Schools

Students who miss 10 percent of the school year, or roughly 18 days, are more likely to drop out before graduating high school and become victims and/or perpetrators of a crime, according to Attorney General Kamala Harris’ 2013 report on California’s Elementary School Truancy and Absenteeism Crisis.

UPDATE: Larry Sanford told The Dispatch earlier this week that the design plans for the new Don Christopher Sports Complex at Christopher High School have been approved by the Department of the State Architect. The committee will meet Oct. 23 to begin developing the bidding process for contracts and hope to break ground at the site in early 2014.

There were a few loud bangs, and then Richard Manuel Castaneda, 27, walked out of a house at 750 W. Eighth St. with his hands behind his head.

Fourth grader Lillee Nolan at El Roble Elementary School didn’t mind getting paint on her hands Friday as she joined the rest of her schoolmates in a school-wide anti-bullying campaign event.

More than 50 California and out-of-state colleges are lined up for the 9th annual South County Cal-SOAP College Fair from 5 to 7 p.m. Nov. 7 in the Student Center on the Gilroy High School campus.

Teachers Gina Chekouras, of Gilroy’s Glen View Elementary School, and Lourdes Robledo, of Morgan Hill’s San Martin Gwinn Elementary, will be honored as two of the county’s finest educators as recipients of the 2013 Teachers of the Year award.

With football season in full force, it’s still unclear exactly when Gilroy High School will have its own set of home-side bleachers for fans to sit on, and Mustang football coach Brian Boyd isn’t holding his breath for a permanent solution by the end of the season.

Gavilan College will be hosting free information sessions on exciting career training programs in water careers, basic bookkeeping, pharmacy technician and veterinary assistant.

The Gilroy Unified School District Board of Education meeting on Sept. 5 began on a somber note as Superintendent Deborah Flores paid tribute to Kimberly Ordaz, a beloved teacher in the district for 30 years who passed away peacefully in her home in early August.

How vital are the Common Core Standards to the future of public education in California schools?