An old idea continues to make a difference: Arkansas: Fort Smith Public School District.

The Partners in Education program in Fort Smith, Ark., was initiated in 1982 by Bud Jackson, then chief executive officer of the firm Weldon Williams & Lick. The idea was simple and based on a program he had encountered elsewhere in which a business and school had become partners. C.B. Garrison, then the Fort Smith Public School District's superintendent, supported the idea of creating such a relationship and began an effort to determine which district school would benefit most from a teaming arrangement.

Howard Elementary School was selected for the program, known at the time as Adopt a School. Soon seven additional businesses joined the collaboration, and each was matched with a district school. Businesses and schools now gather twice yearly to celebrate their relationships and accomplishments.

At an awards luncheon at the end of each school year all partnerships are honored and teams deemed as distinguished are recognized. Elementary and secondary school partnerships of the year are also honored. The awards are based on evaluations submitted annually by the schools and the businesses and reflect a variety of activities.

The activities are based largely on the efforts of volunteers, who contribute their time to work with the school children. Some serve as mentors and move forward with particular children as they advance while getting to know younger children at the same time.

Examples include efforts by Bancorp South employees to teach students and parents the value of planning and of managing and saving money. In 2004, Benefit Bank helped students open a bank branch at school. Older students work at the branch under the supervision of bank employees. The experience allows students to explore the employment process by applying and interviewing for specific jobs while, more broadly, money management lessons are an important part of the knowledge imparted.

Several businesses help organize an annual fun day in the park which also serves as a career fair for students. A partnership with the Gift Scout Council, Mount Magazine Area, provides access to the Burnham Woods Nature Trail and Science Center for each of the district's 12,800 students, who have the opportunity to visit the center as part of the fifth-grade curriculum. This partnership also organizes Girl Scout troops in schools not ordinarily supported by a strong parent base.

More than 20 years since it began, the program continues to thrive, leading to the Fort Smith Public School District being named the 2005 Civic Star Award recipient for Arkansas. Today more than 175 partnerships are operating in the district, with 13 new ones formed in the 2003-2004 school year. Superintendent Benny Gooden has often noted that "partnership activities are limited only by their imagination."

For more information, contact Superintendent Benny L. Gooden at Fort Smith Public School District, P.O. Box 1948, Fort Smith, Ark. 72902, or call [phone]. By e-mail, write to [e-mail].