HARLINGEN – Brianna Mercado ran her tiny finger through the shaving cream, creating the letter “F.”
“It smells good,” said Brianna, 5, who was learning about letters and sounds and pictures. She and several other kindergartners in Thelma Cano’s class were taking advantage of a two-week activity called “Elementary Jumpstart Program.”
“They are making a jumpstart to learning,” said Iris Moya, Jumpstart Coordinator at Zavala Elementary. The program, which aims to prepare children from pre-kindergarten to fourth grade, is being held at all 17 elementary campuses. The class is voluntary.
“It’s highly recommended so they are prepared for the year,” Moya said. “They are focusing on math and reading. Those are the highly-needed areas.”
Rather than have summer school in the middle of the summer, the district decided to have the “jumpstart” program just before the school year begins Aug. 23. This would get them ready for the school year, Moya said.
For the rest of this story and many other EXTRAS, go to our premium site, www.MyValleyStar.com.
Subscribe to it for only $6.99 per month or purchase a print subscription and receive the online version free, which includes an electronic version of the full newspaper and extra photo galleries, links and other information you can’t find anywhere else.
