Sophia gives Lionel a big lion hug at the Eudora Welty Public Library

Photo: Rick Guy, Foundation for Public Broadcasting in Mississippi

(for more photos click here)

FACT SHEET

• 18-month pilot project that introduces the Emmy Award-winning PBS KIDS series Between the Lions and companion curriculum into library systems in Mississippi.
• The primary sponsor of this project is Entergy.
• The primary collaborators are Mississippi Public Broadcasting, Mississippi Library Commission, Mississippi Federation of Women’s Clubs, Entergy, and Foundation for Public Broadcasting in Mississippi.
• The participating pilot library branches are Corinth Library in Alcorn County, Hickory Flat Public Library in Benton County, Harriette Person Memorial Library in Claiborne County, Carnegie Public Library in Coahoma County, Seminary Public Library in Covington County, M.R. Davis Library in DeSoto County, Hattiesburg Library in Forrest County, Eudora Welty Library in Hinds County, Pascagoula Public Library in Jackson County, Lee County Library in Lee County, Columbus Public Library in Lowndes County, Margaret Reed Crosby Memorial Library in Pearl River County, Pontotoc County Library in Pontotoc County, G. Chastaine Flynt Memorial Library in Rankin County, Sharkey-Issaquena County Library in Sharkey County, Henry Seymour Library in Sunflower County, and Wayne County Library in Wayne County.
• Participating library systems will be provided free the Between the Lions literacy curriculum, that includes:

                            Between the Lions Classroom Notebook

                            Set of 9 DVDs [3 DVDs per Unit]

                            Poems, Charts, Story Characters, Word Cards

                            Between the Lion Books

                            Digital Literacy Training DVD

• The Between the Lions (BTL) Pilot Library Project will incorporate segments of BTL into children’s activities already taking place in Mississippi Public Libraries.  Libraries would be encouraged to use the BTL literacy materials to enhance the programs offered to 3, 4, and 5-year olds in their communities, in some instances creating additional story and activity hours for these children.
• Participating library systems would be provided free Between the Lions Cub Cards to give to the children who participate and Between the Lions Designated Reader cards to parents and care givers of the children.
• Members of the Mississippi Federation of Women’s Clubs (MFWC) will assist library staff in conducting story hours and activities. 
• MPB Educational Services staff will provide hands-on training to library staff, MFWC members, and Entergy staff on how to use the BTL video segments, charts, poems, songs, and workbook activities.
• The PR staff of Mississippi Public Broadcasting, Mississippi Library Commission, and Foundation for Public Broadcasting in Mississippi will work with each participating library system to generate media interest and support for the BTL literacy activities at the libraries.

PROJECT SUMMARY

In January 2005, Mississippi Public Broadcasting joined WGBH Boston and Sirius Thinking, Ltd. New York in producing the Emmy Award-winning PBS KIDS series Between the Lions.  This collaboration has produced 40 new episodes of the show in MPB’s Jackson, Mississippi studios. 

Between the Lions features a loveable family of lions– father Theo, mother Cleo, son Lionel, and daughter Leona—to introduce pre-kindergarten children to the concepts of print, language, and reading.  The same video segments broadcast daily on MPB and on public broadcasting television stations nationwide are also being introduced at child care centers in the central Mississippi region, and now to library systems statewide.

MPB has worked successfully for two years with child care centers in Hinds, Madison and Rankin Counties to introduce the center directors and teachers to the Between the Lions program and correlated classroom curriculum that provides early word recognition and comprehension activities for the 3 and 4-year old kids that are in their care daily.  Part of the pilot Between the Lions Preschool Literacy Initiative included assessments before and after the introduction of Between the Lions into the child care centers.  The assessments were conducted by The Early Childhood Institute at Mississippi State University.  An evaluation of the assessments by the Center for Educational Research and Evaluation at the University of Mississippi showed that 3 and 4-year old children who were exposed to the Between the Lions video segments, books, poems, songs, and activities had significant gains in letter knowledge, the conventions of reading (left to right, top to bottom, front to back), comprehension that builds their vocabulary, and that the overall classroom environment improved over 100% and promoted learning as fun and exciting.

The findings were significant enough that Jim Barksdale and the Barksdale Reading Institute are national funding partners for Between the Lions, contributing $1 million dollars to the production and educational curriculum in 2006.  With the positive results of the child care center pilot program, Barksdale has committed an additional $3.5-million to the production of the 20 new episodes in 2007 and the expansion of preschool literacy curriculum materials for Between the Lions, with funding of another $3.5 million (a potential total of $8-million) contingent upon continued demonstrated success.

The pilot Between the Lions Library Project expands the availability and use of these proven educational tools. Entergy is the primary sponsor of this project through its Destination Education initiative.  These same early literacy opportunities are being introduced in Mississippi libraries, starting with the following 17 library branches in the fall of 2007:

Hickory Flat Public Library in Benton County, Harriette Person Memorial Library in Claiborne County, Carnegie Public Library in Coahoma County, Seminary Public Library in Covington County, M.R. Davis Library in DeSoto County, Hattiesburg Library in Forrest County, Eudora Welty Library in Hinds County, Pascagoula Public Library in Jackson County, Lee County Library in Lee County, Columbus Public Library in Lowndes County, Margaret Reed Crosby Memorial Library in Pearl River County, Pontotoc County Library in Pontotoc County, Corinth Library in Prentiss County, G. Chastaine Flynt Memorial Library in Rankin County, Sharkey-Issaquena County Library in Sharkey County, Henry Seymour Library in Sunflower County, and Wayne County Library in Wayne County.

(Click photos to enlarge)