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Miranda Restovic
Director
504.620.2486
Shantrell Austin
Co-Director
504.620.2625
Christopher Robert
Assistant Director
504.620.2639
Adrienne McFaul, Ph.D.
Evaluation Manager
504.523.4252
Tara Zapp
Assistant Director
504.620.2627
Faye Flanagan
Senior Consultant
504.620.2485
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PRIME TIME Preschool Celebrates 100+ Programs!
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 | | PRIME TIME Preschool: A literacy program for families |
"This read aloud experience was above and beyond what they get every day in the classroom. Having their families with them, I believe, made them take this task to a new level because it was not just school but a very special experience. The parent was there to reinforce what was being asked of them and so they were more likely to be paying attention to the story and the subsequent book questions and discussion."
-Preschool Facilitator, Fall 2014
What began in fall 2012 as a 5-site pilot in Orleans Parish has emerged as the fastest growing and most acclaimed PRIME TIME program in project history. In just 2 years, PRIME TIME Preschool has surpassed the 100-program mark; a milestone that was reached after nearly 9 years by PRIME TIME Family Reading Time which has since exceeded 1,500 completed programs.
By the end of 2014 102 preschool programs will have successfully completed in Louisiana. Additionally, affiliate partners in Georgia and Nebraska have elected to begin implementing PRIME TIME Preschool in their states.
Initially available as an independent program option via financial support from Baptist Community Ministries (BCM), PRIME TIME Preschool provides age-appropriate, humanities-based, literature exploration for preschool-aged children. Early on, there was strong interest in PRIME TIME Preschool among recipients of the state-funded Striving Readers Comprehensive Literacy grant. As a result, the BCM-funded pilot group grew from 5 Orleans parish sites to 13 sites in parishes across the state.
"It has encouraged me to ask more questions while
and after reading, also to read more weekly."
-Preschool Parent, Fall 2013
Both parents and practitioners have voiced significant praise for the program. Proof of the program's efficacy can be further noted in the unprecedented growth rate. We are exceedingly proud of the success of PRIME TIME Preschool and look forward to its continue growth. The LEH staff thanks the funders and implementing partners for joining us in this exciting endeavor.
Click here for additional information on PRIME TIME preschool. Or, email Tara Zapp, PRIME TIME Assistant Director/Preschool Project Manager to discuss bringing the program to your community.
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NEH-Funded PRIME TIME Global Citizenship Project Ends Successfully
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In August 2012, PRIME TIME was awarded its 10th competitive grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities in support of ongoing statewide and national expansion. This brings NEH's support for PRIME TIME to over $2.5 million, an unprecedented investment in a singular project-a testament to the sustained quality and evolution, not to mention persistent need for this amazing program that began right here in Louisiana 24 years ago.
The primary objective of the funded project, "It's a Small World After All: Global Citizenship Education for the 21st Century", was to expand the program in Louisiana as well as several other states including Arizona, Illinois, Kentucky, and Washington. Initial analysis of project data shows that 22 programs (10% more than the initially projected 20 programs) were implemented, "resulting in the delivery of a total of 198 hours of structured reading and discussion time shared by 1,215 children and their caregivers."
The project also debuted a new syllabus with books and themes emphasizing "Global Citizenship" which proved to be a timely topic and has since become a popular favorite among scholars, storytellers, and participating families. Further, the project included a new administrative format that gave partner organizations the training, resources, and support necessary to fully plan for, administer, and sustain statewide PRIME TIME programming.
We are pleased with the preliminary data and look forward to sharing additional project outcomes in early 2015. The LEH sincerely thanks the NEH for supporting this project. We also thank our national partners for joining us in this exciting venture and for working so hard on behalf of their state's residents. We look forward to additional opportunities to work together.
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Georgia Public Library Service Adds PRIME TIME Preschool
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 PRIME TIME Preschool is on its way to Georgia! Using grant funds awarded from the Institute of Museum and Library Sciences (IMLS), the Georgia Public Library Service (GPLS) will be among the first partners to implement PRIME TIME Preschool outside of Louisiana.
PRIME TIME Preschool introduces young children and their families to the humanities and to literature through age-appropriate storytelling and literary exploration via center-based play. Further, the program shares strategies that encourage meaningful at-home reading behavior between parents/caregivers and their young children. Since 2012, over 100 programs have been successfully implemented.
Elaine Black, GPLS Director of Youth Services Director and PRIME TIME Project Director, had this to say about the expansion, "As a part of our IMLS National Leadership Grant, Georgia will pilot PRIME TIME Preschool at 5 libraries across the state, each offering 2 six-week sessions. In December, we will welcome LEH to Atlanta for a day-long training for the 18 library staff, preschool facilitators, and program evaluators who will be implementing the programs next spring. We selected PRIME TIME Preschool because of our long, successful history with PRIME TIME Family Reading Time in Georgia. PRIME TIME's methodology provides the basis for a program that truly does have the power transform the lives of the families. We believe PRIME TIME Preschool will help families prepare their children to enter school ready to read."
On December 6th, Tara Zapp, PRIME TIME Assistant Director and Preschool Manager, will travel to Georgia to lead a training workshop for new team members. We are excited by the impact of PRIME TIME Preschool and proud of the well-earned interest in the program. We look forward to continuing our work with GPLS.
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PRIME TIME Participates in 5th Annual New Orleans Book Festival
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 The 5th Annual New Orleans Book Festival took place on Saturday, November 15, 2014. Both adults and children were welcomed to enjoy this free festival featuring live music, food, and fun activities for everyone! Presented by First Lady of the City of New Orleans, Cheryl Landrieu, the festival offered unique opportunities for adults and children to interact with exceptional writers and storytellers, and to enjoy an inspiring variety of book-related activities, exhibitions, and demonstrations. The food, fun, books, and stories were FREE!
PRIME TIME hosted an exhibit table, sharing quick tips on reading/discussing books as a family activity. PRIME TIME facilitators Eliseanne Coco and Teidra Williams also modeled fun, at-home reading and discussion strategies for attending families.
PRIME TIME is proud to have been apart of this exciting event/resource for local families and look forward to participating again next year! Click here to learn more about the festival.
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PRIME TIME Announces Spring 2015 Louisiana Sites
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PRIME TIME programs will continue to benefit families throughout Louisiana this spring! Through partnerships with and funding from school districts, foundations, libraries, and corporations, a total of 51 PRIME TIME Family Reading Time, PRIME TIME Preschool, and PRIME TIME Dual programs will take place across 16 parishes during spring 2015, engaging an estimated 1,150 Louisiana families.
The Spring 2015 site lists will be available soon at www.primetime.org. For more information on PRIME TIME, click here or email [email protected].
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January 2015 PRIME TIME Training Workshops
|  The next PRIME TIME Training Workshops are scheduled for Saturday, January 17, 2015 at the Louisiana Humanities Center at Turners' Hall in New Orleans. During PRIME TIME Training Workshops, staff and veteran team members provide an intense review of the program methodology, planning strategies, and implementation techniques for those who are new to the program. Affiliate project directors should begin considering whether any team members will need training and prepare to alert the PRIME TIME staff via online Affiliate Data Forms by Monday, December 1, 2014. Louisiana and affiliate trainees will receive preliminary details on the training in mid-December. While training workshops are only open to team members who are affiliated with an upcoming program, we welcome inquiries from others about the program, its methodology, and the structure of the training workshops. Such inquiries should be directed to the PRIME TIME staff. |
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