Just got back from a great Saturday morning walk with Neo – the super moon was bright and clear. Search #NASAmoonsnap to view some great photos of the last super moon for the summer. I also was delighted to make a wish when I spotted a shooting star, probably the last remnants of the Perseid Meteor Shower from last night. Life it not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

At Thursday’s Board of Trustees meeting, I was happy to swear in our new Student Trustee, Shehrazad Barraj. I look forward to working with you this coming year!

Steven Watkin and Kylie Campbell also briefed the Board of Trustees on the Kern CCD Early College Program.

Other members of the Kern CCD Early College team took a photo with the Board of Trustees. In addition to Steven and Kylie, we saw:

• Alma Feathers, Bakersfield College
• Jackie Stoner, Bakersfield College
• Berenice Arellano, Bakersfield College
• Ref Rodriguez, Porterville College
• Chad Houck, VP Finance and Administrative Services, Cerro Coso Community College
• Kristin Hanle, Dual Enrollment Manager, Cerro Coso Community College 

I am excited to see more great things coming from this team as we work to expand our Early College program!

Good morning, friends.
It is August 13, 2022.
The sun shines bright over Kern CCD.

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Porterville College

Campus comes to life as students return for Promise Program orientation

Porterville College welcomed its newest class of PC Promise Students to campus this week. Over 150 students attended the in-person orientation for students taking part in this program.  It was the first in-person orientation for the program since the pandemic.

During the four-day orientation, students received tours of campus, listened to motivational speakers and attended panels providing tips for success from our financial aid staff, faculty, and student ambassadors.

As part of the program, they receive free tuition and books as well as academic and employment help. The Porterville College Promise Program serves first-time college students through their first year with a comprehensive plan of financial and academic support.

We can’t wait to see what the future holds for these amazing students!

Guided Pathways Teams Kickoff

Porterville College continued its great work on Guided Pathways this week with a kick-off retreat for our New Academic and Career Pathways Teams. These are pathway specific teams used to guide students through their academic journey at Porterville College.

Representation from across the campus, including faculty, counselors, advisors, classified staff, and administrators were in attendance to work on pathway goals and action plans for the Fall semester. There was amazing dialog and great work was done on behalf of student success.

The group was joined by PC’s Guided Pathways Coach Al Solano, who has helped to build the structure and implementation model being used.  We’re excited to take pathways to another level this year at PC!

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Cerro Coso Community College

Mammoth Lakes Festival of Beers and Bluesapalooza – Cerro Coso Was There

As the sun set on a cool and rainy day on Thursday, August 4^th, beer and music lovers found themselves flocking to the Woods at Mammoth Lakes to enjoy one of the biggest parties of the summer.  After two years away due to the pandemic, one of the city’s most beloved festivals, the Mammoth Festival of Beers and Bluesapalooza, returned for a four day-long event. 

Over 85+ craft breweries/cideries pouring beers and ciders from around the country, the annual Mammoth Festival of Beers and Bluesapalooza is the best craft beer and music festival in the West, and Cerro Coso was there.  Katie Bachman and Chandler Petrovich staffed the college information booth passing out information and answering questions to thousands of attendees.    

Featuring more than 20 bands on two stages performing blues, rock, R&B, and soul.  Headliners included: Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, Taj Mahal Quartet, Allen Stone, Eric Gales, Donavon Frankenreiter, and the Main Squeeze.

The festival featured top quality acts, sold out concerts, adoring and positive attendees, it was just so good to get back to seeing and hearing live music in a wonderful setting and connecting with people. 

A great way to escape the heat, the mood was one of joy, happiness, and excitement, for Cerro Coso is a great place to meet incredible people, connect with the people in the community we serve, and share all that Cerro Coso has to offer in a fun and festive environment. 

Quality maintenance is a sustainable approach

Dedicated to providing safe, quality, and educationally sound learning environments for students and staff, the Maintenance and Operations Department at Cerro Coso plays a vital role in the success of our students.  These are the unsung heroes that work behind the scenes to keep our campuses clean and in working order.  Our M & O crew has been very busy this summer preparing facilities for the start of fall classes. This is the team that continued to work on campus despite the pandemic to ensure the health and safety of our employees, students, and families and prepare for our reopening this summer. This includes a large branding project in the gymnasium, cleaning and waxing floors, and system testing like the fire alarms. 

