Forty-one Kern County students were recipients of scholarships ranging in amounts from $1,000 to $4,000 awarded at the Southern San Joaquin Valley Cal-SOAP Scholarship Program banquet on June 11 at Hodel’s Country Dining in Bakersfield. Approximately $120,000 was made available from the Cal-SOAP/Kern County Scholarship fund. Scholarship funding was made possible by the College Access Foundation of California. More than 300 students began applying for the scholarships on Feb. 1. Eligible Kern County high school seniors had to demonstrate financial need and meet grade point average requirements. Cal-SOAP administrators and numerous high school and college counselors read through the applications, which included an essay portion, to determine the recipients. Students continuing their education in Kern County received $1,000 to attend either Bakersfield College or California State University, Bakersfield. Others, attending California State Universities out of the county, received $2,500. Those attending University of California campuses got $3,000 scholarships and others attending private or out of state universities were honored with $4,000 in funding. More

A hypothesis about corrosion had a golden outcome for Stockdale High School students Nicholas Okita and Edith Teng who became the school’s first-ever Science Fair state champions and the only two from Kern County to earn gold medals at the annual event held at the California Science Center in Los Angeles on May 20. It was quite an achievement for Okita and Teng as 953 of the best science students from 359 schools throughout the State met in competition for awards totaling over $50,000. Okita, who will be a senior in the fall, had a lot to smile about as he received his medal. "This was my fifth year making it to the state finals, and I was really, really shocked to win," Okita said. "You have no idea what it takes to get this far." Equally shocked was Teng because this was and will be her only entry in the competition. Teng moves onto Rice University in the fall where she plans to carry a Biology and Pre-Med double major. "What got me interested was the idea of exploring something I had never been exposed to," Teng said. "We discovered some really unexpected conclusions that even kind of shocked the experts. That made it as much fun as winning." What scientific adventure did the two embark on that resulted in winning the gold — a project called, "The Effect of Steel Exposure on Corrosion Rates in the Oil Field Environment." Their research was doubly satisfying. It earned the $500 first place cash award in the Chemistry Division, plus, the two split another $300 for being recipients of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (Los Angeles Basin) Superior Technical Achievement Award. More

Court and Community Schools, operated by the Kern County Superintendent of Schools, received a six year accreditation from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) on May 20 in effect until June 30, 2014. WASC’s Accrediting Commission for Schools granted the accreditation after studying the report written by its visiting committee which studied the various school sites and noted the stellar aspects of the schools’ programs. All schools will be asked to submit a written progress report on implementing a school wide action plan at the end of the third year of accreditation. In its accreditation report WASC said of the KCSOS Court and Community Schools programs that they "brought unity to court and community." Kern County Superintendent of Schools Larry E. Reider said of the accreditation, "Please extend my congratulations, and deep gratitude, to our staff. This is a huge, monumental step for our office, and for alternative education programs around the state. I know that our programs will be the standard by which all others around the state will be measured." KCSOS Court and Community Schools offer options that improve student safety, encourage learning, reduce classroom disruption and help reduce Kern County’s dropout rate. Campuses are located on 16 sites in Bakersfield, Delano, Kernville, Lake Isabella, Mojave, Ridgecrest and Taft. During the 2006-07 school year (the most recent figures), KCSOS provided education to 9,112 students who were incarcerated, in juvenile court programs, expelled, on probation or at serious risk of dropping out of school. More

Discovery Elementary fourth-grader Rylee Smith, Stockdale Elementary fifth-grader Tiffany Yeh and Endeavour Elementary sixth-grader Andrew Beard emerged as Bank of America Essay and Speech Contest winners among 29 of the best essayist-speakers who competed in the annual event held May 8 at University Square in Bakersfield. Each convinced the judges they should be their grade level champion by delivering a three-to-five minute speech from an essay they had previously written on the topic, "Who Is Your Modern Day Hero." Approximately 600 Kern County students had written classroom essays on the topic. Each county English and language arts region could nominate only one classroom essay per grade level. The top 29 essayists, as determined by a panel of judges from the Kern County Superintendent of Schools’ (KCSOS) Curriculum, Instruction and Accountability department, were picked to compete in the speech portion of the contest. Bank of America’s South Sierra Valley Market and KCSOS sponsor the competition, which awards savings bonds in the amounts of $100 for first place, $75 for second and $50 for third. Smith said priest, Father Craig Harrison, was her hero. A man who Smith characterized as "conducting at least eight funerals a week and at each one he finds a unique way to touch each person and ease their pain. He even adopted seven children when no one else would look after them," Smith said. More

