"We're making hearts for Mr. Jose," he proudly explained to visitors, showing off the perfectly spaced rows of big blue and green hearts covering a sheet of white paper.

"One, two, three, four, five, six ...," he counted up to 20, before flipping the paper over and counting even higher. "Because today is his birthday."

Many of the youngsters in Janice Hall's class can count to 100, and they'll be reading books by the time they graduate this term. But the 94-year-old child care center doesn't stop with youngsters. It also offers literacy, basic education and skills programs for adults.

And now, flush with a $200,000 donation from ChevronTexaco, Derrick's family and neighbors will get a leg up, too, in the form of computer training programs to get the nonprofit's sleek new computer lab up and running. The money will go to hire staff, develop programs and provide community training.

Although the world is increasingly a technology-driven place, the center will give many of Saint Vincent's low-income families their first access to the world of computers. For other parents, a computer education will help them understand and more closely monitor their childrens' computer time at home.

And for still others, the programs will help them gain valuable job training skills and help them craft professional resumes.

"The goal is to take it out to the broader community," said Corrine Mohrmann, executive director. "The West Oakland library has two computers but they often don't work. It's one thing to have a computer in your home but if you don't know how to use it ... this will help bring parents up to speed and help them have oversight (over their kids' use of computers) in the home."

The school serves 240 children ages 2 to 12. Many live in single-parent households, and although parents often work, their earnings put them at or below the poverty level, Mohrmann said.

In addition to the full-day kindergarten, Saint Vincent's provides full-day preschool for children ages 2 through 5 and breakfast and afterschool programs for children in upper grades. In the summer, the center offers after school programs for older children, said Sister Ann Maureen Murphy, development director.

"Our company places a huge focus on education as an enabler for the future, especially when it brings parents and children together," said Shola Omole, spokesman for ChevronTexaco.

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