180 Days of Learning : CENTRALIA

Having reduced class size last year to no more than 20 pupils in first and second grades, Centralia this fall will expand the program to kindergarten.

The 5,100-student district, which has been growing steadily for five years, hopes to have 20 new teachers on board as schools reopen, but classroom space will be scarce, school board member Robert Lindsay said.

“At some point in time, we’re going to run into real difficulties with our facilities,” he said.

Still, Lindsay said, children here have clearly benefited from smaller class sizes as well as an increased emphasis on reading readiness.

“Kids are beginning to test out in first and second grade at a higher level than they were before,” Lindsay said. “Teachers are finding they have time to help each individual student with a great deal more emphasis than we were ever able to before.”

Also this fall, the district--which comprises nine elementary schools in Buena Park, Anaheim and La Palma--is eliminating the DARE anti-drug program on the six Buena Park campuses. School officials cited a recent decision by the city of Buena Park to stop funding the program.

But Lindsay said children in those schools will still receive drug prevention education: “Our curriculum does an adequate job.”