Education roundup: PG&E to help students apply for its scholarships
By The Bakersfield Californian
PG&E will roll out its new Bright Minds Scholarship program Tuesday during a student application event in Cal State Bakersfield's Walter Stiern Library.
PG&E will award up to $1 million in scholarships. Winners will receive full-ride scholarships of up to $30,000 per year, and program finalists will receive $2,500 toward their studies.
Scholarships will be awarded based on community leadership, personal triumph, financial need and academic achievement, with preference given to first-generation college students. Students must be enrolled in a full-time undergraduate program at an accredited two- or four-year college, university or vocational-technical school for the 2012-13 school year.
Starting at 10 a.m. Tuesday, officials will help students complete the application process.
The deadline to apply is Feb. 17. Scholarship winners will be announced in the spring. More information: www.pge.com/brightminds.
The Panama-Buena Vista Union School District board on Tuesday is expected to hear a presentation on a substitute teacher management system, vote on an agreement with an architectural firm to conduct a facilities master plan and accept several donations.
Trustees will hear about eSchool Solutions' SmartFind Express, computer software that manages teacher absences and replacements. The automated system could also manage classified staffing absences.
The board is also expected to vote on an agreement with Ordiz-Melby Architects, Inc. -- in conjunction with S.B. Anderson Inc. -- to provide facilities master planning: align facilities with educational objectives and to study needs for future campus development, officials said. The contract is for architectural services not to exceed $50,000.
And the district will accept the following donations:
* One trumpet and case from Jason Frantz Plumbing for Berkshire Elementary.
* Two complete salad bars, a value of $6,481, from Sun World for Tevis Junior High School.
* Educational supplies from DonorsChoose.org, a $500 value, to Seibert Elementary School preschool and kindergarten class.
The meeting is at 7 p.m. at 4200 Ashe Road.
The East Bakersfield Rotary Club is donating dictionaries to third -through-fifth graders at four Bakersfield City School District campuses.
Williams and Noble elementary students received theirs Jan. 24. Jefferson and Longfellow elementary school students will receive their dictionaries Friday. Longfellow's sixth-graders will also be receiving dictionaries.
"Building strong literacy skills at an early age creates solid building blocks for academic success as student progress through elementary, middle and high school," said Jim Williams, community outreach director with the rotary club.
-- Jorge Barrientos, Californian staff
For more education news, go to The Californian's education blog, The Grade, at www.bakersfield.com/ thegrade or follow The Grade's Twitter at twitter.com/TBCTheGrade.
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