23 Sites Offering Prime Time to Help Kids Succeed at School

Humanities Nebraska (HN) has announced that Prime Time Family Reading and Prime Time Preschool will be held at 23 locations beginning February 2, including five new sites in Fremont, Grand Island, Lincoln, and Omaha. Each series is a free six-week program with storytelling and discussion based on award-winning children’s books at public libraries, elementary schools, and community centers across the state.

Prime Time Family Reading is for families with children ages 6-10 who struggle with reading and includes special activities for siblings ages 3-5. Prime Time Preschool is for families who want their children ages 3-5 to develop reading readiness skills. Sixteen of the 23 series will be bilingual in English and Spanish, one will have Karen translation, and one will have Kurmanji translation. Two will be offered online.

These Humanities Nebraska family literacy programs help strengthen participants’ interest and skills in reading and talking about books. A 10-year analysis published by Prime Time creators found that children who attend Prime Time Family Reading show a 95-100% improvement on achievement tests through elementary school and 81% improvement on high school exit exams.

The series are scheduled as follows:

Fremont
• Fremont Gallery 92 West, Tuesdays at 5:30 p.m., March 14-April 18 (Bilingual)

Grand Island
• Grand Island Public Library, Saturdays at 11 a.m., February 25-April 1 (Bilingual Preschool)
• Grand Island Public Library, Mondays at 6 p.m., February 27-April 3 (Bilingual)
• O’Connor Learning Center, (Times and dates to be determined; Bilingual Preschool)

Hastings
• Hastings Public Library, Tuesdays at 5:00 p.m., March 28-May 2 (Bilingual)

Lexington
• Lexington Public Library, Fridays at 5:00 p.m., March 17-April 28 (Bilingual Preschool)

Lincoln
• Calvert Elementary, Thursdays at 5:30 p.m., February 2-March 9 (English)
• Campbell Elementary, Tuesdays at 5:30 p.m., February 7-March 28 (English)
• Bennett-Martin Library, Mondays at 5:30 p.m., March 20-April 24 (Bilingual Preschool)
• Arnold Elementary, Tuesdays at 6 p.m., March 21-April 25 (English)
• McPhee Elementary, Mondays at 5:30 p.m., March 27-May 8 (Bilingual)
• Everett Elementary, Wednesdays at 5:30 p.m., (Dates to be determined; English with Spanish and Karen translation)
• Juniper Refuge, Tuesdays at 5:30 p.m. (Dates to be determined; English with Kurmanji translation, at Calvary Lutheran Church)

Norfolk
• Norfolk Public Library, Tuesdays at 6:00 p.m., March 21-April 25 (English) Sponsored by Norfolk Noon Optimists and Norfolk Public Schools

Omaha
• North Omaha Team, Saturdays at 10 a.m., February 4-March 11 (English, online via Zoom)
• Learning Center of South Omaha, Tuesdays at 5:30 p.m., February 7-March 21 (Bilingual Preschool)
• Learning Center of South Omaha, Thursdays at 5:30 p.m., February 9-March 23 (Bilingual Preschool)
• Highland Elementary, Tuesdays at 4:30 p.m., February 28-April 11 (Bilingual)
• Field Club Elementary, Tuesdays at 5:30 p.m., March 21-April 25 (Bilingual)
• Nelson Mandela Early Childhood Development Center, Thursdays at 5:30 p.m., March 23-April 27
(English Preschool)
• Jackson Elementary, Tuesdays at 5:30 p.m., March 28-May 2 (Bilingual, online via Teams)
• Gilder Elementary, Wednesdays at 5 p.m., April 5-May 10 (Bilingual)
• Chandler View Elementary, Thursdays at 5:30 p.m., April 6-May 11 (Bilingual)

Prime Time is free for families thanks to generous statewide sponsors including the State of Nebraska, Nebraska Cultural Endowment, National Endowment for the Humanities, the Sherwood Foundation, Carol Gendler, and an anonymous foundation. Additional funding in Fremont is provided by the Lestar A. Walker Foundation. In Lincoln, additional funding is provided by the Acklie Charitable Foundation. The Johnny Carson Fund at the Nebraska Cultural Endowment provided additional funding for the Norfolk series.

Humanities Nebraska has offered Prime Time since 2002, reaching more than 17,600 Nebraskans in 411 Prime Time series that have been held throughout the state. Teachers who are interested in recommending families for Prime Time should contact one of the sites listed above and ask to speak with the Prime Time coordinator. Series that are already in progress are still accepting new families to participate. For more information about Prime Time in Nebraska, please visit the Humanities Nebraska website: HumanitiesNebraska.org.

Humanities Nebraska is celebrating 50 years of what connects us and makes us human. Let your curiosity get the best of you and discover events throughout 2023 and during Humanities Week in October. HN is a private nonprofit with a mission to help people explore what connects us and makes us human. HN is funded in part by the NEH, an appropriation from the Nebraska Legislature, private donations, and the Nebraska Cultural Endowment, a public-private partnership with state dollars matching private dollars to benefit the arts and humanities in Nebraska.