Guest View

A few weeks ago, my family and I joined the Fourth of July celebration organized by the Freedom Fest organization. As we enjoyed the parade and the beautiful weather, we met many community members and friends, all sharing in this beautiful, nearly 150-year-old Morgan...

Anyone who has ever lost a pet knows how helpless it feels not to be able to locate their animal. Fortunately, it’s now easier than ever to prevent this from happening. Santa Clara County Animal Care and Control and VIP Pet Care are proud to sponsor a free registered microchip and free rabies vaccination clinic Sunday, July 17 at the County Animal Shelter, 12370 Murphy Ave., San Martin. Santa Clara County Animal Control Officers carry microchip scanners in their vehicles. When they pick up a stray animal, they scan it for a microchip. If the animal is wearing a license tag or has a registered microchip, the officers will return the pet to the owners if possible. For more information about this event, call VIP Pet Care at (800) 427-7973.Homelessness decreased 14 percent in just two years in our county,thanks to innovative programs and partnerships between government and local nonprofits. There is no question about it: Housing First works. The concept of Housing First has proven effective in our community; we know that by providing people with housing in conjunction with supportive services, they are significantly more likely to stay housed and off the streets. As recently reported in the press, a single homeless person often uses $67,000 in government services annually. Once housed, that number drops down to $24,000. The significant saving is due largely to homeless individuals relying on expensive emergency room services for basic health care. Once housed, this reliance drops dramatically. By focusing on housing for the homeless, we can save lives and taxpayer money.From July 4 to 10, the U.S. Women's Open—dubbed the Super Bowl of women's golf—will take place for the first time ever in Santa Clara County! The public can watch 156 of the world's greatest professional and amateur golfers compete for the sport's ultimate trophy. The 71st U.S. Women's Open, presented by the USGA and hosted at CordeValle, will draw thousands of visitors from around the world to our region. Kudos to all involved with bringing this event to our County.The county is partnering with Racing Hearts to place lifesaving heart defibrillators (AEDs) throughout the community. So far, 249 AEDs have been installed, each of which is supported by a 5-year program of supplies and service. This translated to protecting over 943,230 students and adults per year, at 185 sites! If you have a location in your area which is high risk that you feel would benefit from our county's matching grant program, Racing Hearts (Program Manager for the County) is available to answer questionsabout how to start work on bringing AEDs into your community.  Contact them at (650) 308-4183 or email [email protected]'t forget to submit a photo for my 2016 Summer Photo Contest. Grab your camera and show us your favorite summertime images of landscape, farmers markets, parades, county parks, neighborhood BBQs, pets and other fun images of summer. The deadline is July 29. Simply email your photo (ONE per person please) to [email protected] along with your name, address, and where you took the photo.Santa Clara County Supervisor Mike Wasserman represents District 1, which includes South County, on the board of supervisors. He can be reached at (408) 299-5010 or [email protected].

Morgan Hill: Where Only Some Students Succeed Parents need more local public school choices like Rocketship Education for one simple reason: Our schools are not serving all students well. At first glance, Morgan Hill Unified schools appear to be educating all students, but in fact, they are leaving many at-risk students behind. Locally, Latino students, English Language Learners and students from low-income households scored 100 points lower on state academic tests than their Asian and white classmates. Students with special needs are also not succeeding in Morgan Hill schools. This is unacceptable. All of our students must have access to a high-quality education at a neighborhood public school. The foundation that an excellent elementary school provides to children is critical. Otherwise, students who fall behind at this young age often never catch up. Knowing this, and without improvement from the Morgan Hill Unified School District, local parents have been forced to search for alternatives for their children, including looking outside the district. Morgan Hill is a great place to live, but the quality of the education system has become a drawback for many families. We need more choices locally.   Rocketship Education has an inclusion program for students with special needs. All types of students are welcome at its nonprofit public charter schools. Through its personalized learning model, all students have the ability to be challenged, supported and successful. Seventy percent of the 5,000 students at Rocketship are English Language Learners and even more are from at-risk households. Christopher is a third grader who spent four years waiting for a spot to open up at a charter school in Morgan Hill, since he was falling behind and needed extra support in English and writing. Despite having engaged parents who worked with his teachers, Christopher continued to struggle until this year, when his parents made the choice to drive 70 minutes each day to San Jose for Adam to attend Rocketship Spark Academy. He’s gone from being teased by his friends for not doing well in school to becoming a responsible leader in his class who enjoys learning. Clearly there is a need in Morgan Hill for this kind of approach to education. Rather than making it more difficult for Rocketship to open, we as a community need to do what is best for local children and give families more choices. Ethan is a fourth grader with autism attending a public school in Morgan Hill. His parents want him to be able to attend a four-year college someday, but he needs high expectations, goals and individual support to be able to get there.  While he has some great teachers, he’s not learning the 21st century skills that he’ll need to be able to succeed in life. The problems local families are facing and the possible solution shouldn’t come as a surprise to local leaders. As parents, we have been vocal about what we want: We want quality school choices. We want to keep our children in neighborhood public schools. We want Rocketship to open and operate such a school.   It was us, Morgan Hill parents, who reached out to Rocketship and requested that they consider opening a school in our community. It took numerous phone calls, gathering over 400 signatures and many meetings over the course of a year before Rocketship proposed opening a school here. Our dedication to providing what’s best for our children convinced them. This is an opportunity to guarantee that academic success is not given to only a subset of kids. All Morgan Hill children can and should succeed in school. Parents deserve the ability to find the right academic program for their child at a public school within this community. Rocketship is offering a proven option to serve at-risk students who are currently being left behind. Allowing Rocketship to open would give families a choice that we’ve wanted for years. Our kids can’t wait any longer. We hope you will join us in supporting Rocketship Nov. 5 when the Morgan Hill board of trustees will vote on the charter petition. Together, we can ensure that all families have quality school choices for their children and that all our students have the chance to succeed. Guest columnist Tony Saenz has been a Morgan Hill parent and resident for 44 years.   

During the holiday season it is easy to become overwhelmed with errands and tasks that are inherently linked to this time of year, such as shopping for gifts, baking and visiting family and friends.

Valley Water is committed to ensuring enough safe, clean water for families, homes, farms and businesses in Santa Clara County today and for future generations.  Our agency is updating the Water Supply Master Plan, which helps identify how to maintain a reliable, clean water supply...

Open letter to the esteemed residents of Morgan Hill and surrounding communities: As 2024 draws near its conclusion, so too does my journey in public service, culminating in a fulfilling 12.5 years dedicated to our cherished community. On Wednesday, Dec. 11, I will participate in my...

Growing up in Gilroy and coming from a campesino family, viewing such an impactful and humane story this past August, via a short documentary film, “Campesinos, America’s Unsung Heroes,” was an emotional and very moving experience. The audience reaction, many so personal, will forever...