There is a different philosophy applied to the old saying, "Where there is smoke — there is fire" at Frazier Mountain High School. It is not an uncommon sight to see students dressed in U.S. Forest Service yellow and green firefighting gear aiming water hoses at areas not on fire. They are students in the Kern County Regional Occupational Program (KCROP) Fire Science class, learning to fight fires without fires at the almost 4,000-foot-level-campus in mountainous southern Kern County. Fire Science is one of the dozens of vocational skills offered to high school students enrolled in KCROP programs operated by the Kern County Superintendent of Schools. It is a particularly practical one, since the students who attend Frazier Mountain High are in an area that is susceptible to forest fires in the dry days of summer, and the forest service needs new recruits to meet the demands of the season which runs May through October. "It is an entry level course aimed at training the students to be certified as entry level firefighters at the end of the program. If they are at least 18 years of age, they can apply for voluntary firefighting positions," said U.S. Forest Service Captain Ryan Bridger, advisor to KCROP in charge of overseeing the Fire Science class. "It would be very difficult to recruit for the summer firefighting season, were it not for the program. We would have to go to campuses and recruit and then try to quickly train new recruits during the busiest part of the season. This way, the Fire Science students are ready to come on board when the season starts." More

What was the formula for winning at the 21st annual Kern County Science Fair held on April 2 at Rabobank Convention Center in Bakersfield? A lot of variables lead to a gold medal, such as testing a theory no one else had, demonstrating keen math and scientific research and data skills and being able to defend your findings in front of a panel of judges. El Tejon School seventh-grader Forrest Csulak discovered one other intangible that contributed to his success — a motivating science teacher. "I never entered before because I was not interested, but my teacher, Andria Bloom really encouraged me," said Csulak. It was a good decision as his first-ever entry, called "Edison's Bright Idea," took first place honors in the Middle School Electricity and Electronics category. He tested light bulbs with filaments made of tungsten, steel, copper, brass, carbon and nichrome. His findings? Tungsten, which has to be imported, stayed lit the longest. Carbon dimmed the quickest, but was also the cheapest, since it does not have to be imported. More

Almond Tree Middle School student Mardelano Booc had done well in oral language festivals and science fairs, but had never placed in a county final. In fact Booc had never made it to a county final until March 27, when his moving speech, peppered with humor and sorrow, changed all that, earning Booc first place honors in the 54th annual Kern County Henry Greve Speech Contest. The theme was "What it Means to be a Citizen of the United States in 2008." Booc focused on the sacrifices his family has made to become citizens -- traveling hundreds of miles, sometimes skipping work and school, to attend citizenship classes in Fresno. The annual competition between seventh and eighth-graders, hosted by the Kern County Superintendent of Schools at University Square in Bakersfield, has always been sponsored by Bakersfield Toastmasters Club #204, which also does the judging. Booc used a lot of humor, smiling and joking about what wonderful things being a citizen has allowed him to do. He said his light, easy and animated delivery was influenced by TV comedians Hugh Laurie and John C. McGinley, who portray doctors on sitcoms "House" and "Scrubs." More

