Educational disparities in Kern County are funneling students into a pipeline that critics say disproportionately targets students of color, guiding them toward the justice system instead of higher education. This pervasive issue, often called the “school-to-prison pipeline,” was a focal point at the School Equity Leadership Summit hosted by the Kern Education Justice Collaborative (KEJC).
Held at Hodel’s Country Dining on September 14, the event drew students, educators and community members, all rallying to confront these systemic inequities. Speakers like Tia Elena Martinez, a veteran advocate for educational justice, highlighted how school policies contribute to the cycle, pushing students out of the classroom and closer to law enforcement involvement.
“It was a really powerful summit,” said Ashley De La Rosa, the Executive Policy Director of the Dolores Huerta Foundation. “This is only the beginning of a lot of work that we need to do. And it just shows that community members are wanting to do the work to make sure their students have a good education.”
In her presentation, Martinez displayed a visual graphic on screen which showed how the school-to-prison pipeline starts with a student getting a suspension; then less supervised time with peers and teachers, causing them to fall behind academically and leaving students twice as likely to repeat a grade level or drop out of school.
With that unsupervised time comes increased exposure to public spaces with unsafe built environments, putting students at risk of community violence, over-policing, and ICE. From there, that environment increases the chance of arrest, tripling the likelihood of contact with the juvenile justice system, which leads them to be enrolled in day or continuation schools in Kern County, and can lessen their chances of being re-enrolled into traditional school if sentenced on probation.
If this oppressive cycle continues, it can increase students’ chances of adult incarceration or deportation, effectively “locking [them] out of opportunity” by saddling them with felony records that limit access to employment, housing, and health resources — ultimately “[making] it more likely that you recidivate.”
The presentation also showed a histogram of suspensions per demographic within the Kern High School District in comparison to the rest of California: KHSD is the third-highest suspending district for Black students in the state (making up 37% of suspensions compared to the statewide 16%), seventh highest for students in foster care in the state (58% versus 28% statewide), and the ninth highest for English learning students in the state (20% of suspensions compared to 7% statewide).
This is among many other salient statistics with respect to American Indian students, Latin students, Asian students, Pacific Islander students, homeless youth, and students with disabilities – along with the intersectionality of all of these demographics playing a crucial role as well.
As of 2022-2023, Mira Monte High School was among the highest suspending schools (31%), along with North High (27%), Kern Valley High (24%), and Foothill High (23%).
Jahdiel Vazquez, a senior at Del Oro High School, shared his thoughts about the event: “I recently discovered that a lot of seniors are missing their A-G requirements. Especially the ones that came from Mira [Monte], because they did not let us know that ‘Hey, you need [these classes].’ It’s because we’re [from] migrant families, and they really don’t see any future for us. It’s crazy.”
Vazquez tied the points mentioned by Martinez back to his time at Del Oro, sharing his dismay at the stark data being shown.
“It was really shocking to me, because I see a lot of these experiences at our own school – at Del Oro – and it’s just really sad to see how the educational system that is supposed to support us is actually a system that traps students of color and minorities because they want to produce workers, not individualists who strive to better themselves in their communities.”
Senior Head Counselor Amy Poochigian was able to verify the percentage of Del Oro’s senior class who came from the neighboring feeder schools after freshman year – Mira Monte, Golden Valley, South, and Arvin – who are currently on the A-G track for UC/CSU admissions. She revealed that out of 376 students, approximately 157 are A-G, meaning that approximately 58.3% of students are missing out on their A-G requirements.
However, although Poochigian couldn’t verify Vazquez’s claim that those who came from MMHS are missing the most A-G requirements, she also stated, “I feel like as counselors, we are always pushing A-G and on average it takes us saying it seven times before a child understands or takes us seriously. Del Oro has the highest A-G rate in the district and that is with us inheriting students after their first year.”
Celest, a sophomore at Del Oro High School who asked that her last name not be used, expressed her concern at the information presented as well, sharing that her biggest takeaway was Martinez’s claim that school acts as a trap for the school-to-prison pipeline.
“All of my friends are going through that, and most of the people who do act out, do need help. Now it just makes it more clear,” Celest said.
Celest encouraged more students in the community to attend future KEJC events as well to know the gravity of this pipeline within KHSD and Kern County as a whole. “We should have more kids here,” she said. “Not a lot of kids know that you should have help, and it should be known.”
Ucedrah Osby, Executive Director of Community Interventions at California State University, Bakersfield, said she believes that youth should come to these events to share their stories, so community members can get more insight through their children’s eyes, and strengthen collective efforts to change the narrative.
“We need more youth in youth-centered spaces. It’s great when parents show up, it’s great when advocates show up, but we need more young people to talk about young people’s experiences,” Osby said.
