hello and welcome to "communidad del valle." i'm damian trujillo. today the topic is common core. what does it really mean and how is it affecting our students? dr. lydia bauer will join us here on your "communidad del valle." >> nbc bay area presents "communidad del valle" with damian trujillo. >> well, we do begin today with a new effort by journalism students at san jose state university to kind of bilingualize the program there at san jose state. with me on "communidad del valle" are sarah and stephanie, two students spearheading this project. welcome to the show.

>> hi. thank you for having us. >> it's in the early stages. we have shots from your website this a we like to show. this it is right here. was this a in-brainer for you? tell us what made you conceptualize this idea of el espartano. >> i started because the students going into the news industry that. >> don't have support. so there is no way that they can get experience. so we started this new initiative in order to get experience and to try to actually -- try to actually practice our journalism in spanish. >> is there -- stephanie, do you think there is a need for something like this, this medium spanish language, medium for latinos? >> i sure do. i believe we need, this especially in san jose state, which is the hispanic latino population has grown in the last years.

right now it's -- we're at 32% of latino population, you know. and it's -- it's a huge percentage, you know. if we compare it to past years, we're growing stronger. and i think there is a need to remember where we come from and have that for students not just, you know, mexicans, all latina students. so i think that we do need that. and it's something that they can look at and, you know, kind of remind them that we're here and we're proud of where we come from. >> and that is good practice for you as journalism students. ultimately, what do you want those who click on your website, and maybe if you broadcast it somewhere at some point down the line, what do you want them to maybe go home with at the end of the day, or to be enthralled with if you will after perusing through your website? >> i just want them to be informed about latino issues

that affect them. because we cover mostly latinos. it's sports, and we do videos. and we just want to get out their opinion on topics that surround the university. >> there is a -- there is a stigma that a lot of us face as latino journalists. for instance, me, i'm proud to be a latino journalist, but i don't want to be known as a latino vift. i want to be known as a journalist. my background just happens to be latino. there a worry about that? or right now we're just trying to get this message out in the forefront that we're latino students, we're trying to progress in the mainstream media and this is one way to do it? >> for me, it's not a problem at all. i think that we need more latino journalists out there. >> absolutely. >> and if you go into the journalism department, there are just not many latina students that are interested. having that, when they refer to me as a latino, latina

journalist, i'm fine with them. i'm really proud and i do like us, other students to know what we do. and who knows. maybe they like and they want to pursue that career too. >> i don't know. sometimes departments tend to push back when you're doing something innovative and progressive like this. what kind of feedback have you gotten from the administration, from the department there? >> we have their support, but we're very independent. we launched our website by ourselves. and we're really proud of this new initiative that we're taking. >> what kind of stories do you want to cover on the site? >> i want to cover immigration reform. i want to cover like raw news that is actually going to help students out. and maybe opinions and -- like i said, we actually do videos. we're trying to get the students' opinions on topics that matter on the university. >> how has experience been so far, estephany with the project?

>> it's a great way to get experience, especially in spanish. the school doesn't offer any miners in spanish journalism. so i think that we need this for our own good -- from what we want in our lives later on. and it's -- it's a challenge, you know. we're not perfect. we're going to keep on getting better, we hope. and we -- we will like to take this to the next level. so we're starting right now. but we really want to take our spanish and our stories, you know, in a higher level and eventually do something bigger. and if we're not there, then, you know, people coming after us, they can continue with the legacy. >> you're right. some people might call this trailblazing which is what you all are doing. congratulations. they do have a website there is the web address for more information. they are el espartano, the san jose state hispanic journalism students. congratulations and good luck. >> thank you so much.

ump next on "communidad del valle," stay with us.

we're talking about dia de los muertos here on "communidad del valle." with me is candelario franco and tulio flores, a couple of guys who decided to wear their masks for the show and show us what it's about. tulio, you're the artistic curator here. tell us what it brings to the festival. >> so dia de los muertos we celebrate life to dead. we are trying to bring a couple katrinas to the festival which is going to be at city hall in the rotunda. we're going to have six or seven, six or seven katrinas president like this beautiful lady right now, just walking around, celebrating, and have a lot of lot of colors on it. >> let's talk about the symbolism here there is a lot of symbolism involved in with a we're shearing. >> in mexico, we celebrate the day of the dead where we just go to the graves and celebrate.

pretty much we bring tequila, we bring food, flowers. >> i'm there. >> it's a party in the cemetery pretty much. we all the family go there and gather together and celebrate one day of our life, we celebrate the life of the dead person, which is the best. >> se with habla. >> candelario, you this is what it's all about when it comes to celebrating culture in san jose. >> yes, it is. the art show begins the festival on thursday at the city hall rotunda. and it's going to be a great art gallery show. it's free to the public. so we really expect everybody to be out there at 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. tulio has done a fantastic job and we're looking forward to how he is going to cureate this beautiful art show. saturday october 25th. the festival itself will take place at st. james park. and it's going to start at 11:00 a.m. and it's going to go to 6:00

p.m. and you will see the çcalaques and how we invoke our an southeasters and celebrate life. >> and who is doing this? >> our sponsor, are milagro marketing, chacho's restaurant, tecate. we also have a new sponsor, experience electric. so they are going to be providing electric vehicles for people to test drive there at st. james park. along with that, there is going to be luciaha libre as well. and a very special art colony. if you're looking for very distinctive art celebrating dia de los muertos or art in general, come by.

