Faye Flanagan
Co-Director
504.620.2485
flanagan@leh.org
Miranda Restovic
Co-Director
504.620.2486
Dianne Brady
Senior Consultant
318.728.0026
bountifulw@aol.com
Shantrell Adams
Assistant Director
504.620.2625
adams@leh.org
Christopher Robert
Program Assistant
504.620.2639
Michael Sartisky, PhD
President
504.620.2480
sartisky@leh.org
National Partners:
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Announcing New National Expansion Grants for PRIME TIME | 
Applications now invited from library systems as well as state-level organizations
Applications are currently available for PRIME TIME FAMILY READING TIME®, an award-winning reading, discussion and storytelling series offered by PRIME TIME FAMILY READING, Inc., an affiliate of the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities (LEH), in partnership with the American Library Association (ALA) Public Programs Office and with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH).
Statewide organizations including state libraries, state humanities councils, centers for the book, library associations as well as library systems outside Louisiana are invited to apply. Proposals in response to this opportunity will be accepted through an online process. Links to the proposal guidelines and online application site are accessible at www.leh.org/html/primetime_neh_expansion.html. View the full press release here. The submission deadline is Friday, May 28th.
Interested agencies are encouraged to contact PRIME TIME staff members with questions.
The LEH and PRIME TIME Inc. wish to thank the NEH for its continued support of the national expansion of PRIME TIME Family Reading Time. |
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City of New Orleans Issues a Resolution Recognizing PRIME TIME! |
 The New Orleans City Council passed Resolution R-10-208, introduced by City Council Vice-President Jacquelyn Brechtel Clarkson, congratulating the administrators of the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities' PRIME TIME Family Reading Time on the program's success, and supporting their proposal to the U.S. Department of Education's Investing in Innovation Fund for further expansion of the successful model in Louisiana's schools. President/Executive Director of the LEH Michael Sartisky and Miranda Restovic, co-director of PRIME TIME Family Reading Time appeared before the Council to share the success of the reading program and thank the Council for its support.
Councilmember Clarkson said, "This program has been a great resource to the families of our city and especially our youth. The Council applauds the program's success and fully supports their proposal for expansion."
*Portions of this entry were borrowed from the New Orleans City Council website. |
| Partner Spotlight: Florida Humanities Council |
 The Florida Humanities Council (FHC) is continuing its commitment to transforming Florida's families into active readers and library users with PRIME TIME! Employing its growing cadre of trained pogram coordinators, scholars, and storytellers, FHC plans to implement 10 programs in 2010. Continuing to build its PRIME TIME infrastructure, FHC plans to send several teams of professionals to New Orleans to the July 2010 training workshop.
Florida began its relationship with PRIME TIME during the spring of 2004 when it received funds as part of that round of NEH National Expansion of PRIME TIME. Since then, FHC has successfully completed 35 programs; graduating approximately 1,500 participants via funding from various private foundations as well as the state of Florida. FHC Associate Director Patricia Putman says, "FHC looks forward to expanding our partnership with LEH in the coming years to implement additional PRIME TIME programs, particularly those that target our state's increasingly diverse cultural and ethnic populations."
A long-time partner of the FHC, the Orange County Library System, has implemented several PRIME TIME programs in Florida. Natalie Houston, first-time program coordinator and youth services coordinator for the Orange County Library System, highlights the challenges that sometimes arise when implementing a PRIME TIME program. Additionally, Natalie's essay emphasizes the importance of creativity and persistence to getting the job done! Click here to read about Natalie's first PRIME TIME experience.
The LEH and PRIME TIME greatly appreciates the Florida Humanities Council, its supporters, and its partners for their commitment to literacy and the humanities on behalf of Florida families. |
| Mahalia Jackson Center Scheduled to Open in Central City,
New Orleans |
 On Saturday, May 15 at 10:00 a.m. the Early Childhood & Family Learning Foundation (ECFLF) hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony and open house for the Mahalia Jackson Center (MJC) in Central City. With the goal of enrolling every Central City child in the MJC early education program, the foundation has partnered with vital institutions to provide much-needed services to entire families within the community. Such services include job training, health care, child care, and a public library, as well as arts and humanities programming which includes PRIME TIME Family Reading Time. Click here for more information on the ribbon cutting ceremony.
