Pacoima : Pupils Discover Fun in Computer Lessons

A troop of corporate types in dark suits walked softly down the green-carpeted hallway of Pacoima Elementary School on Tuesday morning.

At Room 59, they stopped and entered. Inside, Peter Palacio’s sixth-grade class welcomed them.

“I would like to tell you how happy we are that you gave us these computers,” said Sergio Balladares, one of Palacio’s students, addressing the group. “I want to thank you,” he continued, “for having faith in our school and making our learning a little brighter.”

Five new IBM-compatible computers were donated to the school this week by GTE. The gift was arranged by Robert D. Arias, regional director of the nonprofit group Cities in Schools. The group’s aim is to get private businesses working with public schools to improve education.

Arias, a former college athletic director, and William (Blinky) Rodriguez, a former kick-boxer turned anti-gang activist and minister, also on hand Tuesday, are old friends. They worked with Principal Lawrence Gonzalez to bring new high-tech computer equipment to the school.

A rash of recent gang-related slayings in the San Fernando Valley has had Rodriguez and his young mediators scrambling to shore up a crumbling truce. But the computers, he hopes, will give youngsters a reason to stay in school and to learn in a safe environment. Some say it’s working.

“The morale here lifted instantly” when the computers came, said Palacio, as five students deftly clicked and maneuvered confidently through different windows, or screens, using programs teaching math, art and grammar through games and colorful caricatures.

“This gets other kids here to say: ‘I can’t wait to be in sixth grade so I can use those computers.’ It makes an enormous difference,” he added.