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| N.O. Teachers Integrate PRIME TIME in Their Classes |
 The 19 teachers who completed the "Prime Time for PRIME TIME in New Orleans" Teacher Institute for Advanced Study (TIAS) during the summer of 2008 wrote 2-3 week unit plans that they are now incorporating in their New Orleans elementary classes. Although more information was shared on November 13 at the TIAS reunion at the LEH Turners' Center, some of the teachers have already related experiences that they have had with the PRIME TIME methodology in their classrooms.
According to Dana Tyson, currently employed with an area charter school, the PRIME TIME methodology "has really changed my teaching career." She used the open-ended, humanities-based discussion technique to help her establish a classroom community during the first few weeks of school, and Dana said, "It worked!"
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| PRIME TIME Holds Bilingual Program in Oklahoma |
 With funding from the current National Endowment for the Humanities grant to expand bilingual PRIME TIME nationally, the Pioneer Public Library System in Oklahoma has implemented very successful programs in 3 of their libraries. PRIME TIME Senior Consultant, Dianne Brady, conducted a site visit on October 21 to the Moore Public Library where some 50 enthusiastic Spanish-speaking participants gathered for their third session. Community building was in evidence with the Rotary Club of Moore providing and serving the meals each week. Churches, schools, TV and radio stations serving the Latino communities assisted in recruiting families, and the local newspaper is donating copies for each session. Anne Masters, Director of the Pioneer Library System, confirmed that PRIME TIME is effectively reaching this segment of their population and changing their attitudes and behaviors toward reading and the library. One of the participants approached Brady and the library staff to express appreciation for the library's offering a program that has changed the way she and her husband read and talk with their children about books as well as the many library resources and services she and her family now use on a regular basis. "All of the PRIME TIME sites in the Pioneer Public Library System have been exemplary, and this is because of the dedicated library staff and PRIME TIME team members implementing the programs," said Brady. The Pioneer Public Library System is in the process of securing funding to sustain PRIME TIME in these and other communities in the library system. |
| Have Humanities, Will Travel: Reimagining Family Literacy |
 The Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities organized a panel, which kicked off the meetings for the November conference of the Federation of Humanities Councils at 8:00 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 6. Dr. Olivia Pass, Associate Director of PRIME TIME FAMILY READING TIME®, moderated the panel, which was composed of the following individuals: Dr. Greg Kimura, President/CEO of the Alaska Humanities Forum; Mary Davis Fournier, Program Director for the American Library Association; and Erika Hamilton, Senior Program Officer of the Nebraska Humanities Council. Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities (LEH) President and Executive Director Dr. Michael Sartisky was there as well to add pertinent information about the topic: "Have Humanities, Will Travel: Reimagining Family Literacy."
According to Dr. Greg Kimura, Best Beginnings got its start in 2003, when the Alaska Humanities Forum, United Way of Anchorage, the Rasmuson Foundation, the CIRI Foundation, and the Alaska State Library began to work toward coordinating efforts toward the support of early childhood literacy in Alaska. Audience member Dr. Sharon Gagnon, who was chair of the Alaska Humanities Forum from 2002-03, added that the idea began even earlier-when she heard the LEH's Dr. Michael Sartisky speak about PRIME TIME FAMILY READING TIME® at a conference of the Federation of Humanities Councils' conference. Kimura updated the audience about the many positive steps that the Alaska Humanities Forum has taken toward this goal since 2003.
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| PRIME TIME Conducts Focus Groups at New Jersey Sites |
 From Oct. 1 to 4, PRIME TIME Associate Director Dr. Olivia Pass visited three sites in New Jersey, soliciting feedback from focus groups regarding the PRIME TIME FAMILY READING TIME programs implemented there with funding from a National Endowment for the Humanities grant to PRIME TIME FAMILY READING Inc.
First visiting the Princeton Public Library, Pass met with Jan Johnson, the program coordinator for the Princeton PRIME TIME, and one bilingual (Spanish-English) family who had attended the PRIME TIME there. Although Princeton is a university town, there are many low-literacy families that benefited greatly from the PRIME TIME program that was offered in the lovely, new Princeton Public Library. According to Johnson, PRIME TIME has been very important to their library, allowing them to bring in families who had not been regular visitors to their library. The family in attendance for the focus group agreed that PRIME TIME allowed them to feel more comfortable in the library, and they enjoyed many features of the PRIME TIME program that they attended. Johnson hopes to target area African-American families for their next PRIME TIME venture.
