A special graduation

YOUNGSTOWN

Jovany Abath walked across the classroom, waving to the small audience, a big smile spread across his face.

Jovany, 6, along with Kaleb Maldonado, 4, and Jordan Mitchell, 6, make up the Class of 2014 of the medically fragile preschool unit at Williams Holmes McGuffey Elementary School.

Alexandra Abath, Jovany’s mother, said this was her son’s first year in the preschool. The family moved to Youngstown from Philadelphia.

“I can’t believe he was sitting down all this time,” she said. “At home, he’s always moving, doing stuff.”

Jovany sat through Thursday’s graduation program, all smiles, following along with hand motions as teacher Cheryl Vanatsky led the children in songs or read stories.

His mom says he enjoys coming to school.

“He gets excited when the bus comes to take him,” she said.

The children in the medically-fragile unit all have a medical issue that causes significant challenges in their developmental skills and areas, Vanatsky said.

Some are nonverbal. Others can’t walk independently.

Their ages range from 3 to 5 with some 6-year-olds in the class, depending on their birthdays.

This year’s class included nine students. Twelve is the maximum. It’s the city district’s only medically fragile unit.

Read more about their achievements in Friday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.