Sarah Martin now has a catchy acronym to work with as she promotes business involvement in Lawrence public schools.

Martin is executive director of Lawrence Education Achievement Partners, or LEAP. Throughout the organization’s 10-year history, it has been known as Lawrence Business/Education Partnership.

“We felt like LEAP represented our mission and our wide variety of partners,” she said. “Right now, we’re transitioning into a growth phase.”

The organization began to take shape in 1993 as a collaborative program of the Lawrence school district and Lawrence Chamber of Commerce. The mission of LEAP remains the encouragement and enrichment of partnerships between area schools and businesses.

The organization’s 110 partners provided $819,000 in cash donations, in-kind gifts and volunteer support during the 2002-2003 school year, Martin said.

She said the bottom-line goal was to improve student achievement in all 22 of the district’s schools. To better articulate that point, LEAP will no longer refer to its community supporters as “business partners.”

“While the mission remains the same, LEAP now recognizes community partners as ‘achievement partners’ in their pursuit to help students and educators achieve,” said Ginger Wehner, chairwoman of LEAP’s board of directors.

Volunteers at participating companies do everything from reading with elementary school children to sponsoring tours of company facilities for high school students.

“It’s a win-win for both the businesses and organizations involved and the schools,” Martin said.

LEAP will honor its 20 founding partners at 7 a.m. Tuesday at the Douglas County 4-H Fairgrounds, 2120 Harper St.

To learn more about LEAP, click on the Web site at www.leapforlawrence.org.