>> i think mexicanos are the only ones who celebrate death. it's a way to bring back our loved ones. >> i think we are the taboo. we talk about death. we talk about death like yeah, it's nothing. we're going die anyways. so we celebrate that. so that's why it's so beautiful. it's so festivity. it's a lot of colors on it. it's something that we came -- it came and celebrate. we die and leave and celebrate. >> that's it. and how long does it take for something like this? >> so my friend cristal is going to be doing all these amazing makeup like seven or eight, like i say seven or eight katrinas. she is going to be doing this at the event. >> what why are they called katrina? >> katrina is the old saint of the old meruerte. she is going to come and grab you and take you, take you home. it's all katrinas mean death. >> it's upcoming in san jose.

how many days of festival are we talking about? >> it starts on thursday of course with the art show. and then it continues to saturday. so it's two days with the start on thursday. from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. again, it's free to the public. so we really hope everybody comes out there. is going to be a lot of art, very local artists, area artists are presenting their work. and of course the festival on saturday, again, it's a family event. it's also for adults. there is going to be live music. i almost forgot there is live rock in espanol. there someone stage that is playing different music genres, mariachi, of course. i really expect everybody to come out and have a good time. >> and also there is going to be 50 people, 50 artists showing the 23rd. and there is going to be one huge installation for day of the dead. it's going to be like an altar, but more like live art. and there is going to be child playing around the death and a singer singing with the dead.

so it's going to be beautiful, beautiful event. i would never -- don't miss it. >> well, time to celebrate life and to celebrate death as well at the upcoming dia de los muertos event. it's called dia san jose.com for more information. up next on "communidad del valle," common core. what does it really mean? dr. el larria bauer joins us next. (yawn) (ding!) toaster strudel! more fruit in the filling, ya? mmm! ya!

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she is the new superintendent of the elam rock school district. dr. hilaria bauer is my guest here on "communidad del valle." welcome. >> thank you so much. >> it's good to have you here. tell us about your vision for the area. we do have video of some of the schools. we all know about alum rock. we've been reporting for years it's one of the poorest districts in the state. but it's full of families that don't quit. >> you know, we have chosen to be a district of promise. a lot of times people refer to some of our students at risk.

but we have chosen to see them as students of promise there is a lot of opportunity, a lot of chances to do things in a different way, right. our students are the best in the area, you know. and they have tremendous potential to show us how a truly diverse community is all about, not only in terms of ethnicity, but in terms of economic circumstance. how do we get along. how do we move forward in a positive way. so that's what we're all about. >> and how do you prioritize? i'm sure you want to do everything, or i would, everything at the same time. my patience is about that much. how do you prioritize? should we tackle steam? stem, what are we going to focus on first? how do you conceptualize all of that? >> the most important thing is to make sure that students have

an opportunity to high curriculum so they have opportunities to move into high schools and to a college and career pathways. that makes sense for them and their families. and so retraining all of us around that concept has been one of the conversations that we have had. and that is why one of the priority areas for us is the middle school. because that's where it happens, you know. if you follow some of the trends, the floodgate for students leaving the schools and dropping out is seventh grade and ninth grade. and it is because students at that age, when they are in their 12-year-old, 13-year-old, they already see themselves as who they want to be. and so we want to give them opportunities to see themselves in a different role so that they can peek into the future, open those windows of jobs that we haven't even created. so that is a challenge for us,

right, that the way technology and science is evolving, we don't even know what are some of the jobs they need to be ready for. i mean, that's just a reality. so how do we raise students and children that have that flexibility is a critical part for us. and is a critical part of our crim aluminum. how do you build around kind of the four cs, right, the communication, the collaboration, the ability to think critically and solve problems, and the ability to create, you know, creativity is very important. that's the basis of entrepreneurship. and that's what this is all about. so it is kind of addressing those areas where our curriculum is going -- is evolving a little bit differently from your traditional, you know, subject

matter led curriculum in language arts, math or science because those are evolving, especially science and math, you know. so we want to make sure students are ready for that challenge. >> we want to introduce you and also talk about common core. i have one more question before we get into common core. some parents complain from every school, my children, they get too much homework. that's not necessarily a bad thing. you want kids to go home and keep that learning process going? >> of course. and more important than the amount of homework is the quality of the homework. so i will encourage parents to check that, you know. we will talk about common core. and none of us have been raised in common core. and i want to make sure that sometimes we have the means of oh, here we go. it's something that came in the past and they're just, you know, repackaging it. and that is not so. we're moving into education that calls for more application of the skills.

