They saw an unmet need in too many neighborhoods. Children, many from low-income households, lacked ready access to computers at school and home, they said.

The Beys, who were trained in 1990 at the now defunct Control Data Institute in San Francisco, formed Nile Valley Industries and set out to close the so-called digital divide in their community.

It wasn't easy.

They found schools in low-income communities suffering from more neglect, and coping with fewer resources and lesser-qualified instructors.

"The biggest challenge was getting a school to embrace a new and innovative approach to learning," said Ali Bey. "Some schools are used to going along with a 'good old boys' network that is not willing to change or take on new ideas.

"What the system was doing to determine the 'level of technology' at a school was to just count every personal computer at a school site and divide that by the number of students to come up with a ratio of computers to students," he said.

Under that formula, Thornhill Elementary, located in the hills and a top performing school, was only slightly above Fruitvale Elementary in terms of the computer-to-student ratio.

However, a tour of the flatland school showed a different and stark reality. An old computer lab at Fruitvale was collecting dust, many computers were either outdated or unplugged, and others were haphazardly stored in a boiler room.

In need of a jump-start
Fruitvale Elementary Principal Cherie Ivey said she was "dissatisfied" with the level of technology her students were exposed to, and she was looking for a way to jump-start the old computer lab. Ivey is best known for an annual Black History Exhibit that uses displays to teach and generate pride.

Before the Beys started making computers "fun and educational," only 11 percent of third-graders at the school knew much about computers. The percentages were only a bit higher for fourth- and fifth-graders -- 13 percent and 18 percent, respectively.

Now, all the students headed to middle school have computer skills and a computer lab for younger children is filled up.

The school is 80 percent African American and Latino. Educators say the so-called digital divide -- the gap between those who have computer skills and those who don't -- remains highest among low-income minorities and even among minorities whose incomes are slightly higher.

At Fruitvale Elementary, entire classes were rotated through the computer lab which became a new hub for learning -- much like a library.

Teachers were encouraged to share techniques and resources during the school year. In past years, students went to a computer class where there was another instructor.

Customized Classes
Nile Valley's approach was to integrate a school's core curriculum with the computer lab to reinforce the importance of technology and the learning of many subjects, including fact-finding or research. In the process, the Beys removed barriers between children and computers which suddenly opened more doors to learning as students found more than just games at the new monitors.

"You have to be creative," said Ali Bey, 40, "and make it fun and educational. When you do that, it sparks an interest among children because for them, something new is fun."

Despite popular computer programs at the East Oakland Youth Development Center at 82nd Avenue and International Boulevard, and the Eastmont Computing Center run by the Oakland Citizens Committee for Urban Renewal at Eastmont Town Center, 7200 Bancroft Ave., many children in East Oakland still lack access to home computers.

The Beys are hoping to convince other elementary schools to allow them to bring their unique brand of computer technology and teaching to their schools. And middle schools and high schools are on the horizon.

Ali Bey also has a plan for parents.

"In the fall, we are going to start an After School Tutorial Center for parents to get them thinking more about computers.

"You have to first start with the minds and attitudes of their children and when the children stop asking for things like X-boxes or scooters and start wanting computers, the parents have to be ready to embrace that. We have found some parents who have computers at work but not at home."

For more information about Nile Valley Industries, call (510) 508-1475.

The Oakland Tribune: Cityside
Leanne McLaughlin, Managing Editor
(510) 208-6447
(510) 208-6477 Fax
lmclaughlin@angnewspapers.com Email