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| Louisiana Fall Schedule Changes Due to Hurricane Gustav |
 The PRIME TIME staff at the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities would like to thank all of our program coordinators for the speedy communication in reference to schedule changes due to Hurricane Gustav. All of the LEH staff members are back at work following Gustav and are dedicated to assisting program coordinators in successful implementation of PRIME TIME.
Out of the originally awarded 23 programs across 17 Louisiana parishes this fall, there have been some scheduling changes and two program cancellations (postponed until Spring 2009). PRIME TIME would also like to recognize the dedicated first-time teams of Catahoula and Tensas Parishes where programming began on schedule despite severe rainfall and storm-related damage. Click below to view the PRIME TIME Louisiana Site Schedule for details.
PRIME TIME will work closely with a few special programs this fall, including two pilot programs scheduled at Sixth Grade Academy in Shreveport and Benjamin Banneker Elementary School in New Orleans. Both pilot programs will target middle school children and their families using the chapter book Seedfolks by Paul Fleishman. The third "special project" will be the second installation of PRIME TIME at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, where families from nearby schools are invited to attend PRIME TIME, which will take place in the museum's galleries.
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| PRIME TIME the Perfect Answer for San José Public Library |
 Partners in Reading (PAR), San José Public Library's adult literacy program, invites learners with children from birth to 5, the opportunity to take part in Families for Literacy (FFL), providing monthly events to promote family reading and the materials and services of the San José Public Library.
The coordinator of the Family Literacy program, Deborah Estreicher wanted something for the FFL graduates and for the learners who began their PAR one-on-one or small group instruction with children surpassing the age criteria set by FFL. PRIME TIME was the perfect answer to provide the learner families with a joyful path of connection to literature and the library, through dramatic presentation and in-depth exploration of fine quality children's books. "So life changing were the results of PRIME TIME, that SJPL is now on its fourth run of this wonderful program," said Estreicher.
Our 20-plus PRIME TIME slots targeting at-risk, low-literate families, with children ages six to ten years old, were filled from the learner rosters of Partners in Reading, local elementary schools, and personal communication within the library. At each session, families were fed a hearty meal of fine pizza, organic fruit and vegetable salads, and entertained with carefully thought-out and creative presentations in song, puppetry, rap, video of library services from our staff in Access, Early Care, General Collections, Partners in Reading, Public Safety, Reference, Special Collections, and Youth Services. Then followed the pièce de résistance, the engagingly theatric story readings and thought-provoking discussions of the evening's thematic selection of children's literature.
The reader, Bridget Kowalcyzk gained rock star status while the scholar, Professor Scot Guenter, skillfully and respectfully engaged our PRIME TIME group of children and adults, in discussions derived from questions ranging from the surface to great depth, eliciting such thoughtful and personal responses. Scot also extended invitations to all of the families, offering to serve as mentor in guiding them into San José State University. Preschool family members were also provided with a high quality program of songs, finger puppets and art, by the many talented Julie Cullen and David Mejia. All children left the program each evening beaming with their self-selected dessert - a beautiful new book.
"Although there is a tremendous amount of work involved in both the coordination of the series and the preparation for each evening, the comments and enthusiasm for PRIME TIME from both participants and staff make it all worthwhile" said Deborah Estreicher.
For more information on PRIME TIME at the San José Public Library, please contact Deborah Estreicher.
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| PRIME TIME at GaCOMO 2008 Conference |
 The Georgia Council of Media Organizations (GaCOMO) 2008 Conference will be held October 15-17, 2008 in Athens, GA. Georgia Public Library Service (GPLS) will host a session titled "Prime Time Family Reading Time in Georgia" on Thursday October 16, 2008 at 10:00-11:50 am in the Oconee RR1 room at the Classic Center. The session will feature a panel of experienced PRIME TIME team members including Elaine Black of GPLS and PRIME TIME State Project Director, Jamila Owens of Georgia Humanities Council and PRIME TIME institutional partner to GPLS, Angela Margerum, PRIME TIME program coordinator at the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library, Ev Shepherd, PRIME TIME program coordinator at the DeKalb County Public Library and Miranda Restovic, PRIME TIME Assistant Director at the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities.
For more information on PRIME TIME programming in Georgia or on the GaCOMO 2008 Conference presentation, please contact Elaine Black at eblack@georgialibraries.org.
