San Jose Mercury News Endorses Hover-Smoot:
Charter schools are one of the hottest controversies in county education circles, especially when it comes to Rocketship schools, which attempted a rapid expansion that has been stopped or at least slowed by a court ruling.
The county board needs knowledgeable members who will work collaboratively with the county's 31 school districts on charter proposals, which parents often support.
The more competitive race is in Area 7, where Morgan Hill Unified School District Trustee Claudia Rossi is challenging Hover-Smoot, an attorney who also served on the Morgan Hill board.
Rossi is a well-spoken Morgan Hill board member who made her mark working to help at-risk children in the district. But her close ties to the teachers' union give the independent Hover-Smoot a distinct edge. The county board needs truly independent members to assess issues around charter schools, including new applications, which unions routinely oppose.
We know that the California Charter School Association is working independently to support Julia Hover-Smoot. If you live in Morgan Hill, you have seen the flyers. The only fault the San Jose Mercury News could find with Claudia Rossi is that she respects the views of educators on issues of - EDUCATION. We encourage you to send a 150 word letter to the editor giving some specific time when Claudia Rossi helped students in this district:
letters@mercurynews.com
(Letters for the editorial page must include the writer's name, address and phone number. They do not give out letter writers' phone numbers or addresses.)
SBAC Testing
Students will receive reports following the SBAC test that describe their proficiency levels. A letter drafted by the CDE for parents states:
Student score reports will be sent home to parents and will include an overall score, a description of the student’s achievement level for English–language arts and mathematics, and other information. It is important to note that these scores cannot be compared to scores that your child previously received on the STAR Program tests because this test is based on the new Common Core State Standards, involves different types of test questions, and will not be reported using the STAR Program reporting categories.
Email Jeanie Wallace at wallacej@mhusd.org, with the date of the upcoming election, to be entered into the next drawing for a ream of colored paper.