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PBS North Carolina, an educational media network, has appointed Mooneyham Public Library's Library Coordinator Denise Strickland to serve as Rutherford County's first PBS Rootle Ambassador.
The PBS Rootle Ambassador program takes locally based community members who are strong supporters of families with young children and trains them to use and share the suite of PBS early education resources with families in their communities.
"Our state is diverse, and each community is unique," Dr. Melissa Rihm Thibault, PBS NC Chief Education and Innovation Officer, said at the time of the program's launch. "The Rootle Ambassador is, in each of these communities, bringing their knowledge, connections and deeply held understanding to the role, ensuring that each child is made aware of the assets and opportunities inherent in their home community."
Rootle is PBS NC's locally branded 24/7 PBS KIDS Channel aimed at children ages 2 - 8 years old. The programming takes a "whole child" curricular approach proven to strengthen learning outcomes. The PBS Rootle Ambassador program was announced in 2021. It was developed from the knowledge that local family members, educators, and community leaders have a tremendous impact within the early childhood education space, as well as the need to equitably reach children across the state. Primary funding is provided by the William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust grant.
Denise Strickland is a member of the fourth cohort for ambassadors. The program's goal is to have an ambassador in every NC county within five years.
Denise has been the library Coordinator at Mooneyham Public Library for fourteen years. She previously worked at East Rutherford Middle School as a media assistant and EC assistant. Alongside her duties as Library Coordinator, she leads the library's Preschool STEAM Storytime and Summer Reading Program, as well as hosting a program twice a month for the EC classes from East Rutherford High School.
"I enjoy working with all the families that attend our storytime programs each week, as storytime is such a great opportunity for children to learn through reading, talking, singing, and playing. I look forward to not only incorporating PBS resources in my programs, but also reaching out to parents, caregivers, teachers and early literacy coaches in our community to promote all the resources that PBS has to offer," Strickland said.
"My children grew up watching and learning from PBS shows, and I am excited to share PBS KIDS' content with the children and families of Rutherford County in the hope that they will benefit from the fun and educational content as well. My personal favorite PBS character is Arthur because of his belief that having fun isn't hard when you have a library card!"
Strickland completed her Rootle Ambassador training in August and has attended two local events in Forest City to promote PBS early education resources. She intends to visit the Rutherford County Library and its two branches, Haynes and Mountains, in late-January to present a storytime program and connect with local families. If you or your agency is interested in learning more about PBS or Rootle, please contact Denise at 828-248-5224 or denisestrickland@townofforestcity.com.
About the Mooneyham Public Library: Since its establishment in 1964, the Mooneyham Public Library has provided free and equitable access to technology and resources for members of the community. The library is located at 240 E. Main Street, Forest City, NC 28043 and is open from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday. Mooneyham Public Library is a member of the Foothills Library Consortium, a cooperative made up of the six county and municipal libraries in Rutherford County, North Carolina. For more information about the library, visit their website at www.townofforestcity.com/library.
