Kern County Office of Education details countywide curriculum and STEAM supports, expands TK and bilingual teacher training

Kern County Office of Education (KCSOS) curriculum staff presented a broad set of countywide supports on April 8, 2025, describing work on early education (TK), bilingual/dual‑immersion teacher certification, literacy coaching and a new STEAM facility called the Steamyard.

At the board meeting, Dr. Cole Sampson, chief curriculum and instruction officer, said the county office provides direct support to 41 Kern County districts and five charters and runs centralized trainings and student events to supplement local instruction. He outlined recent and planned work in literacy, dual‑language programs, professional learning and STEAM expanded learning.

Why it matters: The Office’s programs are intended to raise instructional quality across the county by providing teacher coaching, wraparound professional development and student experiences districts may not be able to sustain on their own. The presentation highlighted scaling efforts for areas with high needs and the county‑level role in coordinating bilingual teacher pipelines and early childhood preparation.

Major program highlights presented - Scale and reach: KCSOS said it provided more than 2,600 contracted support days on site to district partners and runs more than 75 centralized networks, trainings and workshops. The office supports 88% of local educational agencies in the county. -…