March 26, 2001

Public Hearing To Allow Input Into National Commission Report On The High School Senior Year

Bowling Green, Ky. - A public hearing on Tuesday at Western Kentucky University will allow for input into a report to President Bush on how to improve the high school senior year.

The National Commission on the High School Senior Year will conduct the hearing at the Kentucky Building beginning at 9 a.m. In addition to the panel discussion on the commission's draft report, there will be a showcase of several area programs.

The commission, which is chaired by Kentucky Gov. Paul Patton, was established to "closely examine students' experiences in the last year of high school and to recommend ways to improve those experiences," said Karen Adams, dean of Western's College of Education and Behavioral Sciences.

The commission's draft report looked at more than the senior year, making recommendations for the middle and elementary grades, she said. The focus of the report is to recommend ways to better prepare students from college or the workforce. One example, Dr. Adams said, is that college preparatory courses should be made available to all students.

"The commission wants to know if their report is on target or if there are programs they should spotlight," she said. "We hope they will spotlight us in their report."

The public hearing begins at 9 a.m. with opening remarks from Gov. Patton and WKU President Gary Ransdell. Barren County School District's Student Technology Help Desk will be highlighted at 9:30 a.m.

One of the commission's findings was that high schools are only providing lower level technology skills, Dr. Adams said.

"What Barren County is doing is outstanding in preparing their students with very sophisticated technology skills and getting them involved in helping with other schools in Barren County," she said. "It's preparing them whether they go on to college or enter the workforce."

At 10 a.m., a video clip and presentation will highlight a joint educational program between Western and the Housing Authority of Bowling Green. At 10:45 a.m., Dr. Julia Roberts, director of Western's Center for Gifted Studies, will present "Changing Opportunities from 'Lost' to Challenging."

The panel discussion will begin at 11:45 a.m. Panelists include Lois Adams-Rodgers, deputy commissioner, Kentucky Department of Education; James Applegate, vice president for academic affairs, Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education; Pamela Burns, 1998 Middle School Teacher of the Year, College View Middle School; Gordon Davies, president, CPE; Fannie Louise Maddux, chair, Prichard Committee; and Linda Miller, Kentucky Counselor Supervisor of the Year, director of guidance, Jefferson County Schools.

"I look at this as an outstanding opportunity for our region, southcentral Kentucky and beyond, and for Western to say we have some excellent practices going on that could address some of the problems identified in the report," Dr. Adams said.

The commission's draft report is available on the organization's Web site at www.commissiononthesenioryear.org.

For more information on the public hearing, contact Cathie Bryant at (270) 745-4664. More WKU news is available on the World Wide Web at www.wku.edu. If you'd like to receive WKU news via E-mail, send a message to WKUNews@wku.edu.