ASHTABULA TOWNSHIP — As the empty storefronts along the Ashtabula Towne Square concourse provided a silent reality check on the local economy, Steve Barkley on Tuesday evening painted a challenging picture of 21st century education and the global economy in one of those former storefronts.

Barkley, a nationally known facilitator and speaker, held the first of three Community Conversations with Buckeye Local Schools administrators, board members, students and residents interested in equipping students for the challenges of the new century and economy.

Schools Superintendent Nancy Williams said the meeting is a continuation of the district’s strategic planning effort, which has moved into a strategies and action phase. She said the message Barkley brought to the community during the conversation was the same one the 30 members of the Strategic Planning Committee heard during the process of developing its plan last year.

“What we hoped to get is more community understanding of what we mean by ‘the skills and knowledge kids need to be successful in today’s world,’” Williams said in explaining the purpose of the conversations.

Buckeye Board of Education member Mark Estock said Barkley’s visit was funded by the Partnership for Education in Ashtabula County, which is committed to public engagement on education issues. Two more conversation events have been planned for 6:30 p.m. March 24 and April 21 in the Towne Square Community Room.

“People in the community need to be exposed to this knowledge so they can make informed decisions,” Estock said. “I think this is a unique process that we are going through and one that other school districts would like to do.”

At least two Ashtabula Area City Schools board members participated in the conversations as citizens. At each table, residents were paired with an Edgewood student, a Buckeye administrator or board member, and a business person to discuss the issues tossed out by Barkley.

“The economy has changed the definition of student achievement,” Barkley told the 59 people who braved the weather to hear his chilling message about the educational challenges facing the U.S.

Barkley’s questions included reflections on the participants’ personal acquisition of study skills and describing what students would be doing and experiencing in a classroom that would produce the kind of student achievement needed for success in a global economy.

He pointed out that schools no longer need to teach just core subjects but also “applied skills,” ranging from financial literacy and professionalism/ work ethic to teamwork, critical thinking/ problem solving and ethics/ social responsibility.

He also pointed out the huge intellectual and economic divide between the United States and the rapidly developing nations of India and China. In Beijing, the average teacher’s wage is $454 a month; for a nurse, it is $260 a month. An accountant in India will do the number crunching work of an American corporation for a fraction of what it would cost in the U.S., and American companies are taking advantage of that.

Barkley also challenged educators and administrators to recognize, and capitalize upon, the way students use technology to connect to peers around the world and learn. Most students have their own Web sites and e-mail; many blog and create content for social networking and video sharing sites, like YouTube. The fastest growing group of Internet users is ages 2 to 5.

“In many schools, YouTube is blocked,” said Barkley, who used videos from the online site in his own presentation.

He also pointed out how quickly the job market is changing and the challenge that the situation presents for educators. The top 10 jobs of 2010 did not exist in 2004, Barkley said. To find people to fill those jobs, U.S. companies are looking beyond their borders, where they are also finding all their investment opportunities, according a multimedia presentation that was part of Barkley’s program.

Williams said participants were asked to complete a short written exit interview and share their thoughts on the information presented. She said a quick scan of the responses showed participants felt it will take team and community efforts to provide the kind of education that will be needed and that technology and hands-on real-life experiences will play ever-increasing roles in that work.

“A number of people made the comment that many more members of the community need to hear this,” Williams said.