Approximately 1.5 million students were homeschooled in the United States in 2007.

* 36% of parents surveyed said their primary reason was to provide "religious or moral" instruction, according to a national survey.

* 21% said it was about concern for the school environment.

* 17% said it was dissatisfaction with the academics provided by the school.

QUESTION: In Bakersfield is the 17% number ("school isn't good enough") rising because of state education budget cuts? 

I'd like to hear from you if you're homeschooling, or being homeschooled   -Jeff

Bakersfield College added 12 new faculty members for the fall 2009 semester: 
Many of the new teachers are filling positions that have opened due to retirement or relocation.

BC's first-day enrollment this week was 17,341, and 30 percent increase from the beginning of the decade.

Laura Borneman
Art
Laura moved to Bakersfield from Philadelphia, where she was showing artwork at the Rodger Lapelle Gallery and teaching part-time at Philadelphia University and the Fleisher Art Memorial. She earned her master’s in Painting from Western Michigan University and a master’s in education from the State University of New York at Buffalo, as well as a post-graduate certificate in painting from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.  Laura is originally from Buffalo. She is a full-time instructor in the Art Department, teaching Basic Drawing, Painting and Figure Drawing.

Janet Duenas-Clift
Academic Development
Janet has worked in the education field for nine years, teaching ESL reading and writing classes at Pasadena City College for the past three years, and ESL at Azusa Adult School for the past five years. She is looking forward to her role as an Academic Development Instructor at Bakersfield College. Janet has a master’s degree in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) from California State University, Los Angeles, and a bachelor’s degree in English from University of California, Riverside. In addition, Janet has an Adult Education Designated Subjects Credential. She is currently taking classes from Cerro Coso College for an Online Teaching Certificate and plans to integrate technology into her classes and possibly teach online classes in the future.

Stephanie Engler
Allied Health
Stephanie has relocated to Bakersfield from Minneapolis. As a nurse for the last 10 years, Stephanie has learned the clinical side of the profession, and she says she is excited to begin her new life training tomorrow’s nurses. In her spare time, Stephanie is an avid reader and loves outdoor activities like waterskiing, basketball and camping. She says she’s looking forward to a winter without snow and ice. Stephanie and her husband have two children, and one more on the way.

Emily Madigan
Ceramics
Emily was born and raised in South East Detroit, Michigan. She earned her bachelor’s degree at Michigan State University in Ceramics and Art History. She has studied art in Africa and Mexico, after which she received her master’s at California State University Long Beach. Emily was awarded an art residency at the Armory Center for the Arts in Pasadena California. She has been teaching all over southern California over the last five years and says she is delighted to be given this great opportunity at Bakersfield College.

Gabriele Martin
Allied Health
Gabriele has been a nurse for 22 years, after graduating from Bakersfield College. She has worked mainly in the ICU setting, here and in her native Germany. For the last two years, she has worked as the clinical educator for a local hospital. She recently completed her MSN and decided to take on the new challenge of teaching in the academic setting. Gabriele’s husband is retired and has turned his hobby into a part time job (restoring old airplanes). Her oldest daughter is also an ICU nurse, her son is in the Air Force, and her youngest daughter is pursuing her studies toward elementary education.

Mary Jill McBride
Allied Health
Mary Jill attended nursing school in Michigan and graduated with an LVN in 1984. After working in nursing homes, she earned her RN in 1989. As an RN, Mary Jill has worked in hospitals for the last 20 years, focusing on Intensive Care and Telemetry in Michigan, Indiana and California. She taught briefly at Bakersfield College two years ago and says she is very pleased to be back full-time. Mary Jill says she looks forward to sharing her experience with students and making sure that they have the tools they need to be successful.

Erin Miller
History
Erin is a graduate of Bakersfield College, and earned her Bachelor of Arts from California State University, Bakersfield. She completed her master’s at Notre Dame and will defend her dissertation on race, identity, and democracy in 18th Century Pennsylvania at Notre Dame this spring. After years of cheering on the Irish, she is delighted to come home to root for the Renegades! Clearly a sports fan, she enjoys taking in a game with her family and playing ball with them. Her hobbies include gardening, hiking, reading, sports, cooking, and playing games with her family. Erin is excited about becoming part of the Bakersfield College family.

