Computer Lab Offers Training to Youths

The technological lifeline for many an American teenager -- Internet chat rooms, buddy lists, downloading MP3s -- is still a novelty for a group of high school students who only recently learned how to navigate the World Wide Web.

“There are really teenagers out there who do not have access to computers,” said teacher Kathy Masaoka of the All People’s Branch of Central High School, a small continuation school in the Los Angeles Unified School District.

“When people say the digital divide is no longer a problem, that is not absolutely true.”

But after seven weeks of computer training through a program offered by the Little Tokyo Service Center, seven of Masaoka’s 15 students not only learned about search engines and high-speed DSL lines, they also created their own Web sites and earned enough computer credits to satisfy a graduation requirement.

“I know that computers have reached deep into our world, but it’s something I don’t have at home,” said Jose Sotelo, 16.

“In this class, they really took time to show us how to use computers and all the information available to us.”

Masaoka and co-teacher Tony Osumi operate their one-classroom school at All People’s Christian Center near downtown Los Angeles.

They have only one computer with Internet access that is “nearly useless” because the modem is so slow, Osumi said.

The teachers had to find a way for their students, all youths who left or dropped out of regular high schools, to earn 10 computer credits to meet Los Angeles Unified’s graduation requirements.

And they knew it wasn’t going to happen on their one antiquated computer.

This year, they joined in a partnership with the Little Tokyo Service Center, less than two miles from their school, to use its computer lab to teach the needed skills.

The center received a $15,000 grant from last year’s Times Holiday Campaign to launch the program, which they hope to continue for another year.

“Think of everything that goes on with your computer at work, at home and at college,” Osumi said. “That world has not been open to them until now.”

The Little Tokyo center on East 3rd Street provides social services, counseling, translation and transportation services for Japanese Americans, Asians and Pacific Islanders, as well as the diverse communities of central and downtown Los Angeles.

The computer lab is well used at the center by senior citizens and youths who live in the nearby affordable housing units.

The computer banks and study kiosks also provide a comfortable room for supervised after-school programs.

During this holiday season, The Times is featuring programs that have benefited from the Holiday Campaign.

More than 50 groups shared the $653,000 collected last year.

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