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State of the Vision – January 2002
Education and Life-long LearningStrategy #1: Establish core competencies and standards of achievement for each K-12 grade in all subject areas.
Accomplished.
Action 1: Completed-California State content standards have been approved. See web site cdc.ca.gov
Action 2: Outreach efforts are in process through KernLearn, the Kern County Superintendent of Schools, and CSUB.
Actions 3-4: Deleted.
**Strategy #2: Achieve seamless transition between grade levels.
Significant progress noted, efforts are ongoing.
Action 1: KernLearn (www.kernlearn.net) launched Oct. 1, 2001 as a cooperative effort of the Kern High School District, KCSOS, Panama-Buena Vista and Bakersfield City School Districts. KernLearn addresses the academic needs of students in grades 7-12 and, as such, streamlines the transition between junior high and middle school students in those districts to high school.
***Strategy #3: Target reading skills first – main focus!
Significant progress noted, efforts are ongoing.
Action 1: Reading instruction is now among the KHSD’s highest priorities, with programs that provide training in reading strategies for teachers, remediation reading instruction at the ninth grade, and Sustained Silent Reading Programs. The Community Reads program sponsored by KCSOS and the Bakersfield Californian is in its 3rd year, providing reading to second grade students. A total of 650 tutors have been trained.
Action 2: KCSOS –KETN/Santa Cruz office of Education/Community Connection for Child Care partnering to do a series of eight workshops that will be broadcast around the state on Pre-kindergarten Literacy. CCCC provides a book, “Reading is Fun”, to each income eligible family receiving assistance with childcare. California Association for Education of Young Children is sponsoring statewide trainings in pre-kindergartner reading skills.
Action 3: The Baby Steps project gives a book to every new baby in Kern County, approximately 12,000/year.
Strategy #4: Evaluate and implement structural changes to improve student performance.
Progress noted, efforts are ongoing.
Action 1: The pilot program begun last year has been extended for another year by the state.
Actions 2, 3, 5, 6, 7: No progress noted.
Action 4: KHSD average class sizes have steadily reduced from 32.88 in 96-97 to 29.49 in 00-01. Freshman math and English classes have been reduced to 20 students.
Strategy #5: Increase engagement of junior high and high school students by offering more choices, incentives and awards, and better awareness of scholarships and other financial assistance available.
Progress noted, efforts are ongoing.
Action 1: The KHSD offers college prep programs as well as a broad array of electives, which include vocational skills at 14 comprehensive sites serving 29,000 students. The KHSD’s Bakersfield Adult School and Regional Occupational Center provide more than 8,000 students career and vocational training in more than a dozen career fields.
Action 2: KHSD offers 12 school-to-career academies accommodating more than 3,000 students. An additional academy in manufacturing was added in 2001 at Arvin High School.
Action 3: KHSD partnering with CSUB offer “College Bound Academies” at five campuses. No magnet schools are planned. The Workforce Investment Board (WIB) has established an ad hoc committee for Advanced Technical High School Opportunities that is investigating whether to build upon existing educational programs or to develop a new technical High School.
Action 4: KHSD increased staffing in the past 2 years has increased from 50 to 75% the number of students able to take 6 (increased from 5) classes per day.
Action 5, 6: No progress noted.
Action 7: The KHSD has implemented after school math and English tutoring programs. 87 of the 186 schools (K-8) surveyed in Kern County offer before and/or after school programs to their students. Virtually all of the programs have an academic component. Migrant students receive supplemental academic support after school, on weekends, and in the summer. KCSOS offers technical assistance to schools to help them establish, expand, and/or improve the quality of these programs, as does the Migrant Education Department and the Department of School-Community Partnerships.
Actions 8, 9: No progress noted.
**Strategy #6: Recruit, develop and retain the best and brightest teachers and administrators, improve accountability and reward superior performance and professional growth.
Progress noted, efforts are ongoing.
Action 1: KHSD recruits nationwide including a Personnel Webpage. A TAP grant allows incentives to credentialed teachers new to the district.
Action 2, 7: KHSD is in 2nd year of a new Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment Program and a new Administrative In-service Management System to provide advanced training for new and experienced principals and administrators. Also in the past 2 years a new Director of Staff Development has provided ongoing and extensive workshops for new and experienced teachers.
Action 3, 4, 8: No progress noted.
Action 5: This action is not legally attainable at the present time.
Action 6: KHSD has organizational charts for every school.
Action 7: The KHSD has intensified extensive teacher evaluation and in-service programs. The district’s Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment and Peer Assistance Review programs facilitate support as well as evaluation. The KCSOS’ beginning teacher program, offers extensive support and training to beginning teachers. Districts take advantage of this program to provide support to new teachers while they are evaluating their performance in the first two years.
Strategy #8: Raise the educational expectations of students, teachers, parents, and the community to:
Progress noted, efforts are ongoing.
Action 1: No progress noted.
