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MEDIA ADVISORY

November 1, 2010                                    



FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:

Phil Yost (650) 688-6384

RECEPTION TO HONOR PALO ALTO TEACHERS

WHO INSPIRED THE KINDERGARTEN READINESS ACT

PALO ALTO – State Sen. Joe Simitian is holding a reception November 9 to honor two Palo Alto teachers, Diana Argenti and Natalie Bivas, who inspired him to author Senate Bill 1381, the Kindergarten Readiness Act of 2010, which was signed into law September 30.

Concerned that California was permitting children to begin kindergarten too young, Diana Argenti, a kindergarten teacher, and Natalie Bivas, a reading specialist, circulated a petition calling for the age to be raised and presented the petition, with the signatures of 287 of their colleagues, to Simitian. He introduced the bill this year.

WHAT:  Reception to honor Diana Argenti and Natalie Bivas

WHEN:  Tuesday, November 9, from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.

WHERE: Palo Alto Unified School District Board Room, 25 Churchill Ave., Palo Alto

The reception is open to the public. Reporters and photographers are welcome. Light refreshments will be served. An RSVP at http://www.senatorsimitian.com/kindergarten would be appreciated. 

Under the Kindergarten Readiness Act, children must be five years old by September 1 to start kindergarten, a change long sought by teachers and education researchers. The new age requirement will be phased in over three years, beginning in the fall of 2012. California currently requires children to be five by December 2. The legislation also creates Transitional Kindergarten, the first year of a two-year kindergarten, for children with birthdays from September 2 to December 2, who previously would have been eligible to start kindergarten in the year they turn five.

 

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