The hard work of Building Healthy Communities South Kern’s Education Action Team is paying off. Last month, the Kern Community College District (KCCD) voted to place a $502 million bond measure on the November ballot. The bond includes $25 million for an outreach facility to serve the communities of South Kern.
BHC-SK partners held a press conference last month and spoke during the public comment session of the KCCD board meetings. The team spoke about the need for higher education in Arvin and youth shared personal stories about the obstacles they face to achieve higher education.
“Transportation to Bakersfield College should not be an obstacle, but it is such a big obstacle for Arvin, Lamont, and Weedpatch residents,” said Yesenia Aguilar, 17, a junior at Arvin High School and a youth journalist for South Kern Sol.
Arvin and Lamont’s poverty level is almost twice the State’s average, and only 2 percent of the population hold a Bachelor’s degree, the State average is 30 percent.
“There is a real need to have an uplift in adult education in [Arvin],” said Dr. Michelle McLean, Arvin Union School District’s Superintendent. “Whenever members of the community are educated and receive a higher education, its benefiting the whole community, its benefiting our county, its benefiting our State, its benefiting our nation.”
Please join us on Saturday, August 27 to celebrate one more year of Building Healthy Communities South Kern (BHC-SK). This year will be like no other as we are holding our own mini-ciclovia.
Enjoy a day with family and friends as we take the streets of the community of Rexland Acres so that we can walk, run, and bike as a community in a safe and open car-free environment! This year’s BHC-SK’S Annual Celebration will feature fun family activities, live performances, and free food.
The event will be held at Rexland Acres Park, 325 E. Fairview Dr. in Bakersfield from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Transportation will be provided from Arvin, Weedpatch and Lamont. For more information please call Angel Munoz at (661) 845-2724.
Ed Note: Because the celebration is funded by BHC-SK and The California Endowment, voter registrations is not allowed at the event.
“Human beings can be beautiful or more beautiful, they can be fat or skinny, they can be right or wrong, but illegal? How can a human being be illegal?” These are words spoken byElie Wiesel, Nobel Prize winner, and Holocaust survivor. Although he just passed away, his words shall forever live on. Last week, activists and community members from all over Kern County gathered in the spirit of Mr. Wiesel’s words outside of an immigrant detention center in Bakersfield.
As one of the leading youth that helped organize the event, I must say that I’ve never seen something this beautiful happen here in Kern County. As we began planning this event months ago, we were inspired by musicians Juanes and John Legend performing outside of an immigration detention center in Arizona. The event brought awareness of a private prison industry that profits off of people’s suffering, and illustrated a broken system, while at the same time reminding detainees that people outside their walls care about them.
Juanes and John Legend used music to bring people together for the cause of justice. I wanted to do the same thing in Kern County and last Thursday we did.
Youth gathered outside the detention facility.
A week earlier, I had visited the Mesa Verde Immigrant Detention Facility to meet with a 26-year-old woman from Guatemala who was fleeing murder in her home country and sought asylum here in the U.S. She shared with me the story of her family, her dreams, and her hope and strength to keep fighting for a better life. She only had one year left of school to graduate from her university. Just like me, I thought to myself, this woman had only one year left to finish school, and now she’s locked up because of her lack of documentation. I thought to myself, what makes the difference between her and me? Why does a piece of paper deem someone more or less human? It doesn’t.
She has been incarcerated for over six months still waiting for a court date. She has family here in the U.S. who wish for nothing more than her safety. She told me that if there’s one thing she could tell everyone, it’s that, “We don’t come here to steal jobs, or cause violence, or even depend on anyone. We come here because it’s the land of opportunity for a better life, a life with liberty. We leave our families, our entire life behind just for a chance at freedom and a better life.”
I was inspired by her words, her emotions, her genuine kindness and strength to keep persevering. This is a prime example of why we need reform in a broken system and why we should advocate for comprehensive immigration reform.
