Deeper involvement leads to higher scores: Missouri: Springfield Public Schools.

The Partners in Education program at Springfield Public Schools in Springfield, Mo., is an extension of a former national program, where community businesses teamed with schools to provide services and monetary support. In recent years, the program has begun having a greater impact on students and academic achievement, leading to Springfield Public Schools being selected to receive the 2005 Civic Star Award for Missouri.

Over the years, most partners with Springfield Public Schools were individual businesses that provided financial support and, in some cases, had employees volunteer at school sites. In 1998, when the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce adopted Campbell Elementary School, the level of involvement climbed. The Chamber wanted to work with Campbell Elementary School because of its large, low-socioeconomic population. Eighty-five percent of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, and the school population is also highly mobile.

Chamber employees volunteered in the classrooms, attended school events and provided for needy families at holiday time. They were divided into teams, with a member of each team working at least one hour per week with students and teachers in a variety of capacities, including tutoring, leading enrichment activities and guiding out-of-school experiences.

In addition to its integral work within the schools and with students' families, the Chamber has sponsored book drives to benefit the library and helps schedule guest speakers for the school's Monday morning assemblies, which focus on character education.

Since the Chamber/Campbell partnership began, it has encouraged other organizations to become involved with the schools.

Many of those organizations are churches that have expressed an interest in becoming nontraditional partners. Some members donate volunteer hours tailored to specific goals, such as reading improvement, while others donate maintenance work to repair and revitalize the inside and exterior of the school buildings. Some organizations have donated space for meetings.

One of the greatest benefits realized since the Chamber partnership began is an increase in student test scores. One example of those gains is the performance of Campbell students on the Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) test.

In the communication arts component of the test, the percentage of students in the lowest-achievement category, step one, has decreased from 18.8 percent in 1999 to 13.9 percent in 2003. In math, the numbers are more dramatic, with the percentage of students in step one decreasing from 35.7 percent in 1997 to 5.9 percent in 2003.

Meanwhile, the percentage of students in the two highest categories, advanced and proficient, has increased. In communications arts, the percentage rose from 18.8 percent in 1999 to 19.5 percent in 2003. In math, the percentage climbed from 10.7 percent in 1997 to 23.6 percent in 2003.

For more information, contact Superintendent Jack Ernst, Springfield Public Schools, 940 N. Jefferson, Springfield, Mo. 65802, or call [phone]. By e-mail, write to [e-mail].