Kern County Superintendent of Schools Speech and Essay Writing Contest
Ryan Murry , ELA Coordinator
rymurry@kern.org
(661) 636-4230
Students in grades four through six will respond to a common essay theme. The highest-scoring essayists from the school-based round will advance to present their essays orally as a speech within their respective grade levels at the county event.
Students entering this event must prepare an informative essay on a designated topic. Each school may nominate one essay per grade level (grades 4, 5, and 6) for the county competition. All submitted essays will be evaluated, judged, and ranked by an evaluation panel consisting of Kern County Superintendent of Schools employees.
All essays must be received by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, April 3, 2026, to be considered. A completed submission form must be submitted for each student and accompanying essay.
Essay Topic
What would you do to improve Kern County if money grew on trees?
Essays Due
Friday, April 3, 2026
Speech Competition
Thursday, May 6, 2026
6:30 p.m.
Larry E. Reider Education Center
2000 K Street, Bakersfield, CA 93301