Esteemed educator Dr. Robert Lynn Canady has been working with area teachers and school officials to explain how to shift the educational focus from what is being taught to what is being learned.

Canady is a professor emeritus at the University of Virginia and former chairman of the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies.

In a visit made possible by the Southern Regional Education Board's Making Schools Work initiative, Canady spent Tuesday and Wednesday at Dawson-Bryant High School conducting workshops.

All area schools were invited. Educators from Collins Career Center and Rock Hill, Dawson-Bryant and South Point middle and high schools attended.

"What have I tried to do in these two days?" Canady asked. "I am trying to help people focus on the school factors that we have some control over in terms of raising student achievement."

Among the key factors that can be worked with are time usage, periodic intervention and assessment, student motivation, school policies and grading practices, he said.

All these can be adjusted to help ensure that the students are getting the most out of the classroom and that teachers are doing all they can to help the students learn, he said.

"We are saying, 'If you come to school and do the work, we will try to help you,'" Canady said. "We are not just trying to put stumbling blocks in your way. If you failed a test, let's see what we can do so that you can pass it if I give it to you next week."

Dawson-Bryant High School Principal Brenda Haas said that the two-day visit has been a tremendous asset for everyone involved.

"Dr. Canady has been talking about adjusting what we do based on the students' needs, not on a building schedule," she said. "He is making us think beyond just assigning letter grades.

What are we actually assessing? Is it the amount of learning that is taking place?"

Clara Ezell, an eighth grade social studies teacher at Dawson-Bryant, said that Canady's presentation has helped reinforce the fact that the school is on the right path.

"We like what he is talking about because we do it already," she said. "We have a lot of this implemented but are looking at fine-tuning them."

Wes Hairston, principal of Rock Hill Middle School, said that Canady presented an excellent model for them to use to increase instruction time and continue to focus on the students' needs.

"No question, it will help us improve our instruction and provide more opportunity for learning. He is a tremendous speaker and a very impressive individual," Hairston said. "We are looking at increasing our test scores any way we can, and this information will help."

As curriculum coordinator for the South Point schools, Debbie York said she has seen firsthand how these ideas can help improve schools. The points that York said most interested her were the ways to get the students' intervention within the school day and ways to provide a variety of teaching during a 90-minute class.

"It is about how to get the kids up and out of their seats to provide some hands-on learning," she said.