WORDS OF WISDOM; AUTHOR BRINGS LITERACY MESSAGE TO VAUGHN SCHOOL.

Byline: Luz Villarreal Daily News Staff Writer

Standing before a sea of aspiring young authors inside the library at Vaughn Next Century Learning Center, author Mary Helen Ponce pointed to 7-year-old Noemi Garcia, whose arm was raised high into the air.

``Do you like the stories you write when you read them?'' the second-grader with a hand-made book tucked under her arm asked.

``I like `Hoyt Street,' '' said Ponce, an established author who was born and raised in Pacoima and in 1993 wrote about her childhood in the book ``Hoyt Street: An Autobiography.''

``I read it and think `what a brat' (I was). It's good to go back and look at your work. It's also good to take criticism.''

For the next half-hour, Ponce fielded dozens of questions from the school's top young writers in an effort to promote literacy and motivate students about the written word.

It was a sort of homecoming for Ponce, who never attended the school but shared the same neighborhoods while growing up.

Ponce came to the school Wednesday to share her stories with students, parents and staff, and promote a yearlong program aimed at increasing literacy. The program is part of a new Parent Academy, which works with all centers for parents in Pacoima and San Fernando. The author will develop a series of writing workshops for teachers to help parents and children work together in writing their own family-based storybooks.

Ponce, who now lives in Sunland and normally lectures and teaches at the college level, said she is returning to her roots to see what she has to offer.

``If I have any regrets at all, it's that I didn't have any teachers or role models to say to me, `You know what? You love words. You should be a writer,' '' Ponce said. ``I'll tell (these children) my life has value and so does yours. My goal is to show them to record their lives, to give them some self-esteem.''

Ponce, who was an avid reader as a child, said she was college material when she graduated from San Fernando High School in the 1950s but she didn't know it. In those days, higher education wasn't a reality for most Latino students, she said. Instead, she married at a young age, started a family and became a homemaker like her mother.

``Nobody talked of college when we were young,'' she said. ``In the '70s, one of my nephews said: `Aunt, you ought to go to college. You're always reading.' So I did.''

When her youngest of four children was in kindergarten, she decided to enroll at Cal State Northridge, where she ended up receiving her undergraduate and master's degree in Mexican-American studies. She then went on to complete fellowships at UCLA and UC Santa Barbara, and received her doctorate from the University of New Mexico.

Ponce, who today has four grandchildren, is now an author of three books and numerous articles. She hopes to publish some of the stories the students write through the literacy program.

``For children to see themselves as authors, to see their work, it's such a thrill. I want to sign their books. Who knows, the future poets and playwrights are at our midst.''

Some of the children grilling Ponce about her childhood and writing experiences hope to follow in her footsteps.

Maria Lopez, 8, asked Ponce if her parents helped her become a writer.

Ponce's response was, ``They didn't. Their job like a lot of your parents was to feed us, clothe us, but I give them a lot of credit because they gave me a lot of time and freedom. We weren't rich but I always had food, Sunday clothes and a lot of love.''

Maria, who brought two of her hand-made books to the session, could relate.

``My parents work a lot,'' she said. ``That's why I asked her the question. Hopefully I can become a writer.''

Noemi already has written, pasted and stapled together four colorful books, and said she often reads her books to her little sister and a cousin at home.

``The things I remember the most I write about,'' said the second-grader. ``Sometimes I do fiction. One day I want to become a writer. I learned you have to study a lot, read and that it's good to daydream.''

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Photo

PHOTO (1) Vaughn Next Century Learning Center students meet author Mary Helen Ponce during her visit Wednesday.

(2) Parent assistants, from left, Angelica Navarreto, Teresa Arroyo-Pantoja and Maria Nunez browse through the pages of ``Hoyt Street: An Autobiography,'' by Mary Helen Ponce.

David R. Crane/Daily News