NATCHITOCHES – Dr. Debra Jo Hailey, an associate professor in the Child and Family Studies program at Northwestern State University, has been named the 2026 Light Up for Literacy awardee by the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities. Hailey will be recognized for her work developing family literacy festivals and delivering childhood literacy experiences with an emphasis on community buy-in across Louisiana.
“The Bright Lights Awards celebrate those who protect, interpret and elevate Louisiana’s rich cultural heritage,” said Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser. “These awardees reflect the depth, diversity and statewide impact of the humanities in Louisiana and the role they play in shaping who we are. They remind us why our cultural heritage is one of our greatest strengths.”
A LaSalle Parish native, Hailey’s work focuses on interrupting the poverty cycle and teaching parents about the importance of engaging children in conversation about stories, centering literacy on family well-being. In 2009, she developed, recruited volunteers, marketed and implemented her first family literacy festival, Reading on the River, in Natchitoches. From the start, Reading on the River engaged children and their families in developmentally appropriate stories and related hands-on activities.
“Year after year, high quality research studies indicate a strong connection between children’s school readiness and the language interactions they had in the home prior to school entry,” Hailey said. “Children who have basic literacy skills, strong vocabulary, conversational skills and experiences that broaden their understanding of the world along with the language to describe those experiences enter school ready to learn to read and put their thoughts on paper, which, in turn, develops into higher academic achievement throughout elementary school.”
After personally shepherding Reading on the River for several years, Hailey handed the reins over to a local service organization and it continues to thrive. Hailey also developed Tales on the Trail in southern LaSalle Parish, Once Upon a Time in the Park in Hammond, Once Upon a Time in Winn in Winnfield and Tales on Candy Cane Lane in northern LaSalle Parish.
Hailey and eight other Bright Lights Awards recipients will be honored during the organization’s annual awards dinner Tuesday, March 24 at the Capitol Park Museum in Baton Rouge. Tickets are available online at leh.org/bright-lights.
For more than 40 years, the Bright Lights Awards have offered a collective opportunity to celebrate all the humanities have to offer and honored documentary filmmakers and photographers, literacy and language advocates, historians and authors, culture advocates and more. The awardees will be highlighted in the summer issue of 64 Parishes magazine, published by the LEH.
Presented in partnership with the State Library of Louisiana’s Center for the Book, the Light Up for Literacy award recognizes those who have made significant and lasting contributions to literacy efforts in the state.
“Unfortunately, children from poverty-stricken homes are more likely to experience family stressors like food insecurity, unstable housing situations and transportation issues,” Hailey said. “With those concerns on their minds, the parents are understandably more likely to spend money and time on basic needs rather than purchasing children’s book. Family Literacy Festivals help to fill some of these gaps by providing parents with information and models for reading aloud, questioning and making every day experiences into learning experiences.”
Hailey recently partnered with NSU professors Dr. Michelle Fazio-Brunson and Dr. April Giddens, Dr. Amy Weems and attorney Brett Brunson in writing a chapter titled “Remapping the Cradle to Prison Pipeline in the South: Family Literacy as a Vehicle for Change” for “Voices of Early Childhood Educators: Conversations about Change in the U. S. South,” a book published last year by the Southern Early Childhood Association. This chapter specifically highlights Louisiana and the literacy challenges it faces, as well as emphasizing the responsibility of educators to be change agents for the betterment of children, families and communities. Hailey’s family literacy festivals are described in the book as research-based support systems that empower young children and their families.
“None of this happens as the result of an individual,” she said. “It happens as the result of inter-agency collaborations, community engagement and fabulous volunteers. Good communication and having a core set of beliefs and goals are at the heart of what brings us together to make the Family Literacy Festivals thrive and serve our communities.”
Hailey continues to make books more readily accessible to every child and family across the state by strengthening ties to Natchitoches Parish, Winn Parish and LaSalle Parish with the Dolly Parton Imagination Library (DPIL), a philanthropic project that sends high-quality books to young children monthly. Hailey worked with community leaders in the successful effort to secure funding for the project for the next five years.
“I am thankful for NSU students who are interested in getting involved at the Family Literacy Festivals and I am thankful for a university that is interested in helping surrounding communities,” she said. “The NSU Child and Family Studies Endowed Professorship has been so beneficial in supporting the Family Literacy Festivals and supporting ways to share my research.”