing arts and literature provides is a critical component of that journey.

Contacts: Ms. Juanita Perezchica, Principal
Email: jperezchica@psusd.us

Contact: Ms. Nichi Avina, Teacher
Email: navina@psusd.us

This grant provides the funds needed to purchase new instruments for the Cielo Vista Charter School band. 97 students in the school participated in the first year, and this number has risen to almost 200 now that we are in our third year. Just this year, our upper lever Eagle Band performed in the Indio High School Band Festival for the first time. However, as a school with 82% of our students in the free and reduced lunch program, purchasing or renting an instrument (a necessary supply to join the program) can be extremely challenging for many students and their families. Buying high-quality new instruments, which will remain useful for years to come, will instill students with a greater sense of confidence and satisfaction as they play.