Over the last several months the M&O and IT teams have worked to integrate the current School Dude maintenance software with our single sign on for KCCD websites to implement “Event Manager.”  The program is now live and ready for use.  This program will be utilized by all departments to schedule meetings and events in a much more detailed and efficient manner.  It is a one stop shop for reserving space across the campuses.  Classes and athletic practices will be added to fill in the calendar.  The current event planning form will no longer be utilized along with the master calendar or facilities calendars.

Please join us in recognizing our Maintenance and Operations team for the exceptional job they do to keep us safe and in working order in support of our mission. 

Welcome New CC Professor Frank Guevara

Cerro Coso Community College is pleased to announce that Dr. Frank Guevara will be joining the college as a Professor for Child Development beginning Fall 2022.    

Dr. Guevara is a father to 9 children and male role model to many others.  He and his wife are foster parents, so they have many children under their roof and were fortunate to adopt several children to create a unique family.  His wife holds degrees in Special Education and Social Work so the two have built a life around supporting children from challenging backgrounds.

He lives by the motto “the biggest room is always the room for improvement.”    

“My philosophy of teaching asserts that students are entitled to quality instruction in an active and stimulating learning environment,” said Guevara. “My standards of excellence- set high, yet attainable – are used to facilitate optimal student learning, and the development of tools which will enable students to be successful in the field.  I also encourage students to self-evaluate individual progress to facilitate the mindset of a reflective practitioner.

When asked how he engages students in the classroom, he said…”often students are less motivated or disinterested when they cannot connect with the course topics.  So, I look for opportunities to highlight the practical implications to their professional work – to demonstrate why this topic is meaningful to them as educators.”  Dr. Guevara believes students comes to class with a different set of skills and unique goals for themselves, so success will take all shapes and sizes – from a student completing their first course, learning a new strategy to support children’s development, or overcoming a personal obstacle.  “It’s all about moving forward and not giving up,” he said. 

He received his doctoral degree in Early Childhood Education from Northcentral University, having completed his graduate studies in Child Development at San Jose University and a bachelor’s degree in Human Development from Stanford University.  He recently completed an M.A. in Special Education from the University of Arizona Global Campus. 

“As a family, we enjoy spending time outdoors, going on cruises, and volunteering in the community,” he concluded.

Fall 2022 classes begin August 22, 2022.  Register today at www.cerrocoso.edu or call 760-384-6219. 

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Bakersfield College

BC Hosts Rural Express Enrollment Events in Several Kern Regions

Bakersfield College works hard to make their academic opportunities available to as many students as possible in Bakersfield, Kern County and beyond. In an effort to reach students that are not in the immediate Bakersfield area, BC is hosting several Rural Express Enrollment events to help prospective students get registered and begin their educational journey. These Express Enrollment events provide an opportunity for attendees to receive more information about programs and classes, complete a BC application, speak to advisors and enroll in courses. 

If you are interested in the event, or want more information, please visit the Rural Express Enrollment Event information page.

BC Conducting ‘Flex Week’ Professional Development Workshops

The Fall 2022 Semester is just around the corner, and to help prepare our faculty for the new school year, BC is hosting Flex Week Aug. 15th-18th. Each morning will start with Wellness Walks led by Paula Dahl from the Athletic Department. From there, Faculty will have the opportunity to learn from colleagues who went to the Online Teaching Conference on all aspects of teaching and learning. Everyone can learn more about managing their time with Planner in Microsoft Teams. There will be sessions on Supporting our Students in multiple ways. 

For Faculty who are interested in attending, please visit the Vision Resource Center.  You can also reach out to Pamela Rivers for more information or help with registration.

