Discover what it takes to navigate the post-pandemic educational landscape with Kings County Superintendent of Schools, Todd Barlow. He joins us on Hanford Insider for an insightful look into the ongoing support for student learning and the unsung heroes behind the scenes. From the transformative programs at JC Montgomery for incarcerated youth to the dedicated work for students with special needs at Shelly Baird, we're highlighting the victories and challenges in our educational community. And when it comes to celebrating those who uplift our schools, hear about the expanded Excellence in Education Awards that shine a spotlight on every hero in every school.
Our latest episode doesn't stop at education; it's a tribute to the entire Kings County community. We're talking high school sports triumphs, local beautification efforts that are changing the face of our city, and the debates shaking up the Hanford City Council. A surprising twist in the saga of Kalish Morrow's council seat has everyone talking, and we're right there with the scoop. Plus, mark your calendars for June 3rd, when we air a special segment filled with your shout-outs to this year's graduating students—a moment to warm the hearts of families throughout Hanford.
You can find the Hanford Insider at www.hanfordinsider.com and on social media at @hanfordinsider Thank you for supporting the show!
Discover what it takes to navigate the post-pandemic educational landscape with Kings County Superintendent of Schools, Todd Barlow. He joins us on Hanford Insider for an insightful look into the ongoing support for student learning and the unsung heroes behind the scenes. From the transformative programs at JC Montgomery for incarcerated youth to the dedicated work for students with special needs at Shelly Baird, we're highlighting the victories and challenges in our educational community. And when it comes to celebrating those who uplift our schools, hear about the expanded Excellence in Education Awards that shine a spotlight on every hero in every school.
Our latest episode doesn't stop at education; it's a tribute to the entire Kings County community. We're talking high school sports triumphs, local beautification efforts that are changing the face of our city, and the debates shaking up the Hanford City Council. A surprising twist in the saga of Kalish Morrow's council seat has everyone talking, and we're right there with the scoop. Plus, mark your calendars for June 3rd, when we air a special segment filled with your shout-outs to this year's graduating students—a moment to warm the hearts of families throughout Hanford.
You can find the Hanford Insider at www.hanfordinsider.com and on social media at @hanfordinsider Thank you for supporting the show!
Speaker 1:
On this week's episode of the Insider. The Kings County Superintendent, Todd Barlow, salutes the outstanding educators in our county. We'll have a community news update and I'll be back to give you the final results of the high school baseball and softball seasons. This is the Hanford Insider for Monday, May 20th.
Speaker 2:
Welcome to this episode of the Hanford Insider. I'm your host, rob Bentley. Thanks for listening. This week I did something, host Rob Bentley, thanks for listening. This week I did something that I've been putting off for some time.
Speaker 2:
Many of you have asked me if I make money doing this podcast. The answer is no. I don't seek sponsors because, honestly, I don't have time. There's a service that many aspiring podcasters use called Buy Me a Coffee, which is ironic because I don't drink coffee. What it does is it allows listeners who simply want to show their appreciation the ability to make a small donation to help me cover ongoing costs of the show. It's a hobby of mine. However, the monthly costs to maintain the show at a high level do add up. If you'd like to support the show financially, go to buymeacoffeecom, slash hamfordinsider and follow the directions. I appreciate any contribution that you can make. I'd like to thank Cornerstone Cafe for already donating. It means a lot. Like I said, I'll continue to do the show, but a little bit here and a little bit there certainly would help.
Speaker 2:
I'd also like to let you know that I'm planning a special shout out show for graduating students. Simply go to my website at hanfordinsidercom, click on the microphone icon and record your special message. Here's an example. My name is Janet Escobar and I'd like to give a special shout-out to my daughter, katrina, who is graduating from Hanford West High School. You go, girl. Papa and I are so proud of you. You see, just a little message like that can be so special. I'll put all the messages together and air them on the June 3rd edition of the Hanford Insider. It's absolutely free. The weather this week is going to be nice, with temperatures in the upper 80s. In community news, how about a big shout out to the Hanford Churches, the Hanford Rotary Club and Interact members who work together to beautify and clean up our city on Saturday morning? Thank you for your service and dedication.