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| PRIME TIME Plans Focus Groups in Florida and New Jersey |
 The National Endowment for the Humanities awarded PRIME TIME FAMILY READING TIME, Inc., a $275,212 grant to support 20 bilingual programs across Florida, Michigan, Oklahoma, New Jersey and New York during 2008. As a part of the evaluation process, the New Jersey State Library and the Florida Humanities Council are collaborating with PRIME TIME staff to follow up with participating family members upon completion of the PRIME TIME programming in their states. The purpose of the focus groups will be to obtain data and document changes in reading behaviors of the family units. Dr. Olivia Pass, Associate Director of PRIME TIME, will meet with families who attended PRIME TIME programs at Kearny, and Patterson, New Jersey on October 3rd and October 4th, and Faye Flanagan, Director of PRIME TIME , will meet with families in Clewiston, Florida, on September 22nd. These meetings will be structured to obtain valuable feedback regarding specific outcomes and general impressions of the attending individuals. These focus groups will contribute to the ongoing research and development of PRIME TIME's outreach strategies and contribute to more effective long-term planning.
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| PRIME TIME TIAS Participants to Have Reunion in November |
 On November 13, the 19 teachers who completed the PRIME TIME Teacher Institute for Advanced Study (TIAS), Post-Katrina New Orleans: Prime Time for PRIME TIME will join Dr. Nancy Dixon and Dr. Olivia Pass at Turners' Hall for a reunion.
Not only will the participants have a chance to see each other again and catch up on each other's life, but Drs. Dixon and Pass will also be able to receive information from the teachers about how well the PRIME TIME technique has worked thus far in their classes. Many of the teachers were planning to begin the year with a PRIME TIME-centered unit to set up a classroom culture, so, predictably, there will be rich information to glean from the teachers. "I am so looking forward to the TIAS reunion, of course because we get to see everyone again, and it's such a dynamic bunch! But I also can't wait to hear the impact that PRIME TIME has had on their classroom teaching, especially on their reading and discussion methods. I'm also eager to get the word out that we hope to have another TIAS next summer. This group of educators might just be our strongest publicity tool for the superb ways in which PRIME TIME bonds students and their parents by reading," said Dr. Dixon.
PRIME TIME is always diligently accumulating as much statistical and anecdotal data as possible to both improve the program and to validate the benefits of the program. The teachers will be asked to fill out a questionnaire that will be used to develop important statistics, as well as make further recommendations for the next PRIME TIME TIAS, which will hopefully take place next summer at the LEH's Turners' Hall under the direction of Dr. Nancy Dixon.
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| PRIME TIME Staffer Visits Michigan Program |
 The LEH's PRIME TIME FAMILY READING TIME program is underway in Michigan, where the Michigan Humanities Council (MHC) is implementing its NEH Bilingual Expansion Grant at four libraries across the state. "The Michigan Humanities Council clearly supports and is looking forward to continuing PRIME TIME," said Jan Fedewa, MHC's Executive Director. "In the two programs conducted to date, Saginaw and South Haven, Michigan, we've had tremendous impact on families' lives. The goal is to get people reading and get them into libraries and we've succeeded in doing that through PRIME TIME."
PRIME TIME Assistant Director Miranda Restovic and MHC's Grants Director and PRIME TIME State Project Director Cynthia Dimitrijevic visited the South Haven Memorial Library in July. "I was most impressed by this PRIME TIME team," said Restovic. "They demonstrated incredible flexibility with moving the start time to 7:30 p.m. to accommodate participating families, most of whom were Hispanic seasonal workers in the fields until sundown." Deborah Root Jones, PRIME TIME program coordinator, generated community support for the program, including the support of the local school system, which purchased gas cards to be given to families to compensate them for traveling to the library from the remote farms where most worked. Children as well as parents were enthralled by the phenomenal bilingual storytelling and discussion that took place throughout the evening, facilitated by discussion leaders Leonor Murphy and Dr. Ruth Heinig.
Click here fo more information on PRIME TIME programming in Michigan. |
ATTENTION Louisiana Spring 2009 PRIME TIME Sites: Application Deadline October 15, 2008
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 If you would like to bring PRIME TIME, LEH's award-winning family literacy program, to your Louisiana venue or community, please fill out the appropriate application form, which can be found on the LEH website that can be accessed below, and submit it to LEH no later than October 15, 2008. First-time applicants are encouraged to contact a team member to discuss grant details. Public libraries, schools, community centers and other institutions are invited to apply.
WHAT PRIME TIME DOES:
- Reinforces the role of the family.
- Successfully trains parents and children to bond around reading.
- Encourages parents and children to read and discuss humanities topics (history, literature, and ethical issues such as fairness, greed, honor, and trickery), fostering high academic expectations and achievement for children in English language learners, low-literacy and/or low-income families.
- Encourages English language learners, low-literacy and/or low-income parents to enter or continue their own educational or ESL programs.
- Helps parents and children learn how to select books and become active users of library resources and lifelong readers.
Access the new application forms in WORD or PDF here.
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