Common Core Summer is underway in California

For most Americans, the summer season officially kicks off June 21. In California, however, it is already summer - Common Core Summer that is. This is a time for educators to become more familiar with the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), which they are currently in the process of implementing in schools across the state.

A total of 150 California teachers recently attended the first of two day-long seminars on the CCSS in Sacramento, according to a California Department of Education press release. The showcase was focused on the Standards for mathematics. Educators will reassemble June 24 to cover the Standards for English language arts.

"For teachers, this is California's Common Core Summer," said Tom Torlakson, the state superintendent of public instruction. "They've just finished their own school year, but they're already back in class - because they see the opportunity Common Core presents to prepare students for a successful future."

This is a good time to be a teacher preparing for the CCSS in California, as $1.25 billion of the state budget has been redirected toward helping educators implement to the Common Core.