When I told her that we would be outside the detention center next Thursday morning to play music for all the detainees and rally for the cause, her eyes watered with emotion as did mine. She thanked me from the bottom of her heart and hugged me before I left to work.
A week later we arrived early at the detention center, only to see that we had been blocked off by “caution tape” around the whole building, except the sidewalk. When I asked an employee if I could park in the “visitor parking” he told me that there were no visitors today, and nobody was to be allowed inside. I knew that there were visitor hours today but I simply parked on the street. While it scared me a bit at first, I smiled and remembered the words of a fellow journalist “When you are pissing people off in the community, you know they are listening, you know your voice is being heard, you know you’re doing something right.”
Youth sharing their action over their social media channels.
Nonetheless we began our press conference on the sidewalk as youth leaders gave speeches on why we need to reform our prison and immigration systems, and invest in our youth instead. As the scorching heat blazed in the morning, Professor and activist Gonzalo Santos suggested we heed to the words of the “caution tape” and proceed with caution. So we crossed the tape into the shade of a tree right in front of the building. Without fear, we continued rallying for the cause of justice. Speakers spoke about their personal experiences, shocking statistics about Kern County’s investment in mass incarceration instead of education. After powerful words from youth leaders, the band began to play right in front of the building, and then we proceeded to march around the building nearest where the detainees would be let outside for a recreational break. We marched, we chanted, and most of all we stood together in unity for justice. As we reached the park, people gathered around taking photos, making signs, and enjoying music from the bands, and later on Latin Grammy Nominee Ceci Bastida. It brought me absolute joy to see youth from all across Kern making signs that read #LoveNotPrisons, #EducationNotPrisons, and even a young toddler with a drawing that she said meant “happiness” not prisons.
Some of the younger kids joining in on the action.
As I look back upon that day, I’m still left in awe. I’m filled with joy knowing that so many people came out to rally for a cause to bring humanity to an issue that is so important this political season. I’m inspired by the youth that I saw actively participating and I’m filled with hope for a better future, knowing that someday they will be our leaders. I hope someday the millions of people living in the shadows can one day see their families, live out their dreams without constant fear, and instead live in liberty, justice, and the pursuit of happiness. Until then, we will keep fighting, rallying, and advocating for a true democracy with liberty and justice for all.
Join us on Thursday July 7 to celebrate the rich culture and artistry of Kern County at the Kern Youth Arts Festival, held at Relaxed Acres Park from 6 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. The event, featuring installation art and performances, will be curated by Dulce UpFront. The festival will showcase how arts and culture can promote social change and contribute to the birth of a culture of prevention.
The Kern Youth Arts Festival is the second of a three-event series demanding #SchoolsNotPrisons for Kern County. The events are organized and led by youth leaders affiliated with Building Healthy Communities-South Kern and South Kern Sol, in partnership with the Arts Council of Kern.
Free food will be provided to the first 250 people. Transportation is available, please see the routes below.
Bus Schedule for the Kern Youth Art’s Festival – July 7
Stop 1 – 5:10pm: at Arvin Vallarta Super Market – 600 Bear Mountain Blvd, Arvin, CA 93203 (Corner of Bear Mountain Blvd. and S. Hill Street, Look for the school bus)
Stop 2 – 5:25pm: Weedpatch Market – 8101 Buena Vista Blvd,. Lamont, CA 93241 (look for the school bus in the parking lot)
Stop 3 – 5:35pm: County Fair Market – 10415 Main St,. Lamont, CA 93241 (Look for the school bus near Main Street)
Join youth leaders from Building Healthy Communities South Kern and South Kern Sol this summer as they use their voice to engage youth across Kern County and lead us to a better and more just future.
South Kern youth leaders and advocates are launching a three-part series focused on #schoolsnotprisons, #unity, #investinyouth and #vota. The series will bring multi-media platforms that lift up culture and arts tied to social justice.
Youth will demand that local leaders refocus attention and resources away from mass incarceration and toward approaches likely to improve safety, such as #Health4Kern, trauma-informed education practices that limit suspensions and break the school-to-prison pipeline, a vibrant arts and culture scene, and comprehensive immigration reform.
