‘A Night of Hope’ to be held in a virtual format this year
Teen Challenge of Southern California will host A Night of Hope in a virtual format this year.
In a news release, the organization said while it can’t hold its annual event at the Men’s Ranch in Shafter, it will provide an online link or DVD copy for a special video presentation when participants pick up their meal on either Oct. 9 or Oct. 10.
Dinner includes barbecue top sirloin with oven roasted garlic potatoes, glazed carrots and a sourdough roll. Homemade salsa will also be available upon request, the news release states.
The A Night of Hope special video program contains updates, music, stories of transformation and the work that God continues through the ministry of Kern County Teen Challenge during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Meal pickup will be at 301 E. Roberts Lane. For more information or to place an order, call 399-CARE (2273) or email kern@teenchallenge.com.
In the news release, organizers asked those picking up a meal to bring a special gift offering and hand it to a Kern County Teen Challenge staff member. The gift offering makes a significant difference during these unforeseeable times of the COVID-19 pandemic, the news release states.
Greenfield Union School District students will continue in a distance learning format until the end of December, according to a letter sent to staff and families by Superintendent Ramon Hendrix on Thursday.
The only exceptions will be small groups of vulnerable students brought in for in-person learning.
Hendrix wrote that though COVID-19 infection rates have been declining in Kern County, they continue to be a problem for southeast Bakersfield, where the district’s communities are.
“There is continued concern about the infection rates in (ZIP) codes within the Greenfield Union School District, where infection rates are significantly higher than other parts of Kern County,” he wrote.
The district is working on a plan to bring back small groups of students with special needs, homeless and foster youth and English learners. Districts both large and small have been gradually working on bringing in these small groups of students. The state allows them to, even when their COVID-19 case and test rates put them in the most restrictive “purple tier” as is the case in Kern. Districts don’t need approval from local public health departments, though many, including Greenfield, are reaching out to Kern County public health officials for guidance as they craft their plans.
Hendrix’s letter says that the administration and board of trustees will continue to monitor COVID-19 rates in the area as well as rely on state guidance when making a decision about whether to come back for the remaining school year.
The county has approved the waivers for two more school districts to open their doors to students in transitional kindergarten through sixth grade, bringing the total number of waivers approved in the county to 22.
The latest are McKittrick Elementary School District and South Fork Union School in Weldon, which are both small town, one-school districts.
The vast majority of Kern
County students remain in distance learning, but a few schools — all small, mostly private — have applied for a waiver from the Kern County Public Health Services Department. This process created by the state allows districts, even in counties like Kern designated in the purple tier, to bring students back to school up to sixth grade.
In its waiver application, McKittrick Elementary, a school of 67, indicated it plans to open its doors on Monday. South Fork Union says it plans to open the following Monday on Oct. 5 in its waiver application. The school says parent surveys responses indicate 26 percent of its 284 students will continue in distance learning.
Both schools will offer families who want to continue distance learning accommodation.
Bakersfield College announced it has launched the BC Student Emergency Fund to help students financially struggling during the pandemic.
The fund was created by The Bakersfield College Foundation in collaboration with the college’s financial aid office, according to a release. The fund is meant to help students who need short-term housing or the technology and internet access that has become critical during the era of virtual learning.
Grants are offered to students identified by a staff or faculty member as having a need, and they’re disbursed through BC’s Financial Aid Office.
Currently, the BC Foundation board of directors is seeking donors for the fund, and they have committed to matching donations up to $39,000. To make a contribution or learn more about the fund, you can call the BC Foundation at 395-4800 or visit its website at www. supportbc.org.