The 10-year old boy hunches over a picture book, reading out loud to his tutor, oblivious to others studying around him at CARECEN, the Central American Resource Center in Los Angeles. "Good, very good," she says. He smiles broadly.

Later in this four-week literacy workshop, he will write poems and stories about his life, then put them in a small book that he will type and illustrate on a computer. Then his parents will join him for their introduction to the Internet.

CARECEN L.A. - the nation's first community center for Central Americans - was founded in 1983, when thousands of Salvadorans and Guatemalans were fleeing civil wars at home. It now serves more than 25,000 people annually with interdisciplinary programs in youth and family technology and education, immigration legal services, and civic participation. CARECEN received a $50,000 grant from the Weingart Foundation to renovate its community resource center.

The center's expansion is symbolic of the Central American community's deepening roots in Los Angeles, says Angela Sanbrano, executive director. "We are part of the diversity of L.A."

The needs of this community are like any other, she explains: quality education, closing the digital divide, and economic integration. CARECEN works on all fronts from the old manufacturing building it has transformed into an energetic, 30,000-square foot center in the Pico Union/ Westlake neighborhood.

On its upper floors are no-fee legal services, which serve at least 2,000 people per month, along with workshops for adults on citizenship, credit, education, and home ownership.

On the fourth floor, kids from ages 11 to 21 rule. Broad, sunny rooms house art, writing, and multimedia workshops; youth leadership classes; and tutoring - all to build critical thinking, imagination, and self-esteem. Children and teens work with visiting poets, artists, and scientists. In Kids Camp, an after-school program for fifth graders, students designed their own sundials. High school students joined with a local architect to create plans for a recreation area.

Many programs, such as the Internet classes, are designed to bring families closer and, whenever possible, are linked with heritage. CARECEN is creating a Central American Cultural Archive and a Central American literature class for teenagers.

There is space to be creative, space to learn. "Here students not only can dream," says Sanbrano, "they can see they have a future."