With temps rising, consider BCSD summer school

Ilove summertime. The scent of fresh cut grass and chlorine draws my memory back to 1980s summers spent in the rocket slide and public pool at Siemon park.

When I became a mom, and Bakersfield’s summers edged closer to our inevitable triple digits, I sought out the best places to take my stir-crazy kids: dollar movies, public pools, water parks and public library events. Due to COVID-19, the summer of 2020 was a strain on both my PG&E bill and my patience.

Just around the corner, the school year will end, and it seems that most summer pastimes have yet to be reestablished. To quell my mommy guilt over the screen-time saturation of 2020,

I am so relieved that the Bakersfield City School District is providing amazing summer programming to every student in our district. I have already registered my son and nieces in Bakersfield City School District summer learning STEAM Rangers and Music Intensive Program.

Air conditioning and free meals are not the only reason I have chosen to register my son for summer school, but they are notable. Virtual learning has provided students and us parents with a level of digital literacy competence that far exceeds any generation previous. But this summer, I want my son to close his Chromebook and spend summer with other children experimenting, playing, building and learning without worrying that his bandwidth will exclude him.

Bakersfield City School District has dedicated substantial funds to provide safe educational experiences for kids in our community. At a recent BCSD board meeting, Deputy Superintendent Mark Luque emphasized that parents need to apply for summer school as soon as possible so that science kits can be ordered by the end of the month. There are both face-to-face and virtual options for summer school. If you want your kids to participate in fun project-based learning you need to register by the deadline this Friday. For instructions to register your child, check your Parent Square or call 661-631-4661.