The Common Core standards will be the subject of a forum on Nov. 4. Hemet Unified School District began implementing the Common Core State Standards this year and will discuss and explain them to parents and the community next month.

Since 2010, 45 states have adopted the same standards for English and math. These standards are called the CCSS.

The session begins at 6 p.m. and the first 30 minutes are a general discussion of the Common Core. Dr. David Horton, assistant superintendent for Education Services, will explain what is currently happening in the classrooms.

HUSD Superintendent Dr. Barry Kayrell has said, “[CCSS are] the most significant change we’ve seen in pedagogy in many, many years. Technology has greatly impacted how teachers teach.”

Kayrell described the change as blending and flipping the former instructional models where the teacher stood before the class, like Socrates, and was the keeper of knowledge. Going forward, the “core curriculum” will shift emphasis to the students to do their own research on the each subject.

In his opinion, this will enable teachers to garner a more authentic assessment of the students’ learning. “No longer will a verbatim repetition of the teacher’s lesson be sufficient. Students will have to display problem-solving skills and teamwork,” Kayrell said. “We’ve piloted several segments [of the core curriculum]. They provide an almost instantaneous result.”

Idyllwild School is already using the CCSS and this is a transition year from the State Testing and Reporting process to CCSS, said Idyllwild Principal Matt Kraemer.

After Horton’s talk, there will be four separate 15-minute presentations about English Language Arts in the elementary grades. Concurrently, there will be two half-hour presentations about English Language Arts and mathematics in the middle school and high school grades.

The Nov. 4 session will be at the district’s headquarters, 1791 W. Acacia Ave., Hemet. Later this year, HUSD plans a presentation in East Hemet and in the spring at one of the mountain school sites, Idyllwild or Anza.