Southern Kern Unified Welcomes Students Back to School with Community Event

The Southern Kern Unified School District (SKUSD) is opening its doors after the summer break to welcome students and families back to campus and provide them with everything they need to start the new school year off right. This week, the district hosted its annual Ice Cream Social and Backpack Giveaway, bringing the community together for a day of fun and community support. 

“I like that the district is doing events like this,” said mother Angela Allen, whose kids are starting ninth and tenth grade. “These backpacks get expensive. Besides providing quality stuff, it’s a really big need in the area for parents and children.”

The ice cream social included games, prizes, raffles, food, resources, free books, a backpack and school supply giveaway, and, of course, ice cream. The event, spearheaded by Community Schools Grant Coordinator Fallon Mitchell and a team of school officials and volunteers, is based around the Community Schools model, where school districts partner with local agencies to support students and families. 

“I grew up in poverty; there wasn’t any support like this,” Mitchell confided. “This is a need in the community, and everyone is welcome to community support. It doesn’t matter if you’re low-income or not.”

While the district used Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) funding to provide free, high-quality backpacks to SKUSD students, Mitchell says the rest of the services came from community organizations. 

“We have hot dogs and chips donated by Family Leadership, which is a wonderful company that trains our staff to do parenting classes,” Mitchell explained. “We have games that are being run by our community queens, and the prizes were donated from Kern Family Healthcare. Starbucks donated the iced coffee, and the ice cream comes from KCSOS Food Services.” 

During the event, parents were invited to take part in a fun, informal survey by placing small toy ducks into jars labeled with different topics. Options included vaping and bullying awareness, resume building, and CPR classes. The topic with the most ducks will help guide the Family Resource Center’s priorities over the next year. Chief Business Officer Robert Irving said the survey is a simple way for families to share valuable feedback.

“It’s hugely important because we get engagement from the community,” he said. “Without the students and their families, we’re nothing.”

Assemblymember Tom Lackey, who represents Kern County, visited the school to observe the ice cream social in action. He said it’s refreshing to see the happy faces and positive energy of a community that is united. 

“It’s heartwarming to see this need actually being met. And you can see almost everybody has a pleasant attitude,” Lackey said. “Every community needs this kind of engagement if it wants to be as successful as it deserves to be.”