Full Notification

Local Students and LASD Personnel Connect as ePals

to Improve Childhood Literacy

In an effort to promote literacy and education as a crime prevention strategy, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department partnered with George Washington Carver Elementary School in a pilot program to improve reading and writing proficiency.  The Sheriff’s Department has a vested interest in seeing the young leaders of tomorrow make positive contributions to our communities, and George Washington Carver Elementary School shares the same values and commitment to the development of our local youth.

This strategy is a pilot literacy initiative and consists of an electronic pen pal mentoring program with the children writing on a regular basis to an assigned “ePal.”  The program was designed to empower, encourage and foster students to develop a love of learning, reading, and writing.  In January 2016, 48 third grade students and 13 special education students were matched with deputy personnel and members from the Department’s Black Peace Officers Association.  Since then, the ePals exchanged email messages and handwritten letters and even received correspondences from Sheriff McDonnell.  Over the course of five months, the children were communicating with new friends while improving their spelling, reading comprehension, vocabulary, grammar, writing, and more.

The program wasn’t just for the kids, but for the adults who were able to channel their desires to mentor a young person, improve a young person’s quality of life through learning and cultivating positive police-community relationships.  A large group of Department personnel expressed great interest in this program, with 51 participants, which included high-ranking personnel such as Executive Officer Neal Tyler, three chiefs, two commanders, five captains, as well as 11 lieutenants, six sergeants, one custody assistant, 21 deputies, and one reserve deputy.

On Monday afternoon, May 23, 2016, after five months of communication, the program culminated with the young ePals and their LASD correspondents finally meeting in person.  After much anticipation, all of the ePals convened at George Washington Carver Elementary School and greeted each other face to face!

As a little reward for completing the program and to encourage future reading, writing and comprehension, the students received a gift bag containing coloring books, crayons, personalized writing journals, and scholastic books from the County of Los Angeles Public Library.  In addition, 35 of the 61 participating students received a library card. 

George Washington Carver Elementary School is located at 1425 East 120th Street, Los Angeles, in the patrol jurisdiction of Compton Sheriff’s Station.

Written by:

Deputy Lillian Peck

Sheriff’s Information Bureau

Hall of Justice – First Floor

211 West Temple Street

Los Angeles, CA  90012

(213) 229-1700

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Jim McDonnell, Sheriff

Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department