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The Gavilan Joint Community College District extends from the Coyote Valley to the southern edge of San Benito County, and includes the communities of Morgan Hill, San Martin, Gilroy, Hollister, San Juan Bautista, Tres Pinos and Paicines, along with the surrounding rural areas. It...

Still unsure about the Common Core State Standards? Local schools are now actively teaching the new standards, but there remains some confusion about exactly what that means.Here are five things all parents should know about the Common Core State Standards:1. Common Core is not curriculum. The CCSS is simply a list of skills students should have by the end of each grade level. The standards tell educators what students need to know, not how to teach the skills. Curricular programs are still local decisions. Schools and districts choose methods for teaching and programs to use in classrooms. If a lesson feels wrong or confusing, ask your teacher, principal or curriculum director to explain. The problem you have could be with the program that is being used, not the standards themselves.2.Common Core is not a test. The Common Core State Standards do not require any assessments. Standardized tests are designed by large organizations, often for profit. States adopt and mandate these tests. Most current state tests were designed after the CCSS were imposed and attempt to assess whether students know the skills in the standards. Other assessments may be designed or selected by schools or districts.3.Common Core is easily accessible to the public. Go directly to the source. Read the standards before formulating an opinion about them, because your opinion may be about the chosen curriculum or the methodology your school is using, not the standards themselves. Don’t assume something is “in the standards” unless you can find it there. The official (parent-friendly) website is corestandards.org.4.Successful interpretation and implementation of the Common Core depends on training. The standards can be interpreted in many ways. Teachers need both time and quality training to successfully implement them, and schools and districts must provide this training. Training may come from employees of the district or from consultants outside the district. If you don’t already know, ask your local school to explain how its teachers are being trained to ensure your child’s success with the standards.5.  Educators have used standards for many years. While the Common Core State Standards are new, the concept of standards is not. Educators have depended on pre-set lists of skills for decades and have used the standards to assist them in deciding what subjects to cover. Before the Common Core State Standards unified the educational landscape in the U.S., all states had different lists. Some were more rigorous than others. Now, continuity is guaranteed from state to state. Also, educators across the country can now collaborate about best practices, lesson ideas, differentiated support, and tools and resources.There are many rumors and opinions swirling about the Common Core. Reading the CCSS and understanding the differences between standards, curriculum and instruction can help you be an informed participant in the debate.Debbie Lera is a national consultant, author and literacy specialist.  She is also a teacher and Common Core Liason at The Charter School of Morgan Hill.

The Times noted in the Sept. 30, 2015 article on PG&E’s proposal to build a new substation in South County, "The last open house took place Sept. 28 at the Morgan Hill Community Center. Two previous sessions took place in Gilroy and San Martin.The trio of meetings was sparsely attended, but the public can continue to provide feedback to PG&E via email, phone or the internet.”I believe the sparse attendance was by design on PG&E’s part and not apathy on the part of those who will be negatively impacted. I was completely unaware of this project as were most of my neighbors when we just recently learned of the plan and the eight possible locations for the substation. We learned that mailers had been sent out, but were intermingled with other ads and junk mail, and easily dismissed rather than in an envelope PG&E would normally send customers regarding matters of importance.Many of us are now scrambling to understand how these eight sites were determined. It obviously wasn’t using valuable public feedback.Three of the sites are particularly distressing to the residents along the scenic Watsonville Road Wine Trail corridor. The “Watsonville C” site location is particularly troubling for my family in that it will be built directly across the street from our house! My neighbors are understandably equally troubled.This is such a scenic area that it is hard to fathom how PG&E would even consider a 6-acre substation and its devastating impact. The impacts are devastating in potential health effects for those living in the vicinity, environmental considering the impact to Little Arthur and Uvas creeks, and loss of property value.I am also wondering where our county stands on this very important matter. I have yet to hear back from our District 1 County Supervisor Mike Wasserman to whom I have sent several emails. The county should have been giving PG&E guidance, direction and input from the start because there are obviously so many zoning, planning and permit issues.Redwood Retreat Road has by county ordinance been designated as a scenic road and as such the county has placed limits on building in order to preserve the beauty of the area. So again, my question is, why wouldn’t the county be involved and also keeping us informed? Mike Wasserman has never mentioned the South County Power Connect Project once in his newsletters—leaving me to wonder, why?John Tepoorten and his family have lived on Redwood Retreat Road for 19 years. PG&E is in the outreach phase of its South County Power Connect project, which will add a new substation and new transmission lines to South County to enhance the electrical grid. To learn more about the project and the eight substation site options, visit pge.com.

Although Santa Clara County is facing a drought, flooding remains a threat to many of our communities. The last drought was followed by one of the wettest winters on record. Climate change has made extreme weather the new normal. Valley Water remains committed to keeping...

Every teacher in California wants their students to be able to read. But too often, we’re not given the tools to provide effective reading instruction.  While serving as an English language arts/English language development teacher on Special Assignment for Gilroy Unified School District, our Las...