July 17, 2007

Secretary Frank Dedicates New Activity and Learning Center at Southern Oaks Girls School

UNION GROVE -- Department of Corrections (DOC) Secretary Matt Frank today commemorated the formal opening of the new Activity and Learning Center at Southern Oaks Girls School (SOGS). The $2 million center provides gymnasium space on site for the first time in Southern Oaks’ history, enhancing the school’s already strong record of programming to turn young lives around and reduce recidivism.

During a ribbon-cutting ceremony, Secretary Frank and SOGS’s new Superintendent, Jane Dier-Zimmel, also announced the center would be named after former Superintendent Patricia Ogren, who retired from state service earlier this year.

“I am pleased to join Southern Oaks in commemorating this new center, which will help the institution more effectively fulfill its mission to supervise and provide delinquent girls with education, treatment and an opportunity to be successful,” Secretary Frank said. “The facility will provide a site for class instruction, physical exercise, meeting space and other purposes that all crucial components of the great work that is done at the institution.”

The 10,115-square-foot Activity and Learning Center includes a gymnasium, three classrooms for math, English and social studies, as well as a visiting area. It provides staff and youths with access to a gymnasium on site for the first time since Southern Oaks opened as a secured juvenile facility for delinquent girls in 1994.

“This wonderful resource will help provide innovative treatment and educational programs to the girls at Southern Oaks,” Superintendent Dier-Zimmel said. “The new center will assist our talented staff in their efforts to make a real difference in the lives of the girls who are placed in our custody."

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