Speaker 2:
The Hanford City Council held a special meeting last Thursday night to continue agenda items from the previous meeting. During the public comments portion, the issue of firework stand permits was raised. The issue of fireworks stand permits was raised. The fee is being raised from $105 to $284 this year to help recover costs of the fire department to come out and conduct the inspection. Later in the meeting the council directed staff to raise the permit fee gradually over two years so that it would rise to $190 this year and then $284 next year. It was good to see a compromise, as the proposed increase came on pretty short notice to the non-profits who run fireworks booths. Another popular theme during public comment was the money being spent ahead of the proposed revenue measure that has not even been formally approved by the Council. During discussions, the Council tabled further discussion of the new public safety building and revenue measure expenses until after the June 4th meeting, when the item will formally be up for approval, to decide if it will be put on the ballot and how much of a sales tax increase they feel they should ask for. During the meeting, the Human Resources Department presented a list of rate increases for facility rental fees and other fees that have not been adjusted in years or they simply just were never in place. This is all in an effort to maintain a high quality of service.
Speaker 2:
The most difficult item on the agenda came at the end when the discussion about how to fill the council seat vacated by Kalish Morrow, effective June 4th, was addressed. In her resignation letter, she indicated the desire to be able to help choose her successor, which is her right technically. Due to the short timeline, however, it wouldn't give very much time for the process to play out before her departure, and some citizens even pointed that out during public comment. The fast-tracking the process would not give citizens enough time or input, leaving only a week versus up to 60 days. The council then spent a great deal of time or input, leaving only a week versus up to 60 days. The council then spent a great deal of time discussing the matter and voted on three different proposals A Fill both vacant council seats by appointment. B Fill one vacant council seat by appointment and the other by election in November that was the original plan when Diane Sharpe resigned or C leave both seats open until the November election. That option would have left the city with only three council members, and it's rather risky should a council member find themselves unable to attend a meeting, fall ill or, even worse, pass away. The city attorney pointed out the difficulties of only having three council members in the event of such an emergency. After a 2-2 deadlock on all three motions and no council member being willing to change their vote, kalish Morris surprised everyone when she said that she's willing to rescind her resignation and stay in Hanford for the remainder of her term instead of moving out of state with her family, if that's what it takes to end the stalemate and solve the problem for the city of Hanford. I spoke with her on Friday morning and she confirmed that she will be staying in Hanford and it has the support of her family in this decision. This is amazing. Thank you, kaleesh, and thank you to your family for their sacrifice as well.
Speaker 2:
Here's some things coming up on our community calendar. On Tuesday, hop Forge Brewing will be hosting comedian Trent Babb. Advanced tickets are available online and available at the door while they last. On Wednesday and Thursday evenings this week, the Hanford High Choir and ASL classes are presenting their popular annual program titled Inside Out Our Next Journey Through Singing, signing and Dancing. The show will be held at the Hanford High Presentation Center at 7 pm each evening. Tickets are available at the box office at 5.45 pm before each performance. At this week's Thursday Night Marketplace it's Hometown Heroes Night the box will be playing R&B covers. Hanford High School will be hosting a mental health 5k run on Saturday, may 25th at 8 am. The Hanford Fox Theatre will be showing the Sandlot movie at 2 pm on Saturday.
Speaker 2:
On Sunday, may 26th, there'll be a birth and baby Expo from 10 to 2 at the Hanford Fraternal Hall, the Marine Corps League Avenue of Flags is this Memorial Day weekend. At the Grangeville Cemetery, over a thousand flags will go up on Saturday morning. The ceremony will be held on Monday at 9 am and the flags will be put away around 2 30 pm on Memorial Day. The Carnegie Museum of Kings County presents Kings County's Asian Experiences. The museum is located at 109 East 8th Street and is open each Friday, saturday and Sunday from 1 to 5 pm. Admission is $5 per person, with a $10 family maximum. For more information you can visit carnegiemuseumofkingscountyorg. The museum is also gearing up for the third annual Downtown Hanford Car Show on Saturday, june 8th. Register now at carnegiecarshowcom. Early registration closes this Tuesday, may 21st.
Speaker 2:
This summer the Cinemark Movie Theater in the Hanford Mall will be offering a Summer Movie Clubhouse where tickets will be just $1.75 per movie For 10 weeks. There will be a fun movie for the kids. The movies will be shown on select days, june 10th through August 15th. There will also be special deals at the snack bar. Visit cinemarkcom for further details. I'll be grabbing events as I see them on the Hanford Sentinel calendar and social media pages. If you have an event coming up and you'd like some help getting the word out. Let's work together. Send your information to hanfordinsider at gmailcom. Be sure to subscribe to my weekly newsletter to get a complete calendar of events. Well, we have come to the conclusion of the 2023-2024 school year and it gives me a great pleasure to sit down with the Kings County Superintendent of Schools, mr Todd Bartle. How are you doing?
