180 Days of Learning : PLACENTIA-YORBA LINDA UNIFIED

Nearly all first-, second- and third-grade classes will meet the goal of no more than 20 pupils this year, officials said, as the district continues to focus on raising academic standards.

Supt. James O. Fleming said facilities in the district’s 19 elementary schools are being modified to accommodate smaller classes. More than 50 new portable classrooms and 80 new teachers will be on hand when schools open.

Also, Fleming said, all ninth-grade language arts classes will be limited to 20 students for each teachers.

“We have a strong focus on reading and the basic skills, and the 20-to-1 in ninth-grade language arts is a part of that,” Fleming said.

The next step, he said, will be expanding the program to kindergarten classes.

To ease crowding in the growing district, Fleming said sixth graders from Rio Vista Elementary will be moved to Kraemer Middle School, which will house grades six, seven and eight.

That means three of the district’s five middle schools will have sixth, seventh and eighth grades. The two remaining schools will continue to operate with only seventh and eighth grades, Fleming said.

The district is also considering imposing fees for students who ride the bus to school and is evaluating which students are eligible for transportation.

Any changes would not take effect immediately but could happen in January or next fall, Fleming said.

The district spends about $1.2 million a year to bus 4,000 of its 25,000 students, and “we are trying to reduce that,” Fleming said. “We will be tightening up the transportation over the course of the year.”