By GINA KINSLOW

Glasgow Daily Times

Educators across the nation are not only being forced to change the way they teach high school students, but also what they teach them, according to Dr. Jim Causby, senior consultant for the International Center for Leadership in Education.

Causby was the keynote speaker Thursday night during the Kentucky School Board Association’s Regional Meeting at Barren County Middle School.

In his speech, he pointed out that high schools nationwide that are demanding more from their students.

Federal laws are the force behind most of the changes that are taking place in America’s high schools.

“No other nation is asking for every child to be proficient,” he said.

Causby pointed out the characteristics of successful high schools. They are: small learning communities, culture of commitment to academic excellence, literacy, data, ninth-grade focus, 12th-grade rigor, curriculum and instruction and leadership.

He also reviewed the five significant things that are found when visiting such high schools. They are: culture, high expectations, real world applications, multiple pathways and leadership.

Bill Sadler, a member of the Glasgow Board of Education, was impressed with Causby’s speech and said Glasgow High School is already doing some of the things he mentioned.

“Our staff there is already trying to work toward achieving some of these goals that he said other high achieving schools are doing across the nation,” Sadler said.

Wayne Hatcher, chairman of the Caverna Board of Education, also said his school district has begun to implement some of the things Causby mentioned.

“I wish every school administrator, principal, teacher and parent in our area could have heard the presentation that we heard tonight from Dr. Jim Causby. It was clear he had an excellent grasp of education,” Hatcher said. “I thought his knowledge, concepts and experiences regarding public education and what it takes to make high schools successful were some of the best I’ve heard.”

Tim England, regional chairman of KSBA, a member of the Barren County Board of Education and the facilitator for the meeting, said he, too, noticed that Barren County High School is doing some of the same things.

“We have a lot of good things going on at our high school. Those things we are improving is our ACT scores. We’ve lowered freshman retention rates. We’ve got great leadership at the high school. So, some of those things we have in place,” he said.

“We are still are not where we want to be academically at the high school. With the many things we have going on, its still a goal for us to get there. So, we’re going to keep moving forward.”