“Baby boomers” who grew up with the advent of television, probably nurture some fond memories of Saturday mornings in the 60s when cartoons, puppets and adventure serials kept them entertained while slogging through a breakfast bowl of Malt O Meal. Times changed and children’s programming now occupies less time on the Saturday morning tube, interspersed with more commercials. Hold on! The Kern County Superintendent of Schools’ instructional TV channel, KETN, has just gone back to the future on Saturday mornings with a commercial-free, four hours, from 7-11 a.m., of cartoons, puppets and adventures. Throw in state-of-the art interactive animation, Hollywood celebrity actors, and programming that adheres to California standards-based curriculum, and suddenly, Saturday mornings are for children, once again. Almost any household in Kern County that has cable TV can catch the creative, entertaining and educational fare that includes many award-winning PBS programs in the lineup which includes: “Read-Alee-Deed-Alee,” “Between the Lions,” “Postcards from Buster,” “Weston Woods Collection,” “Reading Rainbow,” “Math Monsters,” “X-Power” and “Maya & Miguel.”

Just click the remote to Bright House Networks Ch. 15.

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Just as cars would go nowhere without gas, and crops would not grow without water, the Community Reading Project would not be helping second-graders with reading difficulties if it were not for its volunteer tutors. Entering its 10th year, Community Reading Project is again looking for volunteers for the fall semester that can spare one hour-a-week to help improve the reading skills of four students at each school site where they are placed. How effective has the program been? Standardized reading measurements, performed at the end of each semester during the 2007-08 school year, showed an average two years of growth per tutored pupil. Community Reading Project is sponsored by the Kern County Superintendent of Schools and The Bakersfield Californian. It trains and places volunteer tutors to work in teams of five. This method helps students receive assistance every day of the school week. During the past nine years, approximately 2,000 students have been tutored. More

Sheila Cazares and Jane Frando know how much their peers admire what they have done in their long careers as school bus drivers for the Kern County Superintendent of Schools. Both received standing ovations when their names were announced as recipients of safe driving awards during ceremonies held at Sequoia Middle School in Bakersfield on Aug. 13. The two are among an elite group of just seven drivers who have been a part of KCSOS Transportation Services since it began busing students from home-to-school in 1981. The others are Judy Fike, Julia Beverly, Carrie Boschini, Pat Jackson-Shaw and Julia Hughes. Imagine driving the equivalent of 52 times around the world. Then, factor in no accidents and what you have is Cazares’ amazing driving record. She has logged almost 1.3 million miles driving her school bus without being involved in a preventable accident. Officer Von Cain, representing the California Highway Patrol (CHP), presented Cazares with the CHP Safe Driving Award, which is given to drivers each time they surpass 100,000 miles without a preventable accident. Cazares has accumulated quite a few. As Cazares walked down the aisle amid boisterous applause and a standing ovation, Cain told the audience, “Sheila, I can’t even fathom that much mileage, and without an accident? I thought I drove a lot in my patrol car, but it is nothing compared to what you have accomplished.” More

How do you keep your troubled teen from running away, becoming violent towards you or falling out of school for all of these reasons and more? Tough questions for which an organization called The Parent Project has spent 21 years developing successful responses that put parents back in control of their children’s lives. During the week of Aug. 4-8, two authors of “The Parent Project” curriculum, CEO Ralph “Bud” Fry, a former law enforcement officer and Roger Morgan, a child psychologist, were in Bakersfield. Their role was to train several dozen school administrators, teachers and community service providers to be certified facilitators for parents. Training was sponsored by the Kern County Superintendent of Schools Office (KCSOS), Kern High School District and the Truancy Reduction and Attendance Coalition of Kern (TRACK). Certified facilitators do not in teach parents how to be parents. Their role is to involve parents in preventing and interceding in their children’s destructive behavior. As an example, in a Wednesday morning session several very real situations with possible scenarios were presented and those in training were given the task of working together to come up with outcomes and remedies. One of those scenarios revolved around what to do if your child threatens to run away. Several remedies were discussed that resulted in the same outcome — putting the child in a situation where his or her only alternative was to return home. More

During the summer, Saturday nights at the California Living Museum (CALM) have become the place to be. They call it Twilight at CALM and since July 5 every Saturday night it’s been two-and-a-half hours of entertainment and education in a cool environment - both because of the content and the weather. CALM is located at 10500 Alfred Harrell Highway (between Lake Ming and Hart Park) in northeast Bakersfield. "After a long, hot day, a cool breeze blows up from the Kern River making evenings a fantastic time to visit the animals at CALM," said manager Lana Fain. CALM closes after the daytime session at 5 p.m., but when it re-opens from 5:30-8 p.m., it is "Twilight" time at the combination zoo, botanical garden and natural history museum. Part of the fun is a lively, hour-long show by Curator of Animals Don Richardson who introduces visitors to mammals, birds of prey or reptiles, providing visitors with up close and personal experiences with a large variety of animals ranging from tarantulas to baby skunks. Presentations are entertaining, and everyone leaves a little more knowledgeable about the wildlife around them. While it will not transport you to a different dimension, the Central California Children’s Railroad is on track for rides around the zoo with some great panoramas of the river, surrounding hills and vegetation. This is not a kiddie train ride - adults enjoy it as much as children. Tracks run east of the zoo and during the eight minute ride passengers frequently get glimpses of wildlife in their natural habitat. Train tickets are only $1, making it one of the most inexpensive modes of transportation in today’s economy. More