In March the LEH and PRIME TIME formally joined the ECFLF by committing to a year of sustained, neighborhood-specific delivery of several initiatives based on the PRIME TIME methodology. This partnership outlines the following elements of the envisioned partnership:
· a full-time project coordinator dedicated to program implementation and coordination
· professional development and classroom support via PRIME TIME teacher workshops
· award-winning family literacy programming via PRIME TIME FAMILY READING TIME
· on-going parent/child literacy support via monthly PRIME TIME book clubs
To learn more about the Early Childhood & Family Learning Foundation and the Mahalia Jackson Center click here. |
| 2009 PRIME TIME Sites and Partners Receive Awards | |
 The LEH's 2010 Humanist-of-the-Year Award Ceremony was held Saturday, March 6th, at Houmas House in Darrow, Louisiana. In addition to the many Louisianians honored by the LEH for their outstanding contributions to the humanities throughout the state and nation, PRIME TIME recognized its partners who implemented the program for the first time in 2009. PRIME TIME awards were distributed to representative sites across the state. An award was also presented to the Caldwell Parish School System and the Caldwell Parish Library, which partnered to implement the first PRIME TIME program in that parish, fulfilling the LEH's goal of implementing PRIME TIME in every Louisiana parish! The PRIME TIME staff wishes to congratulate all PRIME TIME awardees, and thank every team member at every site contributing to PRIME TIME's success.
Award Recipients
Caldwell Parish Schools/Caldwell Parish Library, Columbia
Communities in Schools New Orleans*
Department of Juvenile Services in Jefferson Parish, Harvey*
Louisiana Children's Museum, New Orleans*
Multicultural Center of the South, Shreveport*
Natchitoches Historic Foundation/Roque House, Natchitoches*
Start the Adventure in Reading, New Orleans*
Union Parish Family Literacy Center, Bernice
Volunteer of America, Bossier City*
Volunteers of America-LA PROMISE, Shreveport*
*Attended Award Ceremony
Also, during the LEH award ceremony, Dr. Virginia Carter and Kathleen Pool of the Kentucky Humanities Council were presented with the Public Humanities Programming Award. KHC Executive Director Virginia Carter and Associate Director Kathleen Pool have been champions of PRIME TIME in Kentucky since 2004 when their agency was awarded a PRIME TIME national expansion grant. Since then, KHC has partnered with the Kentucky Department of Libraries and Archives to implement 85 successful and highly diverse programs. As a result of their hard work, over 3,000 Kentuckians have participated in KHC's PRIME TIME programs.
The LEH and PRIME TIME staff are immensely appreciative of Virginia, Kathleen, KHC and its partners for their unwavering commitment to the humanities and literacy on behalf of Kentucky's families. For more information on PRIME TIME in Kentucky, please visit the KHC website. |
| 2010 American Library Association in Washigton, D.C. |
 At 8:00 a.m. on Sunday, June 28th, PRIME TIME Associate Director Shantrell Adams will lead a panel discussion at the annual conference of the American Library Association in Washington, D.C. The session, entitled "PRIME TIME Family Reading Time: A model Program for Strengthening Families & Building Communities," will provide attendees with specifics on how to engage diverse, underserved neighborhoods within their communities using the award-winning, nationally replicated PRIME TIME Family Reading Time model for improving literacy outcomes for families in need of such assistance. A distinguished panel including representatives from the American Library Association, the National Endowment for the Humanities and partner libraries will discuss this program's history, philosophy, and methodology, as well as proven strategies for securing funds to support this outreach model.
We look forward to seeing current and future partners at the ALA conference this June! Please visit the ALA website for additional details on the conference.
2010 Louisiana Library Association in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
On Friday, March 12, PRIME TIME Associate Director Shantrell Adams participated in a session at the 2010 Louisiana Library Association Annual Conference in Baton Rouge. The session, "Literature, Outreach and Research: The Circulatory System of Your Library and the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities" also featured Catherine Corder, Ph. D., editor of KnowLA, the LEH's online encyclopedia on Louisiana, and Jim Segreto, director of Readings in Literature and Culture (RELIC). This panel introduced more than 20 participants to the LEH and the grants and programs that are available to public and school libraries.
2010 Public Library Association Conference in Portland, Oregon
Miranda Restovic, PRIME TIME co-director and Sharon Rawlins, New Jersey State Library youth services consultant facilitated a talk table at the 2010 Public Library Association Conference in Portland, Oregon during March 23-27. Librarians from around the country joined Miranda and Sharon to discuss the outcomes of the 2008 analysis of 21 bilingual PRIME TIME programs throughout the country, as well as the current opportunity to apply for national expansion funds for PRIME TIME programming.
Thanks to everyone who attended these sessions. Feel free to contact the staff at any time with questions. |
| PRIME TIME Training Workshop Dates UPDATE! | 
Due to the award for national expansion from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the dates for the July PRIME TIME Training Workshop have been revised to reflect the need for a 3-day schedule. The new dates are July 23 - 25. The workshop will be hosted at the Louisiana Humanities Center at Turners' Hall in New Orleans. Please contact Shantrell Adams with any questions or concerns regarding the July Training Workshop. |
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