It is no secret that schools around the nation, as well as our local schools, have struggled to come up with additional funding in these difficult economic times. The Dallas County Commission will even impose an additional sales tax in the county to add local funding to the Dallas County School System.

It is also no secret that as our community strives in every aspect to move forward and even sometimes play catch-up with communities that have been luckier to have more funding, education is a topic that deserves the most attention.

For the best quality of education our students need to be exposed to a variety and rainbow spectrum of subjects and situations that develop them and shape them into well-rounded individuals.

In recent Selma City School Board meetings there have been discussions on various organizations that partner with the school systems. One such partner of the school systems is Teen Court. This is one of many partnerships that adds discipline to students, plans to cut down on the truancy epidemic in area schools and most importantly slip in a dose of education about the legal field and profession. Teens get to be lawyers and jurors in the cases against their peers.

It is our feeling that partnerships such as this one add much, with no cost to the school system, to our children’s education. Students can only retain so much information from books and tests. It is life experience and putting knowledge into motion through application that really develops students into a college-ready state.

In addition to these partnerships, we also recognize the feats area schools go to in order to take their children out of the classroom to educational field trips and even bring field trips to the school. These experiences are equally as valuable. Taking students to local farms and teaching them about the rich agricultural opportunities that are available and bringing in groups like The Diamonds to the School of Discovery Genesis Center, all bring in new sustenance to an education.

As children listened to a genre of music they had seldom listened to in their lifetime, the sounds of “Crocodile Rock” and the Beach Boys gave the students a unique musical experience unlike that of pop and rock genres commonly listened to by teens today.

We thank teachers, administrators, school board members and volunteers for arranging unique and educational experiences for students that really add to the textbooks in school.