Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley : School Weighs Implementing a Developmental First Grade : Education: Special program allows teachers to work closer with children who need more time to improve behavioral, language or motor skills.

Rio Vista School is studying a program that recognizes that children develop at different rates and pays closer attention to kindergartners who might otherwise be held back a year before being allowed to enter first grade.

Principal Catherine Laws said that under the program, a developmental first grade would be created to provide smaller class sizes and allow teachers to work closer with students who need more time to improve behavioral, language or motor skills.

The economy has forced a growing number of parents to bypass preschool or day-care activities for children, leaving them fewer opportunities to practice such skills, Laws said.

“We’ve seen a change in our population. We’ve seen an increase in at-risk students that could benefit from this program,” Laws said. “Children aren’t coming with the skills they used to. Not all of them, but many.”

Through the Rio Vista program, the Saugus Union School District hopes to give students extra time, while avoiding the stigma of being held back. Each child progresses at his or her own speed in the program.

Supt. Troy Bramlett said recent educational studies indicate that students held back during their early school years are more likely to drop out of school later.

“We sense it (retention) is the right decision, but these statistics kind of scare us,” Bramlett said. “There’s something about getting out of sequence with your age peers.”

The district’s board of trustees on Tuesday night authorized Rio Vista to explore the program.

School officials initially contacted the Monrovia Union School District, which has one developmental first-grade class at each of its five elementary schools. In Monrovia, the program began on an experimental basis at one school and was expanded to the other campuses the following year. The program is in its fourth year.

Students in the developmental program eventually obtained academic achievement nearly the same as those who did not need the extra help, said Richard Hill, director of instructional services for the Monrovia district.

“The parents need to understand we’re not talking about failure here. We’re talking about developing at different rates,” Hill said.

To succeed, the program should have parental support, at least a 20% reduction in class size and increased education for the instructors, Hill said.

“Teachers are trained to look for and recognize certain signs of behavior that they (students) are ready,” Hill said. “We feel it has saved a lot of kids from failure in their first two or three years.”

Laws said Rio Vista needs to gather more information to see if the program is appropriate for it and other district schools. She expects to report back to the school board by the end of December.