There is good news for Kern County high school seniors. Beginning Feb. 1, eligible Kern County high school seniors can apply for approximately $100,000 worth of college scholarships, available in amounts ranging from $1,000-$4,000. Known as the Cal-SOAP/Kern County Scholarship, it makes funds available to graduating seniors in Kern County, who demonstrate a financial need and maintain at least a 2.0 grade point average (GPA). Scholarship applications can be downloaded at http://learning.kern.org/calSoap. Applications must be submitted to the Southern San Joaquin Valley Cal-SOAP office, 2000 K Street in Bakersfield by 5 p.m. on April 1. They may also be mailed to — ATTN: Alyse Barrios, Cal-SOAP, 1300 17th Street, Bakersfield, CA 93301. This scholarship is a little different than most,” said Cal-Soap Field Advisor Alyse Barrios. “It is both need and merit based. We are looking for students who might be left out of the traditional scholarship search. This will benefit a lot of middle income families. The plan is for the scholarships to be refundable with the hope of helping students through their entire four year college education.” More

Using only pencils and a mirror, Tevis Junior High eighth-grader Esther Han crafted a realistic, intricately detailed, self-portrait to win the Kern County Fair Children's Art Contest Sweepstakes Trophy. When the announcement came during a Sept. 27 awards ceremony at the fair's Harvest Hall, Han was a little unprepared. "I didn't even know Mr. Heffernan (her 7th grade art teacher) had entered the picture. So I was really surprised," Han said. The award honors the best-of-the-best in the annual competition sponsored by the Kern County Superintendent of Schools Office designed to promote and showcase art created by public school children in preschool through eighth grades. Han drew the picture as a seventh-grader. She was very philosophical about the effort it took to turnout her masterpiece. More

Sillect Community School student Jeffrey Reed admits he made a mistake a year ago for which he was expelled from Liberty High School in Bakersfield. A year later, besides turning his scholastic life around, Reed is being hailed as a hero in two cities for an act of selfless courage. The weekend before school started in Kern County, Reed and friend Bryce Mosley rescued an elderly couple from a burning house, while vacationing with a relative in Shell Beach. Mosley's grandmother saw smoke pouring out of Norma and Alfred Mannon's home and yelled out. The boys ran outside, saw what was happening and acted. Processing and reacting to several critical events happening all at once, Reed had to make many split second decisions. "We didn't have to think about it," Reed said. "We knew someone was in danger and that we had to help. I think that instinct came from what my parents taught me about helping people. We rushed in. My only thought was I need to get these people and myself out safely." More

Maybe the test of how well a program works is when its graduates volunteer to come back for another year. That certainly is the case for many of those who graduated from the AmeriCorps Central Valley Communities for Children program on August 26 at the Bakersfield City School District Auditorium. "All the hard work was well worth it," said Dorothy Belk, who spent her year with AmeriCorps tutoring children at Fremont School in Bakersfield. "I learned a lot this year, and I've enjoyed the children so much. That's why I'm coming back for a second year."

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As Judith Beltran lifted a cardboard roll with two balloons attached at each end over her head, she could not suppress the wide smile that suddenly appeared on her face. For that pretend moment in time, Beltran was an Olympic athlete going for gold in the weight lifting competition.

Minutes before, David Palomino had willingly accepted a papier-mâché torch, complete with a crepe paper flame, from classmate Juan Saldaña, and ran with it as though he was on his way to the opening ceremonies in Athens. More

Valley Oaks Charter School resource teacher Daran Francis worked up quite a sweat on July 20 pounding white hot metal into the shape of horseshoes. School wasn't in, and Francis wasn't teaching. What he was doing will prove to be of educational value for thousands of children across the United States.

Turns out, Francis was an actor, performing a role with which he is quite familiar. Several days out of the year, you can find him at the Kern County Museum showing visitors and school tours how he makes horseshoes and shoes horses. More

Special education students are helping provide that morning pick-me-up by delivering fresh brewed coffee, cappuccino and cold drinks to those working in the City Centre building. In the process they also gain work experience and customer service skills. The students are part of the Actis Stars Coffee Company, which has been operating at Actis Junior High for much of the school year. The summer City Centre service is intended to provide additional exposure and client service experience. More

