SANTA CLARITA VALLEY : Canyon Country to Offer College Classes

For the first time in its 23-year history, College of the Canyons will offer at least some classes in Canyon Country beginning Jan. 25.

Under an agreement with William S. Hart Union High School District approved Wednesday by the Santa Clarita Community College District Board of Trustees, the college will hold classes for students majoring in child development on the Canyon High School campus.

The agreement also will allow College of the Canyons to expand its child development center, which provides preschool programs for the children of students, community members and low-income families, said Joan Waller, center director.

Forty children, ages 3 to 5, are now enrolled at the Valencia campus center. With the opening of the Canyon Country facility, “We’ll be able to take 60 more,” Waller said.

The agreement will allow the district to enroll more students studying for careers in child development. The program now has 372 students, Waller said.

“Having two sites will help the college be more flexible and more responsive to the commuting needs of students and parents,” she said.

College officials said that 44% of students who attend classes on the Valencia campus travel from their homes in Canyon Country and Saugus. They said more students from the eastern part of the valley would enroll at the college if it were more convenient.