BRIEFLY IN EDUCATION

Preschool parents glow with pride after first year

Local families celebrated as their children finished their first school year at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Laguna Beach’s Even Start Club Preschool on June 13.

The free program is for 3- and 4-year-old children from qualifying low-income families living in Laguna Beach and surrounding communities. Twenty-five children graduated this year.

“This exceptional program is definitely one that our whole community should be very proud of,” said club Executive Director Pamela Estes.

“It really is like a pebble in a pond, and the impact that is created by those who support and work with the children in the club preschool program ripples out beyond the young ones in the classroom, to their parents and then throughout the community.”

The goal of the program, which replaced Head Start in Laguna Beach when the class at El Morro Elementary closed in 1999, is to give underserved children an “even start” when they enter the public school system.

By the time these children graduate from the program, they know the alphabet, can count, have developed a love of books, and learned the social skills needed in a classroom setting.

“The Even Start preschoolers enter their schooling at a similar level to other, more advantaged students,” preschool Director Terry Anne Barman said.

Seven of the graduates will be attending El Morro Elementary in the fall, and two will go to Top of the World Elementary.

Eighteen children in the Laguna Beach Unified School District will attend the preschool next year.

For more information, call Barman at (949) 494-2535, ext. 107.

Competitive swimmer to offer instruction

Gerry Miller, a competitive swimmer, lifeguard and swim instructor with decades of experience, is now offering swim lessons in private pools.

Miller has taught beginners as well as Junior Olympic competitors. He has instructed individuals with special needs, including amputees, autism, hearing and visual impairments, and Down’s syndrome.

Half-hour lessons are $30. Group lessons for two clients are $40; three clients are $50 per half-hour. For more information, call Miller at (949) 290-4057.