POWAY, Calif. -- Many children entering kindergarten at a younger age may need additional time to develop skills to advance to first-grade.

Poway Unified School District offers a developmental program designed primarily for younger kindergarten students, called the Poway Extended Primary Program or PEPP.

"The kids are 'Peppers,' instead of kindergarteners. They're a little little too old for pre-school and not quite old enough for kindergarten," teacher Terri Gosen said.

Gosen helped start PEPP because, "I found that parents or teachers were referring kids to special education. We were finding that it wasn't a learning disability, as much as it was a child who was very young," she said.

The program is open to any child in Poway turning 5 years old, born between June 1 and Dec 2. The only requirement is that families commit to the two-year curriculum.

PEPP started in two Poway schools six years ago and was modeled after a school in Manhattan Beach, Calif. Now, the program has expanded to seven Poway schools.

Stacey Edgington put her two sons in PEPP.

"I worried about the fact that they were going to be young all through their education, not just into elementary, but as they got into high school," Edgington said.

She said she feels giving children the extra year to mature and grow gets them lined up for success in school.

Poway Unified is the only San Diego County public school district that offers the program. Private pre-schools and some private elementary schools also offer a two-year kindergarten program.

For more information about PEPP, click here.