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K-8 School Backer Gets Her Point Across

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When the Fountain Valley School District began debating a proposal last fall to discontinue Fred Moiola School’s kindergarten through eighth-grade format in favor of the more common K-5 grouping, parent Doreen Almanza heard a call to action.

She knew the system worked. She went to a K-8 school as a child in Fountain Valley when the format was the norm districtwide. She also has three children, ages 8, 11 and 14, enrolled at the school now, and a 16-year-old who graduated from there.

Moiola is the holdout in a K-5 district and one of only a few in the county.

For Almanza and other parents, keeping their children in an elementary school setting for a couple of extra years keeps children from growing up too fast and encourages closer relationships with teachers.

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When the district began debating whether to drop grades six, seven and eight from Moiola’s curriculum, Almanza organized the Committee for Educational Choice, a group of parents who have campaigned to preserve Moiola’s academic system and have rallied supporters at school board meetings.

“There were several of us who were continually meeting on a weekly basis, planning, working, doing research and doing everything we possibly could,” she said.

Last week, district officials acknowledged the efforts of the parents group. A majority of board members agreed informally to reject the change when a vote is taken Thursday.

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Moiola will probably stay the same, and Almanza will be at the meeting just to make sure.

“I would say we’re cautiously happy,” said Almanza, 41, a telephone operator. “You don’t want to jump ahead before it’s all finished. We still have some work to do.”

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