SAN FERNANDO : Kindergartners Begin Full-Day Class

In what may be a first in the northeast Valley, kindergartners at San Fernando Elementary School are receiving a full day of academic instruction designed to boost their education and assist parents who have older children in school.

Principal Candida Fernandez-Ghoneim said the expansion of four kindergarten classes was launched last week. She said hers may be the first school in the northeast San Fernando Valley to offer a full-day kindergarten class instead of the normal three-hour session.

“The children will be able to enjoy a full day of academics,” Fernandez-Ghoneim said.

The longer session allows students “to elaborate on academics and skills they couldn’t do in three hours,” she said.

In addition, parents who pick up their older children from school in the afternoon will no longer need to make two trips to the school. Instead of leaving school at 11:30 a.m., the kindergarten students will leave at 2:25 p.m., the same time as older students.

“The parents are really excited. They see the benefits,” Fernandez-Ghoneim said.

She said about 120 students are now enrolled in the classes, and depending on the demand, a fifth kindergarten-first grade combination class may be expanded soon.