Speaker 3:
Todd, I'm doing well. I appreciate the opportunity, rob, thank you.
Speaker 2:
So, todd, we have been post-pandemic education here and a lot of districts have had to do some pretty tremendous things, and the Kings County Office of Education has played a big part in that. Can you highlight some of the departments of your operation and how they support schools in our county?
Speaker 3:
Certainly, Our tagline has always been, you know, 28,000 students, 13 districts, but one mission. And that one mission is we support student learning. And I've actually always said that, even when I was at a district level. There's one job in education which is supporting student learning. No matter what you do on your school site, the staff there is all part of a system that supports, ultimately supports, student learning. And that's not the only thing we do, for sure, but it is the goal that everything else surrounds.
Speaker 3:
And you think about all the support. You know, I had a board member at Kit Carson, don Giacomazzi, who used to tell me Todd, take care of the buses, doesn't matter how good the teachers are if the kids don't get to school. And so it was his way of saying you know, we all have one mission here and we all have to work together. And so at the county office, that's, you know, a very relevant state of mind for us, because everything we do is just to support our districts, and sometimes that's direct services, our districts, and sometimes that's direct services to students, and sometimes it's behind the scenes, support of the staff who does directly support the students. And so, from a you know, if I took our departments and I said you know what is the main goal of that department. You know you think about our business services department. We run the payroll for over 4,000 educational employees every month, and so none of our districts conducts that business on their own and so that's a pretty big deal. I find that people you know people like to get paid and so that payroll runs through our office. That's a big support that we do, and that's because we also are the house of the financial management system for the entire county and so all those people out there supporting kids, making sure that they get what's coming to them, we have a human resources division and from a district level we have, you know, at some levels we've helped do superintendent searches for districts, most recently Lemoore High School, and my classmate McGill Guerrero took over there and they're doing great. And then we also recently conducted an HR search for Corcoran High Principal, and congratulations to Mr Larkin down in Corcoran. They hired internally for that one after an extensive search.
Speaker 3:
We also are the provider of all the substitutes for most of our districts, and so from an HR level there's a lot of support going on there. We are also the internet service provider for all of the school districts we run wired and wireless system extends to every school site. And you mentioned the pandemic. During the pandemic we had to pivot and there was actually a big project that went on. All the districts got together, we all supported each other and we had to push that access from the school sites out to the homes, and so we were able to upgrade the system to coaching for teachers, support for new teachers, and we even have a program where staff members can earn their teaching credentials, not not their bachelor degree, not their bachelor degree, but once you have a bachelor's degree, your teaching credential in its entirety can be earned at the county office of education. And we really find that is something that's becoming more and more necessary as staffing issues, you know, become a challenge for everybody.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, you were mentioning staffing issues and assisting people in getting their credentials. I imagine, with some of the teacher shortages that are going on in California, any support that you can offer to a potential teacher or a new teacher is really going to help our education program here in Kings County as possible and as good as possible is the goal.
Speaker 3:
What we found, just as a setting, if you think about us, kings County has 28,000 students but we're surrounded by these giants. Our largest school district, hanford L, is pushing up towards 6,000 students and our smallest of our 13 districts, lakeside, is under 300. But if you go to you know just one county over in Tulare, visalia Unified, has almost 35,000. In Fresno County, fresno Unified alone has 75,000 students. So our largest school district in some other counties would be considered a small or maybe medium-sized school district.
Speaker 3:
So we do struggle to find staffing and what I've found is that finding individuals who are invested in Kings County is the goal. And so we call our teacher program, teacher education program, the GROW program, because we're growing our own, you know, which I think is a saying. I don't know if we came up with that, but it fits because we are kind of having this homegrown attitude about solving that staffing issue and it's working well. We've placed a lot of teachers. Don't quote me on the number, but I think and I'm speaking from memory, but I think we have 31 people starting our cohort this summer for the next round.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, that's great. I know in my experience in teaching here in the county that it's always great to see people who graduated from the school and then they come back and they become teachers, because they become role models for the students in that district or at that school.
Speaker 3:
Certainly At one time I think we've changed now, but at one time five of the superintendents of our 13 districts were graduates of that district and that still holds true for most of us, so it's great to see.
Speaker 3:
At the county level, we are directly responsible for two educational programs.
