Ed roundup: Schools receive emergency preparedness money, fundraisers coming up
By The Bakersfield Californian
Kern County schools will get $564,251 for emergency preparedness and to address such things as food safety and infectious diseases in schools, Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, announced recently.
The Readiness Emergency Management for Schools Program funding was awarded to the Kern County Superintendent of Schools office.
"Providing a safe educational environment for Valley kids is vital to ensuring that our schools can prepare students for college and beyond," Costa said in a news release. "Improving our schools is key to our Valley's economic future and today's announcement is another step in the right direction."
In reviewing and improving their plans, schools will work with community partners including local law enforcement, public safety, mental health agencies and local government. Response plans will include school staff training, how to sustain local partnerships and how to communicate policies and procedures to parents.
A "shop for schools" fundraiser that raised $13,400 last school year has kicked off.
Registration is now open for the Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market program. Participating schools receive $1 for every $20 receipt collected from the grocery store from Sept. 15 through Dec. 31.
All schools with students in kindergarten through eighth grade within a three-mile radius of the Fresh & Easy stores in Bakersfield are eligible to participate. The school that raises the most money in the state through receipt collection will win a $5,000 bonus. Eligible schools have been sent registration forms for the program and can sign up through Oct. 1.
Registered schools can also participate in "shopping nights," where 5 percent of the total sales from 4 to 8 p.m. are donated to the school.
Schools raised more than $800,000 through the programs in the last two school years. Last year in Bakersfield, 28 participating schools raised $13,400.
More information: www.freshandeasy.com/shopforschools.
DD's Discounts is working with First Book to give 160-plus kindergarten students at Owens Primary School books this year. A campaign will kick off Saturday supporting literacy efforts through the FLASH Program.
For three weeks, donations will be accepted at the store on Mount Vernon Avenue and Columbus Street in the Albertsons shopping center. Make a purchase or donate $1, and First Book will match earnings.
On Saturday, fundraisers will be raffling off three notebook computers at noon (winner must be present). Last year, students received six books each.
Four Cal State Bakersfield students will be given John Brock scholarships, and Mayor Harvey Hall, president of Hall Ambulance Service, will be given the John Brown community service award Sept. 9 at Seven Oaks Country Club.
Scholarships of $2,500 are annually given to "highly deserving students" in the School of Business and Public Administration, according to CSUB.
"Four recipients have been identified whose academic achievements qualify them for this financial award," said John Emery, dean of the department, in a statement. "These students have demonstrated not only academic achievement, but the leadership and community service for which the John Brock Scholarships were established. Their future success in private and public sectors will be important to Bakersfield and Kern County."
This year's recipients are Hillary Tran, Mastura Martinez, Victoria Miller and Gary Fehdrau Jr. To read more about these students, go the The Californian's education blog, The Grade, at Bakersfield.com.
Tickets to the event are $150 per person. Corporate table sponsorships are also available. More information and tickets: 654-2157.
A Golden Valley High School math teacher has finished the 2010 Siemens STEM Institute summer seminar, being one of 50 people chosen nationally to attend.
German Robledo was one of two educators in California, and one of 50 in the nation out of more than 600 applicants, selected to spend a week at the Discover Communications headquarters in Washington, D.C., where he was immersed in hands-on math and science professional development.
Robledo spent the week learning from and working with government officials, leading scientists, esteemed education leaders and innovators. Robledo was involved in discussions and workshops on using technology and social media in the classroom to improve student achievement.
"Meeting and working with fellow teachers and industry experts at the Siemens STEM Institute was a fantastic experience," Robledo said in a statement. "We may come from different backgrounds and teach in totally diverse environments, but attending the Institute will help us meet our common goal, of preparing and encouraging America's students to lead the way in STEM industries in the future."
Robledo started and organized the Kern High School District Rubik's Cube competition. He earned his master's degree from Cal State Bakersfield.
Participating teachers formed small groups that will continue researching STEM issues throughout the year. Robledo's project involves collaborating with physics and math classrooms across the United States to provide integrated science learning, and the results of the group's research will be presented at the end of the 2010-11 school year.
More information: www.siemensstemacademy.com.
A local man and internationally recognized developmental neurobiologist has been named director of physical therapy education in the School of Allied Health Professions at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
Jack Turman Jr., a 1979 graduate of West High School, was appointed July 1. His parents, Jack Sr. and Norma Turman, still live in Bakersfield.
Since 2002, Turman Jr. has served as founder and director of the Center for Premature Infant Health and Development at the University of Southern California's Keck School of Medicine, which U.S. News & World Report ranked as the top program.
He began his career in pediatric physical therapy. He earned his doctorate and master's of science degrees in kinesiology at UCLA and a bachelor's degree in physical therapy at Washington University in St. Louis.
His research interests have focused on nutrition intervention and neurodevelopmental outcomes.
-- Jorge Barrientos, Californian staff writer
For more education news, go to The Californian's education blog, The Grade or follow The Grade on Twitter.
Most CommentedMost Popular
Since Karen Goh returned to Kern County from a publishing career in New York in 2004, she has helped foster a strong network of Christian leaders in government, politics, media, business and nonprofits.
California voters approved Proposition 215 in 1996, giving "seriously ill Californians ... the right to obtain and use marijuana for medical purposes" as recommended by a physician.
Is Kern County, as has widely been reported, really the expulsion capital of California? That's the question posed Friday by state Sen. Michael Rubio, D-Shafter, to 50 or so Kern County educators, elementary and high school district administrators and community leaders.
Kern County has agreed to pay a Kern River Valley family $1 million for wrongfully taking their son in 2008 when the family was in a dispute with the South Fork Union School District over how school officials were dealing with the boy's food allergies.
A Bakersfield mother of two who took up competitive cycling nine months ago after an injury ended her marathoning career died Sunday while competing in a bicycle race outside Yosemite National Park.
A Bakersfield police officer shot and killed a man who was armed with a gun in a northwest Bakersfield apartment Monday morning.
Since Karen Goh returned to Kern County from a publishing career in New York in 2004, she has helped foster a strong network of Christian leaders in government, politics, media, business and nonprofits.
Kern County has agreed to pay a Kern River Valley family $1 million for wrongfully taking their son in 2008 when the family was in a dispute with the South Fork Union School District over how school officials were dealing with the boy's food allergies.