Alternative Education schools, operated by the Kern County Superintendent of Schools, graduated 410 students, in commencement ceremonies held on June 4 and June 5. At 1:30 p.m. on June 4, 247 Alternative Education junior high eighth-graders graduated in ceremonies at Bakersfield High School’s Harvey Auditorium. The following day, June 5, at 1 p.m., 163 seniors from Alternative Education high schools had their commencement ceremonies at Harvey Auditorium. More

Sing Lum School sixth-grader Ilyssa Espiritu took a scientific approach to prove dressing for success works and as a result earned a gold medal in the Junior Division (grades 6-8) Social Science category at the 53rd annual California Science Fair held May 25 at the California Science Center in Los Angeles. “I thought science was boring in the beginning,” Espiritu said. “Then my dad gave me this idea to dress up differently to see what kind of reactions I would get, and I thought, ‘this could be fun.’” More

Some might regard science as boring. But what if experiments carried out for a science fair could improve your gas mileage, lower your energy bills or determine whether you might get a job? Would you be interested then?

The 17th annual Kern County Science Fair held on March 31 at the Bakersfield Convention Center provided the forum for answers. Presented by the Kern County Superintendent of Schools, it brought together approximately 600 Kern County students in grades 4-12 who spent months preparing scientific experiments to test all kinds of theories. First and second place winners in the high school and middle school divisions can compete in the 53rd annual California Science Fair, May 24-25, at the California Science Center in Los Angeles. More

Future dreams can be made or broken at the Olympics. While world athletes await the Summer Olympics in Athens, Kern County students have already shown their abilities at the Golden Empire Skills Olympics held on April 2 at the Regional Occupation Center (ROC) in Bakersfield. More

Highland High School senior Jason Batten apparently does not know the meaning of “enough is enough.” Batten will compete all day with the Highland team during the Feb. 7 Kern County Academic Decathlon at Bakersfield College. Then, when it is all over, he will get on stage, seat himself at the piano and entertain students, parents, educators and other guests during the awards ceremony. More

Bakersfield’s South High School received a “wild card” entry into the California “We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution” student competition to be held Feb. 4-6 in Sacramento. The announcement came on Jan. 12 from Roy Erickson, state coordinator of the “We the People...” competition. South High finished second to Centennial High School during the Region Four event held on Dec. 11 in Bakersfield. As one of the top two, highest-scoring, second place finishers in statewide regional competitions, South High earned the right along with Centennial to represent Kern County in Sacramento. More

“LEGOnauts” from Valley Oaks Charter School may never put a man on Mars, but a recent statewide competition at LEGOland in Carlsbad, CA, proved how good they were at programming a robot to perform tasks on Mars. On Dec. 6, LEGOnauts, a team of 10 students, ages 9-14, finished fourth among 48 California contenders at the LEGOland Mission Mars competition sponsored by Junior Robotics. More

When Centennial High sophomores Sarah Franz, Cristina Pandol and Marilee Janneti Rickett finished ninth at National History Day at the University of Maryland in June, it was a satisfying end to nine months of research and performance. Or so they thought. After their return to California, Rickett received an email from a documentary film director in Berkeley. Judith Ehrlich, from non-profit Interface Productions, was working on a documentary called “Una Storia Segreta: The Secret Story” and wanted the girls in it. More

Three junior high students from Bakersfield made a trip to the University of Maryland for the experience of competing at National History Day and came back as national champions.

The competition ended on June 19 but far before their winning names were announced Fruitvale Junior High's trio of Deanna Arner, Hilary Clarke and William Jordan had a feeling things could be special. More

Fruitvale Junior High and Juliet Thorner School led the way for Kern County with five category championships between them at the annual History Day in California competition held May 9-11 in Pasadena. In all, Kern County won eight category titles in the three-day competition. Winners, except in the “Poster” and “Website” categories, are eligible to represent California at National History Day on June 15-19 at the University of Maryland. More

When 35 elementary grade students were asked to deliver a speech on “The Importance of Nutrition and Physical Activity Habits in Childhood and Adolescence,” they knew the content would have to be lean. The rules for the May 8 Bank of America Essay/Speech contest were specific. Each oratory could be no longer than five minutes. More

