EDITORIAL : LEARN'S LESSONS; EDUCATIONAL REFORM PROGRAM PROVES IT WORKS IN SOME CASES, BUT IT'S NOT THE SCHOOL DISTRICT'S SAVIOR.

THE success of the LEARN educational reform movement at 70 schools in the massive Los Angeles Unified School District proves that when teachers, principals and parents get involved, the program kids get good educations.

``For a million-dollar organization, we think we're doing a good job of what people want,'' cooed Mike Roos, former Assembly member and founder of Los Angeles Educational Alliance for Restructuring Now.

Roos, however, knows the 3-year-old program has not provided the tonic to turn poor students into brilliant scholars, that it doesn't succeed unless everyone pulls together.

Standardized test scores remained at or below LAUSD averages at 40 percent of the 161 schools, and nearly a third of the schools failed to show marked improvement in getting non-English-speaking students to speak fluently in English.

Roos blamed the failures on principals who can't motivate their staff to implement the reforms, as well as the improper or incomplete implementation of LEARN.

No one thinks building a school district is an easy task, especially when it is being created within an existing district, especially one as failure-prone as the LAUSD. And LEARN, which has the support of Mayor Richard Riordan, is no different having faced resistance every step of the way from LAUSD officials.

The program has a lot of merit. Its central objectives are getting educators who care on board and persuading parents to help create the curriculum. Nearly everyone - from lawmakers to teachers and principals - agree that parents are the key to inspiring children to crave knowledge. It is evident that when there is strong leadership and high participation, LEARN works.

Unfortunately, it also is not a one-size-fits-all solution to improving achievement among students in a district where standardized test scores have declined steadily over the years.

Riordan, who uses his office as a bully pulpit for improving the education of the city's children, and Roos have staked their hopes in gaining control of the school board in next year's elections and doing so would be a progressive step in reorganizing the priorities of the wayward system. That, however, is off to a bumpy start.

We think real reform won't occur until the nation's second-largest school system is broken up into smaller districts with greater accountability, and a greater chance to provide strong and effective leadership.

If it were put to a vote today, we believe the public knows the truth of that and would embrace cutting the nation's largest school district down to size.

The future of all our children depends on it.