2014-08-21

They played flutophones; woodwinds; and brass, percussion and string instruments in 30-minute orchestra, band and choral performances at each school. They featured teachers dressed as superheroes, an original song about how to join BCSD music programs and jazz tunes such as “Jump Jive An’ Wail,” “Sing, Sing, Sing” and “Sweet Georgia Brown.”

The performances included three new BCSD travelling music teachers this year — Julianna Mumau, who teachs at Williams, Voorhies and Roosevelt elementary schools; Aaron Sorensen at Chavez, Garza and Munsey; and James Anthony at Jefferson, Noble and Wayside.

All recent college graduates, the teachers earned their teaching credentials this spring.

Anthony said students don’t understand how playing instruments or participating in choirs help them as learners.

“As soon as I could speak, I was singing,” Mumau said.

“I wouldn’t be me without it,” she said.

Music In Our Schools Week sells music in “a really cool way,” Anthony added.

DEGREES AT TWO-YEAR SCHOOLS: The California State Assembly passed a bill Wednesday that would — if made law– establish temporary baccalaureate degree programs at no more than 15 community colleges, according to the San Diego Community College District.

The Assembly vote was 68-0.

Bakersfield College rallied support for BC to be one of the pilot sites and offer a four-year degree in nursing.

The California Community College’s Chancellor’s Office will select the 15 sites if the legislation passes.

BC nursing and school officials continue to rally support for the bill to address what BC described as an urgent workforce need in nursing.

Cal State Bakersfield has opposed the bill, arguing more funding to support existing CSUB nursing programs is a better answer to the local nursing shortage.

The bill will go back to the Senate, and if approved there, go to Gov. Jerry Brown for signature.

SPENDING PLANS APPROVED: The Kern County Superintendent of Schools office approved spending accountability plans for 45 of 47 Kern County school districts last Friday.

The plans, Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) documents, are the state’s mechanisms for holding districts accountable for how they spend millions of new tax dollars resulting from voter-approved tax hikes and an improving economy.

The state used those new dollars — allocated as part of a new school funding formula known as Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) — to give more money to districts that serve high populations of English-language learners, low-income students or foster youth.

In turn, districts were required to gather input from parents, students, teachers and other education stakeholders to decide how to best use the money.

Kern County school boards approved the plans and made corrections suggested by the Superintendent of Schools office this summer.

The county approval Friday means districts can put accountability plans into action.

The Kern High School District has an overall 2014-2015 spending budget of approximately $363 million to operate its 18 comprehensive high schools, five alternative education campuses, two career technical education sites and four special education centers.

LCFF funding amounts to $17.6 million in 2014-2015 for an array of services from maintaining teacher librarians at comprehensive campuses to rewriting courses to align with learning benchmarks known as Common Core State Standards.

The district is spending approximately $4 million to reduce class sizes; $900,000 more than last year ($2.4 million total) for training in positive intervention programs; and $1.8 million to add career technical education pathways.

Mary Barlow, associate superintendent of KCSOS, said KHSD is prioritizing schools with greater participation in free- or reduced- price lunch programs such as Arvin High School, Mira Monte High School and Nueva Continuation High School.

At the three campuses, more than 90 percent of students are enrolled in the lunch programs.

They are included in a group of low-income students, foster youth and English-language learners for whom KHSD is allocating an extra $15.28 million in state and federal funding to support.

New state funding for the subgroups include:

* $3.4 million to improve literacy, graduation rates and course completion for English-language learners; provide instructional assistants and bilingual technicians training; implement academic intervention after school, on Saturdays and over the summer; and provide tutoring mentoring and added counseling.

* $1.2 million to add more offerings and staff members to help English-language learners who need to retake classes. Those offerings are online classes, extended summer school and access to computer labs and libraries after school or during the summer.

* $1.5 million for counseling, intervention and recovery classes for foster youths

KHSD ELECTION ENDORSEMENT: Kern High School District Area 1 board candidates responded Wednesday to a teachers’ union decision to back newcomer Aurora Cooper instead of incumbent Mike Williams in board elections Nov. 4.

The Kern High School Teachers Association announced last Thursday it will endorse Cooper for the Area 1 seat Williams currently fills.

Cooper is his only challenger.

“While the union bosses will try to replace me with someone they can control, I know I have the support of many of the good teachers of Kern County, the taxpayers and the parents that want a safe and rewarding learning opportunity for their children,” Williams said.

Cooper, a human resources director at Omni Family Health, said she doesn’t think teachers endorsed her because they can control her but because of her priority to work with them and parents.

“It’s more about working together as a team,” she said.

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