Speaker 3:
One is mandated by the Ed Code, which is the court and community school for incarcerated youth.
Speaker 3:
That's what the county offices are. It's one of the programs that the county offices are mandated to provide and we have such a phenomenal team at JC Montgomery, which is the school in the juvenile detention facility here in Kings County, who have really taken some of the most challenging situations, students that come from the most challenging situations and given them the level of care that they need that they might not have experienced in their life, and promoting arts and dual immersion, a really excellent music program. That is really broadening the scope of that program in a way that's addressing more of what they might get at a comprehensive school. It's being lauded by the state even, and in fact I had staff members at a conference last week who were asked to come present on the program that they're doing. They call it Stories with Style, but that's a moniker that they all came up with together, but it's definitely a bright spot in that realm of education and there's a lot of buzz in the juvenile court school world about Kings County and what's going on there.
Speaker 2:
Well, that's awesome. That's a great opportunity. I've heard about some of the video projects that they've done in the past that have really gotten the kids focused on potential careers down the line, and I think that's so important. So, todd, for a number of years, the County Office of Education has played a really important role in educating students with special needs and giving the families the support that they need. What kinds of programs do you have in place to be able to offer those services?
Speaker 3:
Well, we have our Shelley Baird Special Education Program. On one hand, this is where we provide direct service to district students on behalf of the districts. These are students with the greatest needs and the families with the greatest needs in our county, and so that program provides services that are special education for those who know IEP-related services to those students either on our own main campus of Shelly Baird and we also have a Shelly Baird preschool program, if it's not on Shelly Baird main campus. Next year we're going to have 29 satellites and they exist all over Kings County at different districts on different school sites, and so we're very proud of the work that we do with those students directly. We always try to provide them with everything that they need according to their you know, their specialized, individualized education plan, but also try to provide some of the comprehensive school experience that they would get otherwise.
Speaker 3:
Case in point our Shelly Baird prom family prom, which we had last week and it was a great event over 200 attendees and we invited not only the students but their families to come and just hang out and shout out to Hanford West and their staff for setting us up and getting us off our own campus and making it sort of a special event, but amazing partners, amazing support from the community and giving those students a chance to experience something that everyone should be able to and giving their families a fun event to participate in too.
Speaker 3:
That's one side of the special ed program. We also provide special education services that are related to students' needs, but those students go to their regular schools and it's everything from speech to psychological services that we provide on campuses and alternative physical education needs, and we have staff that are all over Kings County every day providing those direct services to those students, supporting staff in supporting their students on their sites, and it's just a very robust, complex but ultimately extremely rewarding body of work that is so necessary and doing so much good for the students that we serve.
Speaker 2:
At the beginning of the episode we talked about, it's the end of a school year, but there's never really an end because you have lots of programs through the summer that operate. But one of the things that must be just an absolute pleasure is your Excellence in Education Awards, and I know they're coming up. That's going to be at the Hanford Fox Theater on Tuesday, may 21st, and can you tell us a little bit about the event and why you're so excited?
Speaker 3:
Thank, you for bringing that up. I'm very excited about the event. We have made some significant changes to it.
Speaker 3:
When I arrived in 2018, we were doing it what I would call in the old way, in which there were three winners in Kings County. There was an admin, a classified and a certificated teacher winner. There are 4,000 employees in Kings County and three out of 4,000 isn't a very high percentage, and so what I knew to be a foundational truth is that there is excellence in every one of our schools. There are people doing amazing work, and those people deserve to be recognized. Not only that, but every community member, student, parents and just general members of the community deserves to be able to look up on that stage and say, hey, there's excellence in my school, too, and in my district. And so the change I made maybe to the dismay of my staff at the time was I said we're going to expand this and every district's going to have a chance to display some of the great things that they're doing, and so we even switched the term from nominee to honoree, and so we even switched the term from nominee to honoree, and so I think that year we had 28, and we have varying amounts because we're always trying to dial in the number, but I think this year we have 27 honorees and representation from all 13 districts.
Speaker 3:
Actually that's the goal this year Reef Sunset because we had to change the event from the Civic because we're all very happy about the Civic getting redone.
