BUSINESS PARTNERS FOR LAUSD ROMER WANTS CORPORATE MENTORS FOR STUDENTS.

Byline: Jennifer Radcliffe Staff Writer

Superintendent Roy Romer asked business leaders Friday to partner with Los Angeles public schools to help students get the education and experience they need to join the work force.

Romer wants each of the Los Angeles Unified School District's ``small learning communities'' to have several corporate partners to mentor students, offer apprenticeships and help shape the school's curriculum.

``We want to connect to businesses as we go to small learning communities,'' Romer said. ``I feel a real interest from their part.''

As part of a national trend to improve and personalize high schools, LAUSD schools are in the process of dividing into the themed communities of 300 to 500 students.

Corporate partnerships are just one way schools and businesses can work together to turn around California's faltering education system, according to leaders at Friday's Los Angeles Business Council conference at the J. Paul Getty Center.

About 200 business, education and political officials discussed the challenges facing public schools and universities.

The conference comes at the same time as focus has increased on education through the current mayor's race and a slew of recent reports about high dropout rates, low academic performance and dwindling financial support for California public schools.

For example, California students were near the bottom in a recent analysis of National Assessment of Education Progress scores.

``We're doing better than Louisiana and Mississippi. If we were talking about college football, that would probably be pretty good,'' said Stephen Carroll, a senior economist for the Rand Corp. and lead author of the report, ``California's K-12 Public Schools: How Are They Doing?''

Leaders vowed to help pull schools out of the basement and discussed some of the toughest issues of the day, including the need for stronger vocational education and better preparation for four-year universities.

Higher-education institutes must be able to better respond to changing demographics and work-force needs, experts said.

Officials said they need to lobby for more state funding, encourage civic involvement, improve teacher training and build these corporate partnerships to help improve the system.

``I actually feel very optimistic,'' said Shane Martin, dean of the School of Education at Loyola Marymount University. ``I think there's increased energy and good will. There's no limit to the people that want to be involved.''

Romer said his partnerships will be modeled after a handful of already successful programs in the LAUSD. A partnership between 20th Century Fox and Hamilton High School in West Los Angeles, for example, allows students in the music magnet to produce short films on real movie sets. Employees also mentor the teenagers.

Front-line educators said they're thrilled about the dialogue between business leaders and educators and possible help from the corporate world.

``I was so happy to hear them not blaming schools,'' said Liz Hicks, director of Hamilton High's arts academy. ``I think it's good pressure because schools haven't been doing what they were supposed to.''

Jennifer Radcliffe, [phone]

jennifer.radcliffe(at)dailynews.com