Parent University Night kickoff event to be held on Tuesday, April 8, at 5:30 p.m. at COA-Dare Campus in Manteo
The Dare County Library, in collaboration with Manteo Elementary School and College of The Albemarle (COA)’s Dare County campus, is pleased to announce the launch of “Parent University Night,” a new community initiative designed to empower literacy and learning for families in Dare County. This free program aims to equip local parents and guardians of school-age children with the tools and resources needed to foster a culture of reading at home, support their children’s educational success, and strengthen lifelong literacy skills for children and teens of all ages.
Members of the public are invited to attend the community’s first Parent University Night on Tuesday, April 8, beginning at 5:30 p.m. at COA–Dare, which is located at 205 U.S. Highway 64 in Manteo. In addition to discovering the various summer reading and literacy programs that are available for local children and adults, attendees will also have the opportunity to sign up for a library card from the Dare County Library and COA–Dare, learn how to access print and eBooks for free, and have the chance to check out a book of their choice to read at home.
“Access to books outside of school equips children and adults with tools to maintain and build crucial literacy skills that enable critical thinking—and knowing how to find and access those resources can be hard for those who don’t know where to start,” said Dare County Librarian Meaghan Leenarts Beasley. “This free evening program will introduce and share all of the various literacy resources available to Manteo community members, from infants to seniors.”
Following the initial kickoff event that is scheduled to be held on Tuesday, April 8, 2025 at COA–Dare, future Parent University Night events will be held on a monthly to quarterly basis starting in the fall of 2025. The upcoming sessions will focus on topics tailored to the specific needs of parents and guardians of school-age children, including how to incorporate reading into a busy schedule and ways to build an in-home library, among others. Adults will also learn about local scholarship opportunities open to Dare County community members and other available offerings provided by COA–Dare.
All members of the Dare County community are welcome—and encouraged!—to attend the free Parent University Night kickoff event that will be held at COA–Dare in Manteo on Tuesday, April 8, 2025 beginning at 5:30 p.m. Registration for this event is not required. Refreshments and childcare will be available for attendees, and translators will also be on-hand to provide additional assistance as needed.
For more information, please contact Dare County Librarian Meaghan Leenaarts Beasley at meaghan.beasley@darenc.gov, Manteo Elementary School Principal Curtis Price at pricecu@daretolearn.org or College of The Albemarle-Dare County Campus Dean Timothy Sweeney at timothy_sweeney@albemarle.edu.
