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Conejo Valley to offer Junior Kindergarten
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Parents can now apply for a new Junior Kindergarten Program that will start in the fall in the Conejo Valley Unified School District.
The pilot program is open to children who are eligible for kindergarten but in the past might have spent an extra year in preschool, said Janet Cosaro, assistant superintendent of instruction. The children must turn 5 between July 1 and Dec. 2.
The program will use a developmental approach with the academic standards seen in a regular kindergarten class, but at a slower pace, Cosaro said.
District officials hope the program will have about 20 students per class, depending on parent interest. The goal is to prepare the students to attend first grade the next school year, although they can first attend kindergarten.
"A lot of parents are hesitant and wonder, Is my son or daughter ready?'" Cosaro said of kindergarten. "Students will learn through a discovery mode' and will be guided through concepts. A lot of it will be hands-on activities."
The first site for the program will be at Maple School in Newbury Park. There are plans to possibly expand to two other sites, in Thousand Oaks and Westlake Village, Cosaro said.
The program, which will run from 8:25 to 11:45 a.m., is free. Child care will also be offered until 2:35 p.m. for a fee, Cosaro said.
Parents must fill out a questionnaire and a characteristics sheet before the beginning of the school year, so teachers will be familiar with the student.
Teachers will assess the students throughout the year to track their progress. After the child completes the program, the teacher could recommend the student for kindergarten or first grade at their neighborhood school.
Officials hope the new program will attract more families to the district, which has experienced declining enrollment the past few years. The district expects to lose about 1,818 elementary school students from 2004 to 2010 as fewer younger families move into the area.
"We really find that when students start with us early on, the more likely they will stay," Cosaro said.
To apply for the program, parents can pick up an application at their neighborhood school or download one at http://ww2.conejo.k12.ca.us/_cvusd/index.htm. Applications are due by May 1.
For more information, call 497-9511, ext. 239.
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Posted by slkrchck on March 25, 2008 at 2:43 a.m. (Suggest removal)
when i was a kid, we had senior kindergarten and it was for children that finished kinder but weren't quite ready for first.
it had a stigma. you flunked, basically.
we call them repeaters now. maybe this junior kindergarten will curb that trend.
Posted by truth_be_told on March 25, 2008 at 8:13 a.m. (Suggest removal)
No, there will be more retentions, and that is the idea. Janet Cosaro, under questionning, told the Board several times that this would bring money into the district, because the great majority of kids would be retained, and that would give 2 years of ADA to Conejo. She even told the parents at the info night that in Manhattan Beach's program, 90% of the students repeat.
She did not tell the parents that this was designed as a money maker for the district. The purpose of a junior K is to bring in the public before they opt out into private school, and she said this both to the board and to the parents. It is not clear if this retention counts as the only retention a student can have, since legally, k is not mandatory, only optional. So if this retention does not count as a "real one", then it may help kids get ahead. However, it looks like the draw here in the Conejo is to provide childcare also, which will be at a profit for a change, according to Didio. I don't believe that this will help the financials at CVUSD. Since jr K and K are optional, parents may chose to not send the kids 5 days a week if the child is cranky, etc. So, how is SARB going to work, since it is optional? Only families who need to park their young 4 year olds for 10 hours a day (including paid child-care hours) while both parents work, will be the families motivated to have their child enroll and show up full-time. How many of those are there? They only need 20 to start.
Do the families realize that a permanent government record will be started on these kids, some as young as 4? If these cranky 4 year olds are listed as trouble makers, then that's it FOREVER on their permanent school file. The next teacher will be prejudiced, and the next, and so forth. I think many parents will still choose private pre-K over government junior kindergartern. I'm not convinced that in the Conejo we will have full time participation. Then kids will be dropped, and the CVUSD will be paying for full-time teachers and childcare and the rooms won't be filled.
Also, many parents expressed interest, in order to have their kids go directly to 1st grade afterwards. Cosaro burst that bubble, and many parents at the meeting were surprised to hear the 90% expected retention rate. Will they change their minds come September? Only time will tell. I think Cosaro's crystal ball was cloudy the day she presented this to the Board and so strongly asserted that this would be a money-maker. The program was also designed to save the jobs of 4 to 6 teachers with early childhood ed credits. I think that is also a big reason for this program. The union said it would save jobs. It's a done deal now. A few dozen children will probably be signed up for this experiment. Let's see if it brings in the revenues predicted. Let's see if parents believe that this is the best option for their child. Both results won't be known until June 2009.
Posted by truth_be_told on March 25, 2008 at 12:28 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Today the Star ran an ad on page A2 for a public charter school info meeting on Tuesd April 8, 6pm and Wed April 9 at 11 am at 2421 Portola Road suite C in Ventura. Here's the link for Golden Valley Charter School k-12, free, public fully accredited, non-classroom based serving home schoolers. It is WASC accredited. It says it is Ventura County's first charter school, est 2001.
www.goldenvcs.org
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