Guiding Principles

The Bakersfield City School District is committed to strong values that guide our daily behavior toward student success. The Bakersfield City School District Board of Education defines how we must work with our students, colleagues, and community through the following core values:

• Equity: To ensure students and adults receive impartial treatment and that students have access to educational opportunities according to their unique needs.
• Integrity: To demonstrate honesty, trustworthiness, and strong moral principles.
• Caring: To treat others with empathy and genuine concern for their well-being.
• Collaboration: To work jointly towards common goals through the sharing of our responsibilities, knowledge, and experiences.
• Personal and Collective Accountability: To honor our obligations and take ownership of our actions and results.

Our vision in Bakersfield City School District is to be the model of educational excellence, equity, inclusion and innovation.

Rich in tradition and focused on the future, the Bakersfield City School District’s mission is to provide all students with academically engaging and challenging learning experiences ensuring every student thrives as effective communicators, problem solvers, resilient learners, critical thinkers, creators, and collaborators in their pursuit of lifelong learning to become productive citizens of the global community.

• Academic Achievement: The Bakersfield City School District is committed to ensuring the academic achievement of all students through culturally responsive and high quality teaching and learning, where all students are supported in a multi-tiered system of supports to reach grade level mastery of all content standards.

• Social-Emotional Learning: The Bakersfield City School District will foster safe, supportive, and engaging schools that empower students with self-efficacy, agency, and strong social-emotional skills through targeted supports like behavioral interventions, wellness centers, expanded sports, and leadership programs, ensuring every student thrives in a positive, inclusive environment. 

• Family and Community Engagement: The Bakersfield City School District is committed to increasing the level of participation and engagement of all parents, families, and community members to ensure culturally responsive and high quality student learning where all students reach grade level mastery of all content standards.

• All students read, write, speak, listen, and be mathematically proficient by grade 3
• All English Learners (EL) students entering into BCSD in Kindergarten are reclassified by grade 5
• All students must regularly engage with authentic learning and assessment beginning in grade Transitional Kindergarten
• All students enter into a safe, welcoming, inclusive, and respectful classroom environment