Bakersfield Life

Close to his roots

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      It is hard to imagine a more improbable Cinderella story than the Arvin High School Constitution team, which owes much of its appearances in recent years at the state “We the People” competition to one of its most dedicated volunteer coaches, Kern Community College District chancellor emeritus Jim Young.     Arvin is a chasm of extremes — high poverty and low test scores — with less than 25 percent of the community’s adults possessing a high school diploma. But thanks to Young and fellow former educators who are spending their retirement actively coaching Arvin’s best and brightest seniors, the school’s civics team is like the little engine that could … and has.      “We are trying to teach them to be the best you can be in everything you can be in life,” said Young, who has invested countless hours after school and on weekends as one of the program’s volunteer coaches. “He does some remarkable work with the kids that need a lot of support,” said his friend and former Bakersfield College President John Collins.      It has been 11 years since Young retired from the college district. While some retirees are off traveling the globe or indulging in new hobbies, Young hasn’t strayed from his lifelong passion for teaching, or his hometown of Arvin. A graduate of the elementary and high schools, Young returned to teach at his alma mater in 1963 for five years, before his career took him to the high school district and eventually as chancellor of the college district where he spent 21 years     In 2004 he reconnected with the school as a volunteer with the “We the People” program. “It is really enjoyable to see them grow and how quickly they grow,” Young added.     It hasn’t been easy though, preparing even the top-tier students to know and understand the inner workings of American democracy and the Constitution while straddling language barriers. Despite the hurdles, it’s the students that keep him coming back. “That regular stuff is boring. What is alive is kids,” he said. “If you can talk to kids for an hour, there are so many wonderful kids who need direction, they need someone who will hold high expectations of them.”     Last month marked the team’s fifth visit to the state competition. Though Arvin placed sixth, and just a few points behind local rival and powerhouse Centennial, Young said the students are convinced they could have done better. “They are confident that they are able to compete with the best schools in California and that is important.” Several years ago, the Arvin kids came within a few heartbreaking points of sweeping the state championship and earning a trip to nationals. But there was great validation in Arvin’s consolation prize: The Pleasanton team that beat them, Amador Valley High, took second in the nation.     For Young, the program represents more than just a coaching job. He and his wife have made a personal investment in the future success of every student they work with. “It has to do with what you like to do with your life. I would rather do something that is going to impact someone’s life in a positive way.” One student Young took under his wing four years ago just graduated from college and is heading to law school, and the list of the colleges and universities that have accepted Arvin students whom Young has helped with admissions and scholarship applications is impressive – NYU, MIT, CAL and UCLA among them. “They keep your mind alert and keep you going,” he said of the students he and his wife consider extensions of their own family of three grown children.     Lest you think it is all work and no play for Dr. Jim Young the retiree, know that he does enjoy extended travels and fishing as well. But he says working with the Arvin High seniors has given him immeasurable satisfaction. “What a joy it is to see these kids compete with the very best everywhere. These 26 kids know they can come back and say it gives them so much confidence so they don’t need external rewards, and that message spreads throughout the entire school.”