Burbank school district ponders pre-kindergarten

Session for 5-year-olds too young for regular class being considered.

October 15, 2013|By Kelly Corrigan, kelly.corrigan@latimes.com

Burbank school officials will consider implementing a new kindergarten program for the school district’s youngest five-year-olds.

A new junior kindergarten program scheduled to be proposed to the Burbank school board Thursday would provide five hours of instruction each school day to help the district’s youngest students prepare for the 2014-15 school year by working with classmates, adjusting to a school schedule and becoming more independent.

The district currently offers a transitional kindergarten program for children who turn five between Oct. 2, 2013 and Dec. 2. Those eligible for the junior kindergarten program must have been born between Dec. 2 and Dec. 31, 2008.

Twenty-eight students’ names currently sit on a list that parents filled out signaling their interest, according to a district report.

If approved, school officials would begin the program at Edison Elementary.

Depending on the size of the class, Burbank Unified would earn $75,000 in state revenue by serving 30 students in the class, or nearly $61,000 with 25 students.

“The daily schedule, structure and routine would closely reflect that of a kindergarten classroom and will expose the students to all of the state of California’s academic kindergarten standards,” according to a district report.

The students would also receive report cards in March and May.

The Burbank school board will weigh in on the program during Thursday’s meeting and vote on establishing it in November.

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Follow Kelly Corrigan on Twitter: @kellymcorrigan.

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