Kern County Superintendent of Schools -- School To Career

Contact Person: Ms. Andrea Parsons
Address: 1300 – 17th Street, Bakersfield, CA 93301
Phone: (661) 636-4525
FAX: (661) 636-4329
Email: Anparsons@kern.org
Web Site: http://www.kern.org

Description of Organization:
On May 4, 1994 President Bill Clinton signed the School-to-Work Opportunities Act of 1994. This law provides seed money to States and local partnerships of business, labor, government, education, and community organizations to develop school-to-work systems. This law doesn't create a new program. It allows States and their partners to bring together efforts at education reform, worker preparation and economic development to create a system - A system to prepare youth for the high wage, high skill careers of today's and tomorrow's global economy.
Using federal seed money, States and their partnerships design the school-to-work system that makes the most sense for them. There is no single model. While these systems are different from State to State, each provides every American student with:

  • Relevant Education, allowing students to explore different careers and see what skills are required in their working environment;
  • Skills, obtained from structured training and work-based learning experiences, including necessary skills of a particular career as demonstrated in a working environment; and
  • Valued Credentials, establishing industry-standard benchmarks and developing education and training standards which ensure that proper education is received for each career.

There is no single answer to the question "What is School-to-Work?" It establishes the infrastructure for a system that is based on existing models and efforts such as career academies, youth apprenticeship, Tech Prep, and cooperative education. The School-to-Work initiative will make the workplace an active learning environment.
School-to-Work is a new approach to learning for ALL students. It is based on the proven concept that education works best and is most useful for future careers when students apply what they learn to real life, real work situations.

Literacy Programs:

  • ABC Reading Machine

Program Specifics:

  • Target population: Children and youth ages 6-15
  • Days of operation: Monday - Friday
  • Hours of operation: After school; two 90-minute sessions per day at the Boys & Girls Club at 801 Niles Street
  • Target Communities: Greater Bakersfield

How Results are Measured:

  • KASAS Tutor’s test
  • KTEA – Children’s test
  • Improvement of tutor’s reading and child’s reading

Estimated numbers served:

  • 23 Tutors
  • 175 children

Other notes of interest:

  • Program seeks publicity, donations, supplies and books.

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