GILROY
– The opening of new classrooms at three Gilroy Unified School
District sites is the latest sign that Gilroy children will have as
good a chance as anyone to start their educational careers on
strong footing.
GILROY – The opening of new classrooms at three Gilroy Unified School District sites is the latest sign that Gilroy children will have as good a chance as anyone to start their educational careers on strong footing.
GUSD and county officials celebrated the opening of three family academies at a ribbon cutting ceremony today at South Valley Middle School. Linking with more than a dozen existing health and education programs locally and countywide, the program, called First 5, helps families with young children better prepare for kindergarten.
The First 5 family academies, housed in recently installed portable classrooms, will be funded by the state for at least four-years. The program is open to families of all students 5 years old and younger living within the enrollment boundaries of Eliot, Glen View, Las Animas and Antonio Del Buono elementary schools.
“We’re trying to affect every single thing that can affect a child before they start school,” said Lillian Castillo, a public health manager from Santa Clara County who conducts nutrition classes for parents.
The four schools were eligible for the program due to their attendance area’s high birthrate and low standardized test scores. Due to the district’s new school construction plans, portables were set up at Glen View, Antonio Del Buono and South Valley Middle School. The ADB and South Valley sites serve Las Animas and Eliot families, respectively.
For Superintendent Edwin Diaz, the program gels nicely with his goal of improving student test scores so that 90 percent of GUSD children read and do math at grade level.
“Research shows that if a child is not reading at grade level by third grade, then they’ll have a difficult time catching up later on,” Diaz said. “So any help we can provide before students enter kindergarten is crucial.”
GUSD was one of only three districts in Santa Clara County receiving the $1.4 million-a-year grant. What makes GUSD’s First 5 program even more special is the physical space where it is carried out.
No other First 5 program in the county created a sort of one-stop-shop center for families by installing portables. Having its own classrooms, office space and resource areas gives families a sense of connection to the program and larger community, says GUSD’s First 5 administrator Debra Aboytes.
“It’s unique to Gilroy,” Aboytes said. “The idea for physical sites came up during our visioning process. It was something our parents said they wanted, and fortunately the (David and Lucile) Packard Foundation came through with another grant that we used to buy the portables.”
Instructional, case management, outreach and other administrative costs are covered by the state.
The First 5 program aims to serve 500 families annually and already is working with 120 despite having their centers open less than a month.
Alicia Ruvalcaba and Mariecela Barrera are two such clients. The young moms and their toddler children attended an art development class Monday at the Glen View site put on by the City of Gilroy.
The three-month course provides children with the opportunity to learn about colors, shapes and textures by doing various art and craft projects. Parents also benefit by learning things like recipes for making play dough at home.
“If I didn’t have a class like this, I would have probably bought some expensive toy to keep my children occupied,” Barrera said through an interpreter.
“I feel like I’m preparing my children for kindergarten. I’m learning how to keep them busy in an educational way,” said Ruvalcaba, also speaking through an interpreter.
Aboytes hopes that First 5’s extensive outreach program and physical presence on school sites brings in many more parents like Barrera and Ruvalcaba. Last summer, First 5 outreach knocked on 5,000 doors in its service areas seeking to identify eligible families. Aboytes said roughly 1,200 families were identified.
“Once we get fully operational on site, I think some outreach will just be natural. Word of mouth will be key,” Aboytes said. “We have to be credible as well as visible, and that’s just going to be a matter of time for that to unfold.”
For more information on First 5, contact GUSD at 848-7149.
