Last week, students at Warren Central High School and Vicksburg High School got to see things they are learning in their health science course at Hinds Community College take on real world implications during a trip to Merit Health River Region Medical Center.

The trip left the students with a deeper understanding of the material they are learning in abstract in class.

However, the trip has implications for our entire community.

The cooperation between the Vicksburg Warren School District, Hinds Community College and Merit Health is an example of one of the many things going right and working well in our community.

It really does take a village, and the high school students who made this trip to Merit Health last week have a greater, concrete understanding of many of the legal and ethical issues faced daily by health care providers.

We can look around us and see many other examples of cooperation between the public and private sector.

A prime example of this cooperation is the Leader in Me program, in which the Vicksburg Warren Chamber of Commerce partners with the school district to develop leadership, integrity and responsibility starting at the elementary school level. Best of all, this program is funded through private grants and donations.

The United Way of West Central Mississippi is the fiscal partner with the Vicksburg Warren School District on working toward Excel by Five certification, which is a successful program aimed at giving children a head up by getting them reading before they start school.

On a smaller scale, many businesses can participate in the education of our future generations. Just this week, The Vicksburg Post partnered the Vicksburg Warren School District when Warren Central junior Sarah Hunter Fordice, who is considering a career in journalism, job shadowed our education reporter Austin Vining.

Think about how you or the business you operate could benefit our next generation. If nothing else, consider mentoring or reading to young people in our schools.

Our future depends on students who are in our classrooms today.

Our community is working together well to provide them with the best education experience possible.

Be a part of that good work.