Several similarities surfaced during the 49th annual Henry Greve Speech Contest held in Bakersfield’s University Square on March 6. Among the 11 Kern County junior high and middle school student speeches there were four references to Elian Gonzalez, two about the late crew of the Columbia space shuttle, four students used note cards and seven did not. More

Siri Grandhe’s facultative chances of repeating as Kern County Spelling Bee champion came down to one word on a rainy February 12 night in Bakersfield. Fifteen other competitors had long been seated leaving just Grandhe and Evan Aguilar in a spell off that had lasted well past forty rounds. More

When it comes to “We the People - The Citizen and the Constitution,” Centennial High School has proven for the second consecutive year it is the best of the best in California. Centennial was honored as California “We the People - The Citizen and the Constitution” state champion in an awards ceremony on February 7 in Sacramento, defending the title it also won in 2002. More

February 1, Academic Decathlon Saturday at Bakersfield College, started out under gloomy conditions with heavy fog causing two of the participating 23 Kern County high schools to arrive a half hour late. Officials would not start the event until they got there giving all the participants a fair chance. Approximately two hours before that, the United States lost seven of its astronauts in a horrific explosion aboard the space shuttle Columbia as it was descending for a landing. The Decathlon went on but many students admitted focusing was a little tougher More

Tevis Junior High had four finalists to top all other schools in the number of trophies awarded at the 32nd annual Kern County Oral Language Festival held at Standard School District in Bakersfield on January 25. In all Tevis had two second and two third place finishers. More

Anthony Rodriguez plays basketball, football, boxes and this school year was elected student body treasurer at Beardsley Junior High. That kind of resume would be ample reason for many students to brag. Rodriguez feels it just means he has other untried worlds to conquer without the benefit of being able to see. More

Liberty High freshman Katelyn Alley said the last thing on her mind last year as a beginning artist at Rosedale Middle School was that she would wind up as the sweepstakes winner of the 2002 Kern County Fair Children's Art Display. That honor was bestowed on Alley during an Oct. 2 awards ceremony at the fair for her painting of dolphins at play underwater. More

Compton Junior High 8th-grader Brianna Cardoza spent five minutes on a late Sept. 26 afternoon interviewing Kern County Superintendent of Schools Assistant Superintendent John Lindsay, while classmate Griffin Bracke captured the moment on videotape. More

Sometimes it isn't so important what grows in a garden when compared with what went into making it grow. A recent example was when students in the Kern County Superintendent of Schools' (KCSOS) severely handicapped classes at Sunset School rolled up their sleeves so students at KCSOS state preschools and child development centers would have a place to plant gardens. More

Taylor Barnes said she “wanted to pass out but couldn't stop jumping up and down and crying.” Sarah Wilson said she “screamed my lungs out and danced with joy.”

Spontaneous reactions from two Kern County students who started a quest in late September that resulted in an award-winning effort at National History Day. Approximately 700,000 other grade 6-12 pupils from across the United States had the same goal. When the last announcement was made on the afternoon of June 13 at the University of Maryland, Barnes, Wilson and 11 other students from Kern County stood among the winners as National History Day's elite. More

Desert Senior High School's (Edwards AFB) Derek Mohr is the California State Science Fair “Student of the Year.” The honor was bestowed upon the Desert Senior High senior during the 2002 California State Science Fair awards ceremony on May 21 at the California Science Center in Los Angeles. More

Although it is not scored as a team competition, Fruitvale Junior High School distinguished itself with the most first place finishes (five) among approximately 700 students from 30 schools at the 32nd annual Kern County Middle School Mathematics Field Day held at Ridgeview High School in Bakersfield on May 18. Murray Middle School (Ridgecrest) had three first place finishes and Cecil Avenue (Delano), Warren Junior High and the Fruitvale All-Stars each had two. More

How do you explain “The Effects of Television and Movie Viewing Upon Young People” in five minutes or less? Discovery Elementary sixth-grader Meaghan Lingo and fifth-grader Bryan Maxwell and Endeavor Elementary fourth-grader Kyle Adams all found ways to do it and took first place honors at the annual Bank of America Essay/Speech Contest held May 8 at University Square in Bakersfield. More