Matthew Morgan
Philosophy
Matthew received his bachelor’s at Northwest University and his master’s from Loyola Marymount University. He is currently working on the final drafts of his doctoral dissertation for Southern Illinois University. Recently, Matthew’s academic interests have focused on the philosophical implications of the Scientific Revolution. Matthew and his wife Nicole enjoy rock climbing, red wine and local eateries. As his first two years of higher education took place at community colleges, he says he looks forward to returning to this environment. 


Baochi Nguyen
Mathematics
Baochi obtained her associate degree from Pasadena City College, her bachelor’s degree from the University of California at Los Angeles and her Ph.D. from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Her mathematical interest is in the field of Mathematical Modeling. Since 2003, she was an Assistant Adjunct Professor and a Lecturer in the department of Mathematics at University of California at Irvine prior to her appointment here at Bakersfield College.  Besides teaching mathematics and helping students, she has been training and competing in Taekwondo and hope to get her 3rd degree black belt at some point.  

Joshua Ralls
Welding
Josh was born in Bakersfield and has lived here his whole life with the exception of one year spent in San Luis Obispo. He graduated from South High School where he played varsity basketball. After high school, Josh attended Cuesta and Bakersfield colleges, and graduated from California State University, Bakersfield with a bachelor’s degree in English. He says his hobby is a continual work in progress - his backyard – where he has tried to recreate a tropical landscape after a honeymoon on the Island of Kauai. Josh has worked in the oil and gas industry for the past nine years, employed as a welder. He says he is looking forward to transitioning into the teaching field at Bakersfield College.

Wesley Sims
English
Wesley received his Ph.D. in American literature from the University of Illinois at Chicago in July 2009. His dissertation examines the cultural and literary representations of the United States prison post-1980. He earned his master’s degree in literature at Texas A&M University.  Although raised in Ohio, Wesley moved to Texas for a job teaching 8th graders. In Bakersfield, Wesley says he looks forward to once again being outside year round for outdoor hobbies such as disc golf and biking, and hopes his addiction to some of the HBO shows might be put on the back burner.

Neal Stanifer
English
Neil’s experience with Bakersfield College began when he was a student here during the mid-1980s. He transferred from Bakersfield College to California State University, Bakersfield, where he earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English before being accepted into the graduate program at Tulane University in New Orleans. Neal has taught at Bakersfield College for eight years, off and on, and has also taught at CSUB and Tulane. His academic interests include modern and antebellum American literature, print culture, and critical theory. A self-proclaimed nerd, Neal often spends his off-hours reading and writing science fiction and comic books.
 

In Oxnard, education supporters are so serious about sending a message to the Governor and state legislature about $14 million in cuts to the Oxnard School District they've undertaken a hunger strike. 

The group calls themselves "STARVE," or Solidarity to Achieve and Recover Valued Education, and includes the school board president and a trustee. 

Beginning yesterday, the fasting began. Some are planning a liquid diet — including shakes, lemonade and maple syrup, and Gatorade.

They plan to go to Sacramento on Aug. 25 to tell Gov. Schwarzenegger what they think.

The state grades are in.

The state released the CST, or "Star" test results on Tuesday: 

Search by county, district and specific school for 2009 Star test results

On the whole, Kern County schools posted improved test scores over last year on California’s annual Star tests, which measure student proficiency on state content standards in history, science, math and English.

Scores fall into five performance categories: Advanced, proficient, basic, below basic, and far below basic.

In English, Kern’s scores were lower than the state average in every grade level.
Conversely, Kern’s math scores — specifically in elementary schools — were generally higher than the state average.

Scores from several Bakersfield school districts, including Fruitvale, Norris and Panama Buena-Vista, were higher in English and math than the state, and Fresno County elementary  schools.

At the high school level, scores were not so positive.

In the Kern High School District, 30 percent of students in 11th grade tested at proficient or advanced level in English, but a majority didn’t reach that level.

In Algebra I, only 11 percent of KHSD students scored proficient or above.

Nearly 130,000 Kern students in grades two through 11 answered between 60 and 75 multiple choice questions in history, science, math and English last spring.

Over 4.7 million California students took the Star tests in 2008.

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell sounded a word of caution about the year ahead, given the sharp budget cuts to education.

Class sizes will be larger, in some places there will be no summer school, a shorter school year, fewer counselors and nurses and classroom resources, said O'Connell. 

"I hope the hard work of our teachers and support and teachers can overcome these budget challenges,” O'Connell said at  a press conference in Northridge.