Speaker 3:
But that did interfere with our plans a little bit. So we moved around the date a little bit and it interferes with Reef Sunset's event that they're having their year, so we'll talk about them there, but 27 staff members will get their due and we'll be able to talk about some of the great things that they're doing in their districts to help their kids. Because, like I said, only one job in education, but it really the point needs to be made that anyone can make a difference. A lot of people think about it the education world as the teacher and the student and the teacher in the classroom. But there are so many people in our system and any one of those honorees, at any time, they'll be the first one to take the spotlight and shine it on somebody else in their organization. Right, it's not me, it's the system, and I couldn't do what I do without everybody else, and that's such a great feeling of camaraderie that comes out in the event, and so it's wonderful to see, and we are excited to see, this next iteration of it.
Speaker 2:
You know, todd, we have, like, graduation ceremonies coming up and teachers are packing up their classrooms, maybe moving schools, moving classrooms. A lot of hard work is going in and I know you have a lot of great things to say as an appreciation for these administrators and teachers and support staff.
Speaker 3:
Well, like I said, there's no way that one person could do what we all do. It takes everyone. The support staff at the school sites are there to make sure that everything is in place so that when the teaching is happening, it happens in the best way possible. The admin and from the business staff, everybody's working together to complete this, really this singular mission that we have of supporting student learning. You know, thank you seems like such a small phrase. They really are out there changing the world for the better, and those students are our future and that's what we're here for.
Speaker 3:
Todd, can you tell us how to get in touch with the Kings County Office of Education? What are your website and social media sites? We're posting a lot more and, like a lot of schools, we're finding the need to get the word out about what it is that we're doing and helping our districts do that as well. So a lot of good information there and a lot of positive stories, which I think we all need. So I want to thank you, rob, for creating this podcast and with your goal of providing positive news for the community for us all to hear. It's a great thing.
Speaker 2:
Well, thank you so much, Todd. It's been a pleasure visiting with you, and now it's time for Hanford Insider Sports with Eric Bentley.
Speaker 1:
There were four teams in action last week and unfortunately all four saw their seasons come to an end. On the baseball side, sierra Pacific was able to pick up a playoff win, besting Mission College Prep 3-2 on Tuesday. In the victory, justin Simas and Austin Davis were impactful on offense, each with two hits apiece. The Golden Bears then quickly had to shift focus to take on a Bakersfield Christian team that came into the playoffs on a multi-game winning streak. Unfortunately, that streak continued on Thursday as the Golden Bears were defeated 8-0, ending their season at 20-10 overall. Hanford High was on the road Tuesday and unfortunately fell 1-0 in a defensive battle against St Joseph's. Their one run came in the second inning and the Bullpups weren't able to fight back, only mustering three hits in the game. That ends the Bullpups' 2024 campaign at 15-13 overall.
Speaker 1:
And in softball playoff action, hanford West fought back after trailing 5-0 to Independence on Tuesday. Kelsey Bean lit a spark for the Huskies, driving two runs in in the fourth, but the five runs was enough for Independence as they took down Hanford West 5-3. The Huskies finished the season 13-14-1 overall and Hanford High went on the road as well, unfortunately taking an 11-1 loss in Wasco, ending their season at 10-18. And next week I will have a wrap-up of highlights from the 2023-2024 academic sports year, so make sure you tune in and, as always, please send any stats, scores or stories that you want covered to hanfordinsider at gmailcom. I'm Eric Bentley and this has been your Hanford Insider Sports Report. I'm Eric Bentley and this has been your Hanford Insider Sports Report.
Speaker 2:
Well, that's all the time we have for this week's show. Be sure to tune in next week to hear my interview with Dr Victor Rosa, the superintendent of the Hanford Joint Union High School District. Victor was one of my first interviews back in August. He'll be back to give us a final report on all of the district projects completed this year, including the much-anticipated reopening of Neighbor Bowl after extensive renovations just in time for high school graduations.
Speaker 2:
If you enjoyed the show, leave a review on my website. If you'd like to join the Hanford Insider email list, stop by my website at hanfordinsidercom to sign up for updates. You'll also get an exclusive copy of my newsletter in your inbox each week. You can also send me feedback by voicemail through the website, by clicking on the microphone icon, or by text message at 559-424-3345. I'd love to hear from you. Your comments may even be shared on the show. I also need your help getting the word out about the show by liking and sharing on social media or telling a friend For more information about the show. You can find this podcast on Facebook, Instagram, threads X and YouTube at Hanford Insider. If you have a show idea, be sure to email me at hanfordinsider at gmailcom and I'll look into it. Finally, if you'd like to support the show, you can go to buymeacoffeecom slash hanfordinsider. Thanks for listening. Have a great week.