Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the Barksdale Reading Institute to Fund PBS Kids'(R) Series 'Between The Lions'

Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the Barksdale Reading Institute to Fund PBS Kids'(R) Series 'Between The Lions'

-$11 million committed for two seasons and new preschool materials-

JACKSON, Miss., Feb. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) and the Barksdale Reading Institute today announced that they have agreed to provide new funding for the PBS KIDS' series BETWEEN THE LIONS, part of the Ready To Learn reading initiative.

Under the agreement, CPB will commit $7.5 million and the Barksdale Reading Institute will contribute $3.5 million for the production of BETWEEN THE LIONS' seasons seven and eight (a total of 20 new episodes) and an expansion of its effective preschool materials that have been independently tested over the past several years in low-income communities. CPB has also committed an additional $2.5 million towards seasons nine and ten, contingent, in part, on additional funds being raised. To further support the series, PBS is contributing funds towards new platforms for BETWEEN THE LIONS and other literacy-based projects, while the Ready To Learn reading initiative is providing funds for the development of the series' Web site. In addition, on-going corporate support for the series is provided by Chick-fil-A, Inc.

Patricia Harrison, president and chief executive officer of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting said, "Throughout our history, CPB has been making investments in the successor generations. CPB is proud to support BETWEEN THE LIONS, which has demonstrated that quality television can make a significant difference in children learning how to read."

Produced by WGBH Boston, Sirius Thinking, Ltd., and Mississippi Public Broadcasting (MPB), BETWEEN THE LIONS targets children aged four to seven with a combination of phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary and reading aloud -- a curriculum closely aligned with preschool, kindergarten and first-grade standards.

These grants come after several independent research studies over the past four years demonstrated the impact of using BETWEEN THE LIONS with high- poverty, high-risk children in Kansas, Mississippi and New Mexico. These studies all found that young children who watch BETWEEN THE LIONS show significant improvements in their reading skills. For example, one measure used in the New Mexico study, the Get Ready to Read screening tool, an overall measure of reading readiness indicated that the percentage of children considered to be "at risk" for reading failure declined from 39% to 12%, while the number of children performing at an "above average" literacy level in the study increased from 23% to 64%.

"Because of the impressive results produced by the initial year of the BETWEEN THE LIONS' Mississippi Preschool Literacy Initiative, additional support for this important project was justified," said Jim Barksdale, founder of the Barksdale Reading Institute and former chief executive officer of Netscape Communications Corp.

"The series has made reading entertaining and within reach for children and families in Mississippi and across the country. In collaboration with WGBH Boston and Sirius Thinking, Ltd., Mississippi Public Broadcasting is proud to continue co-producing BETWEEN THE LIONS in our Jackson studios," said MPB Executive Director Marie Antoon.

CONTACT:
Meredith Cleland
601-360-9418
mcleland@godwin.com

Source: Corporation for Public Broadcasting

CONTACT: Meredith Cleland for Corporation for Public Broadcasting,
+1-601-360-9418, or mcleland@godwin.com

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