PALM DESERT -- The lively education conclave held Friday had a simple, yet formidable, goal: find ways to create a better-educated, higher-caliber workforce to supply and attract businesses in the growing Coachella Valley.

The "Towns and Tribes" education summit, held at the Palm Desert campus of California State University, San Bernardino, brought together school superintendents, business and tribal leaders, mayors, teachers, students and others in brainstorming sessions designed to eventually draw up a roadmap for improvement.

"Basically, what we’re trying to do is figure out ways to change our (local) education system: how to get more kids in college, how to get them more focused at a younger age," said Krystal Silva, a Desert Sands Unified School District student who plans to attend college in San Diego.

In a series of roundtable sessions, Silva and dozens of other participants talked passionately about key challenges facing K-12 and higher education. They set out to recognize what’s being done well and "gleaned ideas for practical answers to problems," said John James, tribal chairman of the Cabazon Band of Mission Indians, which put on the conference.

"It’s really an effort to get various elements of the community talking to each other," said David Huntoon, senior research associate for Rose Institute of State and Local Government, co-sponsor of the education summit.

"I’ve been involved with the Coachella Valley Economic Partnership off and on over the years, and a continuing theme is that education and business don’t communicate well enough together," Huntoon said.

The roundtable discussions struck a chord with Foch "Tut" Pensis, superintendent of the Coachella Valley Unified School District.

Pensis immediately embraced the idea that cities, businesses and tribes could come together with universities and local school districts to "compare notes, see what everybody needs, and put our heads together" to come up with solutions.

"Hopefully, this will open some doors," Pensis said of potential collaborative, private-public initiatives to enhance local education opportunities.

Such efforts could be particularly important in the years ahead as schools cope with sagging state revenues, school officials said.

Richard Oliphant, who was instrumental in developing the CSU, San Bernardino, Palm Desert campus, cited private-public partnerships such as the Children’s Discovery Museum and the McCallum Theatre as "marriages" to be emulated so that educational opportunities can blossom.

Oliphant pointed to the importance of a home-grown, educated workforce to convince attractive, high-paying companies such as Boeing that the valley is a good place to do business.

Others simply want their kids to have more decent job opportunities in the valley.

Gary Tomak, Desert Sands Unified school board member, said local officials must work now to tie together efforts by government, business and other entities.

"I’ve been watching the expansion, between the housing, the schools, almost an explosion of population," Tomak said.

Schools are trying to keep pace, "but no one entity can do that alone," he said.

"This gives us an opportunity to bounce ideas off each one of the organizations: what can you do, what can’t you do, who can solve the problems the best," Tomak said.

At the same time, he said, in an era of increasing international competition, local educators and community leaders must find ways to raise the academic bar and close the educational gap between affluent and not-so-affluent students in the Coachella Valley.

Professors such as Jonathan Petropolous of Claremont McKenna College moderated discussions about ways to overcome language barriers and economic hardships facing so many valley students.

"I see that in a lot of these suggestions (for educational improvement) there’s a focus on working with parents and making them part of the process," Petropolous said.

Conference participants dissected social and cultural challenges in the valley, debated infrastructure needs and tossed out possible ideas for private-public partnerships.

"These are the folks that are really engaged, the decision-makers, policymakers who really hold the reigns to what course and what direction our educational community will move in," said Greg Cervantes, public affairs director for the Cabazon Band.

"Our hope is to bring back a smaller group and start addressing these concerns immediately," Cervantes said.

Silva, a high school senior, hopes enhanced local educational choices in the future will help more valley students understand the myriad opportunities that lie beyond high school.

"My mom went to college; she’s a nurse," Silva said. "She loves what she does and she does it with a lot of passion. I want more out of life."