BREWER: CHARTER CAMPUSES CAN BE IDEA LABS FOR LAUSD.

Byline: NAUSH BOGHOSSIAN Staff Writer

In his first public meeting with Los Angeles Unified's charter school leaders, Superintendent David Brewer III on Wednesday praised the innovation by the independent campuses but said their growth will slow as his own reforms take effect.

Charter schools already serve nearly 10 percent of the district's 708,000 students.

Brewer said he's happy with the more than 100 charters in LAUSD -- more than any other district in the nation -- but he questioned supporters' goals of doubling charter enrollment in the next few years.

``We'll have to look at that -- to the extent that I change the rest of the school district, some of that may not be necessary,'' Brewer said. ``Charter schools are what I call my innovative centers. They really force reform to the extent they do things differently.

``I think to the extent we use charter schools as research and development laboratories, we're fine. Charter schools will not replace the general public schools in this district, but what they will do is help us to reform our practices.'

The breakfast meeting was attended by Brewer, school board member Monica Garcia and more than 150 charter school leaders and students.

District leaders said traditional public schools can learn a great deal charter schools.

``Until we can graduate more students, we are going to see all these other effects trying to continue to meet these students' needs,'' Garcia said.

The school board has resisted the expansion of the charter movement and may ask the Legislature to cap the amount of state money allocated for charters.

Caprice Young, former LAUSD school board president and current head of the California Charter Schools Association, said she's encouraged by Brewer's interest in learning from charter schools' successes.

``We are blessed with a superintendent that understands the value we bring,'' Young said.