Kern County's History Day team had seven winning entries at the annual History Day in California competition which concluded May 5 in San Jose. Students with winning entries will go on to compete at National History Day, June 9-13, at the University of Maryland. More

Hundreds of students entered. Dozens were honored. But society may be the biggest winner as a result of the 15th annual Kern County Science Fair held April 10 at the Bakersfield Convention Center. Approximately 600 entries from 117 elementary through high schools were judged in the competition. More

When the 2004 Summer Olympics roll around, it will feature a hammer throw as part of the track and field competition. The March 22 Kern County “Skills Olympics 2002” featured plenty of hammers, too, but construction was the venue - not track and field. More

Bakersfield’s oldest high school, Bakersfield (BHS), and its newest, Liberty, made history at the 19th annual Kern County History Day held March 16 at Ridgeview High School in Bakersfield. BHS and Liberty tied for the most Senior Division winning entries, each had four, in the annual competition featuring approximately 400 students in grades 4-12 from 29 Kern County schools. Fruitvale Junior High lead the parade in the Junior Division (grades 4-8) by taking home seven category trophies. A complete list of winners follows this story. More

After months of preparation and six grueling rounds of courtroom debate between 22 county high school teams, Desert Senior High from Edwards Air Force Base and Stockdale High from Bakersfield emerged as the finalists at the 20th annual Kern County Mock Trial competition held at Kern County Superior Courts of California in Bakersfield on Feb. 23. More

Tevis Junior High from Bakersfield, Murray Middle School from Ridgecrest, and Fruitvale Junior High from Bakersfield finished first, second and third among 23 schools and approximately 145 students who took part in the 19th annual MATHCOUNTS competition on Feb. 23 at California State University, Bakersfield (CSUB). As the top three finishers, they earned the right to compete in the Southern California MATHCOUNTS event March 16 at the University of California, Irvine (UC Irvine). More

Siri Grandhe, a seventh-grader at Tevis Junior High in Bakersfield, outlasted St. Francis School eighth-grader Jeff Inman to win the 24th annual Kern County Spelling Bee held at University Square in Bakersfield on Feb. 13. After Inman missed on “spodumene” in the 58th round, Grandhe correctly spelled “convolvulaceae” to win the round and then “Tipulidae” to win the competition. More

Centennial High School may quickly be approaching the definition of a dynasty based on its latest state championship, Feb. 8, in the California “We the People...The Citizen and the Constitution” Congressional hearings competition held in Sacramento. In the past five years, Centennial has won the state title three times and finished second one other time. More

“When you get nervous, take a breath and then be prepared for the unexpected, remembering nothing can go wrong that we can’t control.”

It was 11:45 a.m on Jan. 29, and guest band conductor Jonathan Good was administering some “good” advice to approximately 100 Kern County high school musicians just seven hours, 45 minutes before the biggest musical performance of their lives. At 7:30 that night, they took part in a 56 year-old event known as “It’s a Grand Night for Music” at the Bakersfield Convention Center. More

Bakersfield High School (BHS) has had close and exciting wins but its third consecutive Kern County Academic Decathlon overall team championship on Feb. 2 was a dominating performance. Facing a field of 22 other high schools and approximately 200 students at Bakersfield College, BHS also won five category team titles and had eight of the top nine student point winners. More

Endeavor Elementary, Cecil Avenue Middle, Chipman Junior High, Warren Junior High and Norris Middle schools all had multiple finalists at the 31st annual Kern County Oral Language Festival held Jan. 26 at the Standard School District headquarters in Bakersfield. More

Centennial High, a former “We the People: the Citizen and the Constitution” state champion, is off to Sacramento for a sixth time. Centennial earned the trip by defeating Arvin High in the Dec. 13 region four finals held at University Square in Bakersfield. The state finals take place Feb. 6-8. More