The second PRIME TIME focus group was held at the Kearny Public Library. Staff there met with Pass and gave her details about the challenges and benefits that PRIME TIME had posed for them. Overall, Kearny's PRIME TIME was exceptionally successful. Eleven multicultural families attended the focus group, and Pass discovered quickly that the group had been drawn back to the library specifically to see an energetic performance by their beloved PRIME TIME storyteller, Julie Pasqual, who enacted two folk tales for the group. The families at Kearny simply couldn't praise PRIME TIME enough. All felt more comfortable at the library since they attended the PRIME TIME, and all simply adored the talented storyteller, who had quickly learned all of the children's names and made each person who attended feel quite special.
The final focus group was held at the Paterson Public Library. Its staff met with Pass, along with 2 families who had attended the bilingual PRIME TIME there. Much like the other New Jersey families, they concluded that PRIME TIME had allowed them to use their library more, to bond more closely with their children through the act of reading, and to feel more comfortable in the library when they return (often weekly).
PRIME TIME in New Jersey was truly multicultural, drawing families with Chinese, Portuguese, Indian, Mexican, Brazilian and Puerto Rican roots.
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| IMPORTANT Reminders |
 2008 National Expansion Grantees
The NEH-funded PRIME TIME National Expansion grant is scheduled to close Dec. 31, 2008. This is a friendly reminder that all final reports and invoices need to be submitted as soon as possible in order to complete the NEH reporting requirements before the Christmas holidays. All final reports and invoices (faxed or email attachments) should be sent to Faye Flanagan, PRIME TIME Director, no later than the week of Dec. 15 in order for payments to be processed in a timely fashion and in time for holiday shopping.
Fall 2008 Louisiana Sites and Team Members
As the Fall 2008 session comes to a close across Louisiana (Dec. 31, 2008), all PRIME TIME team members (programs coordinators, community organizers/translators, preschool coordinators, scholars and storytellers) need to submit final reports and invoices no later than 30 days after the close of the program. However, in order for the LEH staff to process payments prior to the Holiday season, participants are asked to submit the necessary paperwork no later than the week of Dec. 15, 2008.
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| PRIME TIME to Hold Three-State Workshop |
 PRIME TIME is scheduled to host its first Training Workshop of 2009 on Jan. 17 - 18 in the LEH's state-of-the-art Education Center at Turners' Hall in New Orleans. PRIME TIME staff will welcome team members from approximately 20 sites, representing Louisiana, Georgia and Florida. PRIME TIME Training Workshops offer intense instruction and practice in program philosophy, methodology and implementation for new scholars, storytellers and program coordinators. For more information regarding the PRIME TIME Training Workshop, email Shantrell Adams or call 504-620-2625.
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Connect2Educate Hosts Successful Fundraiser
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 On October 30, the Connect2Educate Collaborative hosted a very successful fundraising event with nearly 90 people in attendance. Connect2Educate raised a little over $800, which will be used to offset the costs associated with the planned March 7th event. The film screening of "Left Behind," followed by an intriguing discussion session with the filmmaker and other panelists, was held at the Louisiana Humanities Center. "Left Behind" is a highly hailed film and a compelling story about New Orleans public schools.
Connect2Educate thanks the education community members who came to participate and support its efforts as well as the panelists including moderator Michael Sartisky, Ph.D. (President & Executive Director-LEH), Lauren Bierbaum, Ph.D. (Afterschool Partnership), Mrs. Leslie Jacobs (Founder-Educate Now), Mr. Gary Robichaux-(Director of K-8 Schools-RSD), and Vincent Morelli, (Filmmaker& Producer).
All proceeds from this event will benefit the work of the Connect2Educate (C2E) Collaborative. Please read below to learn more about the important efforts of the C2E Collaborative to improve public education in New Orleans!
The Connect2Education (C2E) Collaborative is an innovative partnership of diverse organizations, including the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities and PRIME TIME, that have come together to help overcome the inequitable public school utilization of community programs as well as the inefficiencies that exist in connecting community resource providers and public school decision makers. In 2009, the C2E Collaborative will produce an event and resource guide. The Connect2Educate: A Community & Public School Mixer event will take place on Saturday, March 7 at the University of New Orleans Lindy Boggs International Conference Center and will provide a unique opportunity for schools and resource providers to make personal contact with each other, share information, and determine interest in pursuing a future connection. The C2E Notebook: A Guide to New Orleans School Resource Providers will be published and distributed at the same time of the event as well as after in order to provide a comprehensive snapshot of most locally available, high quality community-resource programs for public schools.
For more information on Connect2Educate, please email Miranda Restovic or call 504-620-2486. | |
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