Riveroaks Elementary School’s Library will be recognized at the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities’ (LEH) annual awards event scheduled March 21 at Houmas House in Darrow.  The Library and Librarian Kara Davis will receive a plaque for hosting PRIME TIME FAMILY READING TIME®, a family literacy program.

PRIME TIME, a six- or eight-week reading and discussion program, includes sessions on such humanities themes as fairness, greed, courage, cleverness and determination.  A discussion leader and a storyteller introduce parents to the benefits and pleasures of reading and discuss stories with their children.  Eighteen families participated in the program this year.

The goals of the program include changing attitudes and behaviors toward reading and learning together.  “This program expands the families understanding of reading through the use of children’s literature and substantial humanities content,” said PRIME TIME Co-Director Faye Flanagan.  “Ultimately, the goal is to transform these families into active library users and lifelong learners.”

Michael Sartisky, President/Executive Director of the LEH, believes this program is “in keeping with the mission of reaching people historically underserved by humanities organizations and public libraries because of their low-literacy levels or because English is a second language.  PRIME TIME models replicable reading, discussion and storytelling techniques for parents, no matter what their reading level may be.”

To date, PRIME TIME programs have been held at 887 Louisiana sites and 37 other American sites continues to expand.  PRIME TIME is sponsored by the LEH, the National Endowment for the Humanities and the State of Louisiana.  LEH is a private statewide, non-profit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

For more information, call Kara Davis at (225) 272-2536.