South Kern Sol youth recognize that young people are an asset to this community and through a series of events they hope to create unity and encourage other young people across the county to #GetLoud for issues that impact their communities.
Kern #GetLoud Rally! June 30
MillCreek Park, 10am to 1pm,
Featuring Banda Perla del Sur and Ceci Bastida
Kern Youth Arts Festival! July 7
Rexland Acres Park, 6 to 8:30 p.m.
Featuring Dulce UpFront
Kern Youth Speak Out! August 4
Bakersfield Museum of Art, 6 to 8 p.m.
Media Panel Discussion
Bus Schedule for Kern #GetLoud Rally – June 30:
Stop 1 – 8:15am: at Arvin Vallarta Super Market – 600 Bear Mountain Blvd, Arvin, CA 93203 (Corner of Bear Mountain Blvd. and S. Hill Street, Look for the CHARTER BUS)
Stop 2 – 8:35am: Weedpatch Market – 8101 Buena Vista Blvd,. Lamont, CA 93241 (look for the CHARTER BUS in the parking lot)
Stop 3 – 8:50am: County Fair Market – 10415 Main St,. Lamont, CA 93241 (Look for the charter bus near Main Street)
Stop 4 – 9:15am: Stiern Park in Bakersfield – 5201 Monitor St, Bakersfield, CA 93313 (Parking lot)
Arrive:
1st stop in downtown Bakersfield will be at MillCreek Park – 600 21st St Bakersfield, CA 93301
2nd Stop: Mesa Verde Detention Center – 425 Golden State Avenue Bakersfield, CA 93301
The Dolores Huerta Foundation is looking for youth who would like to participate in painting a mural in Rexland Acres Park located at 325 E. Fairview Road in Bakersfield.
Call Nancy Becerra at (661) 322-3033 for more information.
The community is invited to a public meeting to learn and provide input for an affordable housing project being proposed on Main Street in Lamont by the Housing Authority of Kern County and American Community Development.
The meeting will be held June 8 at 5:30 p.m. at the David Head Center, 10300 San Diego St. in Lamont.
For more information call Joseph Leon at (661) 331-2982.
Equality does not mean equity. It’s a distinction administrators with the Kern High School District (KHSD) need to understand.
In 2011, California Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law the Local Control Funding Formula, revamping how the state funds K-12 public schools with an eye toward providing more money to schools that serve larger numbers of high need students, including low-income students, English learners and foster youth.
LCFF is about equity.
Sadly, KHSD has chosen instead to distribute most of its state dollars aimed at higher need students equally across all of the schools in the district. It has done so without regard to differences in student population and the need for more resources to serve higher need students.
And if the data is to be believed those differences are dramatic.
According to the Kern Education Justice Collaborative, a consortium of community organizations working to improve education for underserved students and their families in Kern County, there are a number of schools in the district where overwhelming majorities of students are high need. These include Mira Monte High and South High (90.6 percent), Arvin High (87.6 percent), and East High (83.5 percent).
Then there are other schools where the need for support exists, just not in as great numbers. Some 32 percent of students at Stockdale High are considered high need, while 24 percent of students at Centennial fall under this category. (Both schools have been recognized for their high academic achievement by U.S. News Best High School rankings, which tracks school performance nationally.)
Despite the disproportionately larger number of high-need students in the first group, KHSD has chosen to allocate funding equally among all its campuses. This means that Stockdale High School will be allocated the same amount of money as Arvin High School. Centennial will receive the same amount as Mira Monte High School.
This is an injustice.
Equality is about giving everyone the same thing … this would make sense if everyone started from the same place. But that simply isn’t the case.
There is plenty of research showing the disproportionate and growing educational challenges that low-income students, English learners and foster youth face even before they enter school. Once they do begin school, the disparities in resources and rigor only set them even farther back from they more affluent peers.