Action 2: Counseling component, added to KernLearn, the new 24/7 on-line tutorial website for students, teachers and parents, provides post-secondary information including financial aid, college entrance requirements, testing, and entrance application procedures. KHSD graduation requirements increased to 10 units each of math and English. New SAT preparation program makes it possible for all students to take exams for college acceptance.
Action 3: CSUB’s Outreach Services and its externally funded programs such as CAMP and Upward Bound are committed to raising the educational expectations of the region. The KHSD has developed an “A to G” poster, which details the UC and CSU entrance requirements. This poster is now distributed regularly to all of the district’s 35 feeder schools.
Action 4: Bakersfield College has developed graphic presentations of career pathways for careers showing the educational requirements to become employed in a given occupation. Jobs are categorized into entry level, technical level and professional. This is being utilized by career technicians on high school campuses and in the college career center to help individuals see the connections between employment and education. KHSD KernLearn counseling component added. The Workforce Investment Board has launched the “Careers in Kern County” campaign that highlights the variety of careers that exist in Kern County and the requirements necessary to work in those careers.
Action 5: The Counseling component of KernLearn facilitates student efforts to learn of and apply for a wide array of scholarships, grants other opportunities after high school.
Action 6: Some progress noted with regard to vocational education. The WIB is making progress informing families and students of the value of vocation education through its “Careers in Kern County” promotional campaign.
Strategy #9: Support improvements to, and maximize the use of school buildings and infrastructure.
Progress noted, efforts are ongoing.
Action #1: Currently, schools have mechanisms in place to obtain facility funding based on need (growth). Each district can initiate a school bond election with their community. Recent legislation has made it easier to gain the percent of votes needed to enact the bond measure. Districts also may apply for state facilities funding. The KHSD is currently building Golden Valley High School scheduled to open in August 2003. Golden Valley will be the fifth new school built by the KHSD with funds derived from a 1990 $97.5 million bond measure. This is the most aggressive new school construction initiative by any school district in California of the past decade. The KHSD has plans for a sixth new school to open in 2006, but actual construction is dependent upon passage of a State school construction bond measure.
Action #2: The KHSD has one of the State’s most aggressive school construction programs as a result of strong community support for construction and financing of these schools
Action #3: Many KHSD school sites are in use up to 18 hours per day. In addition to daytime programs, KHSD facilities are used in the evenings for Bakersfield College, Bakersfield Adult School and Workforce 2000 classes. These same facilities are used on weekends by various community groups including churches on Sundays.
Action #4: Due to the absolute size of the potential inventory, this would be very difficult to manage. For example, the Kern County Superintendent of Schools, Bakersfield City School Dist., Panama-Buena Vista and Kern High School Districts have a total of 7.8 million square feet. Non-classroom, usable type of facilities are estimated to be in use 80% of the time, Monday through Friday, during after-school hours, and 90% after 5:00 p.m.
Strategy #10: Develop and expand mentoring, “school-to-career,” and vocational apprenticeship programs with businesses, unions, and guilds to better prepare students for the workforce, as well as encouraging these organizations to help in course development.
Progress noted, efforts are ongoing.
Actions 1, 2, 3, 5: In collaboration with the various school districts, the Workforce Investment Board’s Youth Council has taken the lead in this strategy. Examples of progress made include an evaluation and briefing on the effectiveness of Academies; securing funding to assist in the development of a manufacturing Academy at Arvin High School, the formation of various ad hoc committees to develop a technical high school and to expand career technical training; and the application for additional funding to support these activities.
Action 4: In terms of “current” knowledge and skills, the SCANS report identified five workplace competencies (Resources, Interpersonal Skills, Information Systems and Technology) and three-part foundation of skills and personal qualities (basic skills, thinking skills and personal qualities) that are believed to be a necessary requirement for solid job performance. Additional survey information is available at uswork.com/centralvalley. Future surveys are intended to better capture key skills information.
**Strategy #11: Change public policy to increase funding for vocational education and utilize diverse funding sources to build technological training programs in our community college, state university and private institutions.
Progress noted, efforts are ongoing.
Actions 1-4. Two Workforce Investment Board members co-chair the Governor’s Central Valley Economic Development Education Taskforce. The recommendation of this taskforce to the Governor is to seek the changes identified within this strategy. Additionally, the Workforce Investment Board as well its partners continue to apply for additional resources to meet the intent of this strategy.
Strategy #12: Educate the community on the value of lifelong learning and develop adult learning capability designed to allow people to “retool” their skills to prepare for professional and life opportunities.
Progress noted, efforts are ongoing.
Actions 1-2: The Workforce Investment Board continues to work with and plan with its partners in the expansion of the Careers in Kern County campaign to include segments on lifelong learning. In addition, the WIB is responsible for assessing and meeting the training needs of many of the residents of Greater Bakersfield. And in partnership with the educational institutions hopes to provide an assessment to the community in Fall of 2002.
