K-8 School Backer Gets Her Point Across

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.

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.

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.”