FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE	

PITZER COLLEGE ASSISTS LITERACY PROGRAM FOR INCARCERATED YOUNG MEN
Center Helps Court School Receive Library Grant


Claremont, Calif. (Dec. 10, 2002) - The Center for California Cultural and Social Issues (CCCSI) at Pitzer
College, in collaboration with the Los Angeles County Office of Education, helped juvenile detention Camps
Afflerbaugh-Paige receive a $25,000 "Improving Literacy Through School Libraries" grant from the United States
Department of Education, as part of the federal government's "Leave No Child Behind" program.

As one of 94 highly competitive library/literacy grants given to public schools nationwide, the funds will
allow Afflerbaugh-Paige High School, a juvenile court school in La Verne, Calif., to hire a professional
library media specialist, who will help students use the school's new library as a resource to improve their
reading and writing.  The media specialist will teach library skills, expand the library's hours to include
evenings and weekends, and train students from Pitzer College who work at the school as literacy tutors.

Afflerbaugh-Paige is a division of the Juvenile Court and Community Schools (JCCS) and houses approximately 225
young men between the ages of 15 and 19, who are wards of the Los Angeles County Probation Department. Many of
them have special educational needs and read below grade level.  The library, the institution's first, is a
feature of the school's recent accreditation by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). "This
new librarian is a strong part of our commitment to improve student literacy and will support us in teaching to
the California Standards," said Joyce Davis, the principal of Afflerbaugh-Paige High School.  Susan A.
Phillips, faculty director of CCCSI, also praised the partnership, saying: "This is one of those times when
$25,000 feels like a million.  Our collaboration with the Camps has met with such strong support from Camp
teachers and students, as well as our own faculty, staff, and students here at Pitzer.  Each of us feels like
we're getting the better end of the partnership.  It is truly a win-win situation." 

The Center for California Cultural and Social Issues (CCCSI) at Pitzer College helps students and faculty
create long-term partnerships with local organizations that work toward capacity building and effective social
change.  Supported by the W.M. Keck and James Irvine Foundations, the Center is a focal point for social
responsibility and engaged scholarship on the Pitzer campus.  Pitzer College, a member of the Claremont
Colleges, was founded in 1963, with an emphasis on the social and behavioral sciences.

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Contacts:
Susan Phillips, Director of CCCSI, (909) 607-1268; susan_phillips@pitzer.edu
Karen Hamilton, Urban Fellow for CCCSI, (909) 607-8183; karen_hamilton@pitzer.edu