Walker schools thank community partners

Rossville Middle School seventh-graders aren't limited to learning math with textbooks and chalkboards.

A partnership with Community National Bank transforms the school into Real Ville, a town in which students are given a budget based on their career choices and an opportunity to learn about life.

"It shows them what it's really like in the outside world," said Lynne Cawthorne, vice president of marketing and human resources at Community National Bank.

The bank is one of more than 220 businesses and civic and faith-based organizations participating in the Walker County Partners for Educational Progress program. County school officials recognized the community partners at a luncheon in February.

"It allows us to give our students opportunities that we would not be able to do," said Barbara Moore, Rossville Middle School administrative assistant and school coordinator for Partners for Educational Progress.

The program that started 17 years ago with about 15 organizations now has 225, Walker County officials said.

Business and organization representatives meet with school coordinators to determine the students' needs. However, businesses decide what to contribute, school officials said.

"So it's not anything expected; it's always something appreciated," said Elaine Womack, Walker County Schools community relations and public information coordinator.

The Sonic Drive-In locations in LaFayette, Chickamauga and Rossville together are the program's business of the year, Ms. Womack said.

The eatery supplies Walker County Schools with incentives, such as free ice cream, to motivate students to come to school and get good grades, she said. It also gives free meals to teachers at Christmas time, said LaFayette store manager Dell Montgomery.

"It's something we've always done because we believe that education is important and that it keeps kids off the street," he said. "We want to do all we can to help."

Simpson United Methodist Church in Rossville provided Rossville Middle families with food baskets and money to help students who needed financial help getting school uniforms.

Greg Sumrall, diversified cooperative training coordinator at LaFayette High School, said that instead of depending on teachers to be experts at everything, the school uses local business representatives to give students real-life experience about job interviews and careers.

Through the Partners for Educational Progress program, the schools sometimes uses churches to offer counseling after the death of a student, Mr. Sumrall said.

The community involvement from businesses and churches makes a more personal experience of the educational process, he said.