and that's where critical thinking and creativity are very important. so when parents look at homework, i urge everybody to look at the quality and the kind of homework that students are receiving. and in some cases, because this requires thinking, it's going to take a little bit longer, right? it's not just something that i'm going to fill in the blanks. >> it's very true. i want to get into common core in a full segment. so let me take a break, and then we'll come back and talk about common core. but the alum rock school district, there is the web address for more information. for more about the great things that they're doing there at alum rock. we'll be back and talk about common core when we continue.

we're back here on "communidad del valle" talking about common core. so for those of us who may not understand at all what common core is, what is common core,

and how is it impacting our kids? >> so common core is a set of standards that were developed by a specific association of the different state governments. so it's throughout the nation, as opposed to some people feel that it came from the feds. it has nothing to do with the feds. it came from the association of governors that working with the different business entities felt that we needed to step it up, basically, right. and so especially in areas like ours where we import a lot of talent because we don't have people that are ready for the challenges, they came to the conclusion that we needed to review our curriculum in our public schools and to take a look at what is what the market demands. and so that is where the idea of

increasing rigor came about. that's where those standards are significantly different from specific skills in the past where we were used to assessing students about specific skills, specific knowledge. these are broader. they are focused more on the application of the skills and the knowledge. skills and knowledge are part of it. but they are skills and knowledge plus how do you use these knowledge and these skills in innovative ways in critical thinking and creativity are very key to that piece. so it is -- they're standards, but they're standards that are more comprehensive than the traditional standards we were using. >> and everybody is doing it. and it started this long? >> yes. out of the 50 states we have i believe 47 states have adopted the common core standard.

so we are part of different consortia. so you have different areas of the nation around some of these concepts. it's specifically about the way we're going to be assessing students as they progress through the common core. forxdñ california, we have the smart balance assessment consortium, or sbac. or some parents might have heard about that. the test is significantly different from what we have used in the past. so you and i and most of us were raised with tests and exams that were fill in the blank or multiple choice. these exams are more about -- >> make you think. >> explain to me the process of how reach this particular answer. >> give me your assessment. do you like the direction that we're taking? >> yes, i do. yes, i do. and i am very excited that we

have this opportunity at the elementary level. many of these initiatives usually come from high school students, right. so having the opportunity to introduce these in transitional kinder all the way to eighth grade gives a better opportunity to prepare students, you know, with a mind-set that they need to be collaborative when they come to an assignment, that they need to be responsible for their part, right. that's just like any job that we have. and the younger they are, the better they learn some of these concepts. >> so put the scan tron away and start writing and let me know how you came up with that answer. >> yes, exactly. >> that's great. and that's wonderful. did we have to retrain our teachers at all? >> yes. we're in the middle of that. and the majority of districts in this area are in the middle of retraining teachers. as i said before, none of us

were raised with this type of instruction. >> right. >> and standard. so we need to change our paradigm and figure out how do we train our teachers so they also embrace a concept that this is about -- it's not only understanding and analyzing a concept, but it's applying it. and we have not been challenged to do that. and so we need to figure out how do we become the kinds of teachers that allow for that to happen. and there are plenty of teachers who are already on board. and they're great examples in our community of people who have embraced the concept. we're just in the process of implementing it with the rest of the staff. >> my twins are in first one of. and last week do research on your favorite animal, describe habitat and what they eat and show to it me in great detail. that's the difference. >> exactly.

what grade level are they? >> first grade. >> that's what i'm saying. we are increasing the rigor, but there is nothing our children can't do. that's why they're a promise. they all can do it. that's the beauty of childhood, right? whatever they see enough and whatever they train, they will do. >> they soak it all in. all right. well, if you have any questions or thoughts, log on to the website there at alum rock and find out about what enlightening things they're doing in the alum rock school district. any final thoughts, dr. bauer, before i let you go? >> well, thank you so much for the opportunity. i welcome anybody who wants to come and visit our schools. we have fantastic programs for students. so any time. the invitation. >> dr. hilaria bauer, the new superintendent in the alum product school district. good luck. now here is what happening in

your comunidad. ♪

in our final, we're celebrating a special day. ♪ >> and here is our address for next week's saludos. pick up a copy of our newspaper and support your bilinguals all across the bay area. and follow me on twitter. my handle is @newsdamian. thank you for sharing a part of your stunned with us. next week on "comunidad del valle," the recipients of the annual la familia award. buenos dias.

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