While a student from Stockdale High School may have the latest iPhone with an unlimited data plan and the latest MacBook pro to do a research paper, for example, a student from East High typically only has Internet access at the school’s aging computer lab. And while Foothill High School offers only 2 AP courses, Stockdale High School, on the other side of the freeway offers 21. This doesn’t take into account the many clubs and booster programs at wealthier schools that fundraise for enrichment activities like field trips, additional instruction, coaches, supplies and equipment for sports teams, clubs, etc.
Unfortunately, it seems KHSD administrators don’t understand the inequitable distribution of resources within the district. Maybe it’s because their students don’t attend these schools, and so they are not affected by the decision.
Whatever the reason, by not holding true to the intent of LCFF decision makers for KHSD are perpetuating the message that a student’s academic success depends upon how much money their family makes. They are limiting the opportunity of thousands of high need students to succeed and thrive in this ever competitive climate.
A student from North, East, and Arvin should have the same opportunities as a student from Centennial, Stockdale, and Liberty. KHSD needs to ensure that students are encouraged and able to participate in AP classes and curriculum. It needs to allocate funding that targets helping students with the highest need, and it needs to focus on increasing opportunities to students whose educational resources are already very limited.
In order to enjoy true equality we need to establish equity in our funding first.
The Dolores Huerta Foundation, Faith in Action Kern County and the Kern Education Justice Collaborative have teamed up to host a Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) Forum to inform the community about why community involvement in school spending decisions is critical right now that schools are receiving public input on the LCAP.
The new school funding formula, enacted in 2013 gives more control to school districts. School districts must develop LCAP’s, a plan that connects the districts goals and actions to its plan for spending the LCFF dollars.
The LCFF recognizes that students who have less may need more to achieve equity and includes additional funding for low income students, English language learners and foster kids.
The forum will be held Monday, May 16 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Reider Education Center, 2000 K Street, Room 101 in Bakersfield. Dinner will be provided.
Please join us on Sunday, April 24 to learn how you or someone you know may be able to reduce a low level felony conviction to a misdemeanor under Proposition 47. Doing so, will increase your opportunities for housing, employment, education and more. Proposition 47 ends in 2017.
In Kern County more than 8,500 individuals have taken advantage of the largest felony reclassification effort in U.S. history and successfully reduced their felonies to misdemeanors, according to Tanya Richard with the Kern County Public Defenders office. She estimates that about 20,000 more people living in Kern County could potentially benefit from Proposition 47.
The forum will be held at Compassion Christian Center, 1030 4th Street in Bakersfield from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California (ACLU) will also be there to discuss your rights regarding law enforcement.
Editors Note: Question and Answer with Deputy Public Defender Tanya Richard from the Kern County Public Defenders Office.
Why should individuals act now? There is a sunset provision for reducing past convictions to misdemeanors. On November 5, 2017, past convictions will not be subject to reduction under Proposition 47. Past convictions may be reduced under a different penal code section, but the reduction will not occur as a matter of law.
What types of Charges are subject to reduction Types of offenses subject to reduction include simple possession for personal use of a controlled substance(s) and some theft charges if the value is under $950 and the property is taken from a business during business hours.
Is there a fee to apply? There is no fee to apply for a Proposition 47 reduction. The courts do not charge filing fees.
How long is the process? The court requires 25 court days for service. It takes approximately a month for the documents to be processed by the court, once they are submitted. An appearance at court is not mandatory. The Court may grant your request via minute order before the court date. If eligibility is contested, the individual may have to appear at a court date.
Is there anything else you would like to add? Proposition 47 does not restore gun rights. Even after the charge is reduced to a misdemeanor, an individual cannot possess guns, ammunition or other weapons.
The Proposition 47 forms are on the Kern County Superior Court website. If a person applies on their own, Form 500 and Form 502 must be served on the Kern County Superior Court and the District Attorney. The Public Defenders Office can assist or the individual can apply on their own.
For more information, please call Faith in Action Kern County at (661) 631-9200.