During this time of year, the Constitution weighs heavily on the minds of high school students participating in the annual “We the People: the Citizen and the Constitution” mock Congressional hearings. Many competing in the Dec. 6 event in Bakersfield said it had particular relevance this year in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. More

Even before Thanksgiving arrived, students and teachers at McFarland’s Kern Avenue Elementary School were involved in a project designed to give thanks to deserving people thousands of miles away. Call it “Pillowcases for Patriots.” More

Can you send 53 students, who have never met each other, out to sail on a 3-masted schooner for three days and expect them to work as a team? Valley Oaks Charter School in Bakersfield discovered the answer is “yes.” More

Former Sandstone Elementary 6th-grader Christina Flores’ pastel abstract called “Little Woman” was one of the big winners at the 2001 Kern County Fair Children’s Art Display, sponsored by the county office. Flores, who is currently a 7th-grader at Greenfield Junior High, created her winning artwork last year while enrolled in the county office’s Alternative Education program. Entries were submitted in May. More

Adam Salinas and Oscar Garcia, two Bakersfield students who chose an alternative to a traditional high school education, have recently distinguished themselves. Both attended Community Learning Center (CLC), a charter school operated by the county office which has the same academic requirements as traditional schools but also requires students to complete a technology component to graduate. More

Thanks to students who have learned how to build computers in the classroom, special education students in Kern County will soon be using state of the art computers in their classrooms. Both sets of students take classes operated by the county office. More

If you wanted to learn Spanish, to really get immersed in the language, the last people you would expect to teach you would be Pinocchio and Gilligan. Yet, each played a role in helping 115 adult students enrolled in Bakersfield’s Spanish Immersion Summer Institute feel comfortable about speaking the language. More

Although, Christa McAuliffe student John Laue (Law) will enter school next year as a seventh-grader, he made history in his last competition as a sixth-grader by taking first place honors at the annual National History Day competition at the University of Maryland on June 14. More

Community and charter schools, operated by the Kern County Superintendent of Schools Office, graduated 107 students, in June 9 commencement ceremonies at Bakersfield High School’s Harvey Auditorium. More

On June 7, graduation day for Sequoia Middle School’s eighth grade class, 5-year-old Bryson Meadors, with the wave of his hand, had the packed Fox Theater audience cheering loudly and rising to a standing ovation for him. More

Akriti Bhambi has proven there is a science to her winning. For the second year in a row, the Fruitvale Junior High eighth-grader was a winner at the 50th annual California State Science Fair held May 21-22 in Los Angeles. More

When students at Bakersfield’s Donald E. Suburu School began raising funds on May 1, the sole purpose was to get enough donations so other people could horse around at a facility known by the acronym MARE (Mastering Abilities Riding Equines). More

Conventional theory is the best place to find art is in a museum. Until two years ago, few went looking for it in a...courtroom. But then, the Constitutional Rights Foundation introduced the Courtroom Art Contest into the California Mock Trial Program for high school students. This year, Bakersfield High Senior Ryan Edquist won the state competition. That is when the Kern County Bar Association put its stamp of approval on art in the courtroom by hosting a reception for student courtroom artists at the Bakersfield Museum of Art. More

The competition, held on April 6 at the Kern High School District ROP (Regional Occupation Program) facilities on South Mt. Vernon Avenue, attracted about 380 entrants from four programs: Kern County ROP (KCROP), North Kern Vocational Training Center, Kern High School District ROP and West Side ROP. More

Ahmed was part of a winning group entry in the Senior Division Physics & Astronomy category, including Benjamin Hsu and Faizan Ahmed. He also received a $750 Kern County Science Foundation scholarship and shared a $150 project award from the Air Force with Hsu and Faizan Ahmed. More

“The chairs were in pretty bad shape,” Weeks-Kirk said. “I had refinished four of them myself but knew I couldn’t fix them fast enough to keep ahead of the demand. So, I asked Jim Mahoney (another teacher) if he knew of someone in the community who could donate their time to do the work. Jim’s a quartermaster with the Boy Scouts and said they could do the job.” More