Chamber Boosting Adopt-a-School Plan

The Simi Valley Chamber of Commerce will host a conference today to show business leaders how they can help local schools.

For the last five years, the chamber has sponsored a program giving businesses an opportunity to adopt local schools and provide them with money, volunteers and other services.

The Business/Education Partnership Conference will show executives how they can get more involved as the chamber expands its Adopt-a-School program.

The conference will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Grand Vista Hotel, 999 Enchanted Way, in Simi Valley.

The expanded program will include opportunities for Simi Valley students to shadow professionals on the job, receive mentoring and apply for internships, said chamber President and Chief Executive Leigh Nixon.

Phil Ross, principal of Abraham Lincoln Elementary School, hailed the Adopt-a-School program.

State Farm Insurance, which adopted Lincoln, has provided supplies, furniture and other professional services, such as a videotape on earthquake safety. Twenty State Farm employees even painted the handball court, basketball backboards and generally spruced up the school at the beginning of the year, Ross said.

“But where I’m really impressed is the reading program, where they give their employees time off to come to Lincoln for an hour to read to our students,” Ross said.