BC Hosting In-Person New Student Convocation

We are so excited to announce that BC will be hosting an in-person New Student Convocation for the first time in two years! The event will take place August 16th, 2022 from 5:30 pm – 8:00 pm in BC’s Outdoor Theater.  All new students and their parents are invited to attend. Attendees will have the opportunity to check out campus services, meet faculty and staff, get an introduction to Student Organizations, enjoy a free dinner, and much more! 

It is always an exciting time to welcome new students into the Renegade family and equip them with quality resources to continue their academic journey. We hope that all new students and their parents are able to attend. For more information, visit the New Student Convocation Web Page.

Opening Day at Bakersfield College

The beginning of the Fall Semester is rapidly approaching, and one of BC’s long-standing traditions is to host an Opening Day ceremony to celebrate the new school year. This year’s Opening Day will take place on August 18th in the Renegade Ballroom (Campus Center, 3rd Floor) at 8:00 a.m. There will be breakfast, opening remarks from President Zav Dadabhoy, and guest speakers to help inspire faculty and staff for the upcoming year.

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Teaching & Learning Experiences

Porterville College History Professor Rebecca Baird penned the most recent entry in the Teaching & Learning Experiences (TALE) Blog.

“One of the questions I really began to ask myself was whether I wanted my students to focus on due dates or the course content.  Clearly there were students who were unable to achieve those due dates and now received a zero and could no longer turn in the work.  Was it that important to me to punish them harshly for missing an assignment? Or was it more important for them to learn about Reconstruction, or World War II, or the 1960s, albeit slightly past the due date?”

You can find all the TALE Blog posts at https://kernccdtaleblog.org/blog/.

Kern CCD employees that want to contribute a piece can visit https://kernccdtaleblog.org/submissions/ for more information.

In the News

Place-based learning program launched for Bakersfield College, Cerro Coso Community College nursing students

23ABC covered the pilot Dedicated Education Unit that will allow nursing students at BC and CCCC to complete clinical work hours at Adventist Health hospitals in Bakersfield, Delano, and Tehachapi.

“This is a way to expand the high quality instructional opportunities we offer our nursing students, while leveraging partnerships with local hospitals and their talented nurses, said Carla Gard, dean of Instruction for Nursing and Allied Health at Bakersfield College.

Fun Photos & Spotted on Social Media

Here’s a photo from our Energy Team planning session:

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Kimberly Bligh shared about Bridge to BC:

“Bridge to BC 2022 Last Day Photo. To think we started in 2014 with 140 students and hit our 3,000 goal this year is unfathomable! My highest previously was about 1,800. Knowing that these students, who have completed Bridge, have twice the persistence rate for fall to spring… twice the persistence rate Fall to Fall…twice the completion of transfer level math in English in their first year… And.. almost 100% FAFSA completion rate and awards…..plus…  twice as likely to complete 15 units in the first semester and 30 units in the first year … well it just makes me remember why I do this every summer instead of taking a vacation LOL Bridge to BC supports our community and supports our society and just is just downright amazing for all the families who these students touch. I am blessed and privileged to be the Director of Bridge over the past decade. Bridge students are AMAZING  as are all of the talented and compassionate student peer mentors, academic advisors and counselors, financial aid staff lead by Isabel,  and all of the Bridge to BC support  staff including  Outreach, Student Life,  A and R , College Safety, Cafeteria, Maintenance and Operations, and MORE!  It’s takes an entire BC  Village that makes Bridge happen! We ARE BC!“

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Dr. Claudia Habib shared this post about Promise Days at Porterville College:
Excited to meet and welcome a group of freshmen students this morning at #PromiseDays2022 . Students are eager and excited to be #Pirates . Our amazing staff is preparing them for a successful experience at @PCollegePirates #Orientation #Onboarding #StudentServices #ASPC

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Abigail Solis, Central CA Director of External Affairs for the Governor’s Office, shared that she was “excited about the innovative, equity focused work” we are doing:

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That’s a wrap for now.
See you next Saturday!

The future is bright at KernCCD.

-sonya
a joyful and grateful Chancellor

#KCCDDaringMightyThings

Tagged: #KernCCDDaringMightyThings, Bakersfield College, Cerro Coso College, Kern Community College District, Porterville College, Sonya Christian