Learning on the Job at Mouse U.

Most people would spot black and white dogs in Walt Disney’s poster for the upcoming movie, “102 Dalmatians.” Fifteen-year-old Roxanne Martinez sees mathematical proportions.

“I’m glad I paid attention in math,” said Martinez, a sophomore at Clark Magnet High School in the Glendale Unified School District. “You need to understand angles and stuff to make a good poster.”

Martinez was one of 40 students at the Burbank studio learning from Disney executives as part of Groundhog Job Shadow Day 2000, a national program sponsored by youth organizations.

Throughout the next eight weeks, the goal is to place 1 million students nationwide, from elementary schools to community colleges, with politicians, athletes, firefighters, scientists, graphic designers, engineers and employees from hundreds of other professions.

Locally, the program hopes to place 20,000 students, many of whom volunteer or are selected by school administrators and teachers, said David Rattray, a spokesman for School-to-Career in Southern California, a youth program.

Besides Disney, students followed professionals from the Long Beach Ice Dogs and politicians in Sacramento. They visited employees at Loma Linda Hospital and Ontario Airport, among other places.

Last year, Rattray said, about 8,000 Southern California students participated in the program, which was established in 1997 and geared toward teaching students how classroom lessons apply to the working world.

Besides youth organizations, such as Gen. Colin Powell’s America’s Promise, thousands of companies participate in the project, including Bank of America, State Farm, Wells Fargo and McDonald’s.

“The obvious question we’ve all experienced in school is: Why am I learning this?” Rattray said. “Job shadowing shows students that literacy, math and science do matter in the real world.”

Another lesson Disney executives hoped to teach students was that work can be fun, said John Sabel, vice president of creative print services.

Years ago, as a kindergartner in Torrance, Sabel’s teacher advised him to have fun while working hard. He knew then that he wanted to be an artist.